Watchtower
Thor, Hawkeye, Black widow and Iron man were in the cafeteria grabbing a bite to eat while discussing recent events. From all the tension due to doomsday, most of them had not eaten anything in a couple of hours.
"So...you and the bat guy huh?" Iron man couldn't help himself much to Black widows dismay.
"What can I say, I like mystery." She attempted to shrug off Iron man.
Hawkeye was having a good time...at their expense. He knew where this conversation would eventually lead to and decided to spice it up, after all, he was bored.
"Careful now...we wouldn't want another bump now, would we?" He smirked at Black widows facial expression, clearly displaying betrayal but quickly turned into a smirk directed at Thor.
"Oh don't worry about that..." she paused for dramatic effect, "I have a feeling she wouldn't mind, since she's totally smitten about something or someone..."
Thor wasn't paying much attention to their conversation. He had a huge empty stomach to fill and a lot to think about. After a couple of bites in, his senses picked up all eyes staring at him and he looked up at them. "What?" He asked curiously since he did not really mind if anyone disapproved of his methods of eating.
"I knew there was something going on there...I knew it!" Tony bellowed happily while raising a high five to Thor who looked more confused than ever.
"What are you talking about Stark?" Thor asked looking at his other chuckling colleagues.
"You and the warrior princess." Tony answered him. If there was something Tony was good at was agitating people and making them be as uncomfortable as possible.
"What about Diana?" Thor asked again.
"Are you fucking her?" Tony asked with a grin on his face, although his faceplate hindered anyone from seeing it but his voice betrayed his tone.
Thor spat out everything he was chewing to his side, he was certainly not ready for that question. "Noooo... why would I? I mean... I haven't. That is no way to speak about royalty." Thor fumbled and reproached him.
"I was just asking what everyone is too chickened out to ask." Tony defended himself.
"That is ludicrous! Why would anyone think of that? And don't speak of that anymore or I would not defend you from her wrath" Thor said. Princess Diana was a very respectable warrior princess that his father usually told tales about when he was just but a boy. He would not want her reputation to be soiled by Tony's wild theories.
"Okay okay… Not yet.." Tony yielded much to Thors satisfaction who carried on eating but his mind racing with a thousand and one thoughts.
The rest of the avengers smirked at Tony's hidden meaning of "not yet" which Thor did not pick up on. He was as ancient as the oldest historic site in the USA.
Amazon forest
Back in the avengers cave, Banner was still on monitor duty dozing off from time to time due to exhaustion. He took this time alone to do extensive research about this earth. He hacked every medical research centre he could get access on and compared notes on their development and breakthroughs in the medical sector as well as technological wise.
Natasha had sent to him the particulars of the conference meeting via email that Tony had solely designed using Googles mail version for the avengers. It was a good thing it also worked in this universe since they also had Google.
The past 24hrs was a very hectic one, from doomsday attacking earth to him wanting to help but was ordered not to. The destruction was way more than the hulk could cause in a single rampage of his own when not too angry. Soon, he would be relieved of duty and head back to the watchtower...he kind of missed it and being in the cave alone was hela boring.
WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT! WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT! Jarvis alarms went off startling Banner from his short nap. "What now!?" He asked exasperated.
"It appears we have uninvited guests Mr. Banner. Do not worry yourself, the automatic defences will intervene when they reach the marked zone, and I have informed Mr. Stark of our current predicament." Jarvis explained to Banner who nodded in understanding at the CCTV footages Jarvis displayed for him of the intruders appearing to search around a couple of meters from the start of their hide outs property.
Lex Luther and the legion of doom were treading through the thick vegetation of the Amazon forest searching.
Lex was a very smart man. He had managed to pin point the avenger's route towards the Amazon forest and used Poison Ivy to track them down by connecting to the plants, her babies, as she usually called them. Lex found it rather ingenious to set up a base of operations in the Amazon forest because no one will come looking for anything here. Though he was disappointed that he wasn't the one to think of it first.
"How far?" Grodd asked poison ivy whose eyes were closed in meditation and was walking ahead of them. They had left their jet in a clearing far behind them, deciding that they may have a better chance of going unnoticed without the rumbling of a plane or jet.
"It is near." Poison Ivy answered to the groans of the others.
"That is what you said last time." Lex Luther gritted his teeth.
"Because we are near, my babies would never lie to me." She said with conviction. The plants told her the base is near.
This mission was of high value to Lex Luther that is why only a handful of legion members were invited along and Poison Ivy was due to her powers in understanding plant life. Bizzaro and Grodd were the other ones invited along. He had calculated due to the fight with Doomsday, most of them would be at the watchtower since it was pretty obvious they had joined the justice league, and their base would be vulnerable or at least have one member protecting it, thus the need for bizzaro and Grodd and his battle suit. They were to acquire all the data and technology the avengers had and also acquire some of their DNA from the equipment they handled, since all the samples collected from after the fight were unusable...somehow they just disintegrated in the cryogenic chambers used to store them.
The mission thus utilized stealth and discretion among its members which Bizzaro was the complete opposite of but he had no choice than to bring him along for his immense strength in case they encounter difficulties during the mission.
"Turn back! This is a restricted zone! Military actions will be taken if you persist." Jarvis warned them via one of the cameras audio system. The legions were startled at first, looking around for any sign of the police or military which were not visible. Lex luthors suit fired a shot and the camera was destroyed. The others looked at him.
"The military does not have an outpost here...trust me." He told them. Luther had Intel on every military base around the world and the Amazon forest was not on any of his lists. They continued forward.
"You are advised to turn back or I will have to resort to unsavoury ways." Jarvis warned them, then the camera was blown out again by Lex. They continued forward.
"I bet that is just a motion sensing AI programmed to greet guests like that." Grodd joked since his telepathic abilities could not sense any living being around them for miles.
Canons appeared out of the branches and started shooting at them. Jarvis had initiated defence protocols.
The legion of doom took out most of them but others kept on appearing, infuriating them, rendering them except bizzaro unable to move forward with all the blasts aiming for them with extreme precision.
It must be a useful AI for it to accomplish that...aiming for all of us at the same time with great precision, Lex thought.
Bizzaro was destroying as much as he could with his super speed and invulnerability.
"Poison Ivy! Do something!" Lex shouted at her as she was shielded by thick barks of trees.
"You don't have to shout Lex, that's just rude!" She replied in a mocking tone before closing her eyes again meditating. The branches of the trees housing the various canons suddenly attacked and dismantled all of them in seconds.
"Bizzaro loves canons." He shouted after the firing stopped and floated down to them.
"Yes Bizzaro, we love them too." Grodd told him. They knew how bizzaro worked being the opposite of superman and all that. When bizzaro loves something, he actually hates it and when he hates something, he actually loves them. They handled the remaining defence weapons and headed for the cave poison ivy had carved a path to, and saw a man wearing glasses standing in front of the cave waiting for them.
Inside the cave Banner watched how they dismantled the defence weapons quickly. For a minute, he thought superman was with them till he saw the symbol on his chest was facing the opposite side to that of superman. Captain America and Wanda would be arriving anytime soon not to mention Tony and the rest who were no doubt on their way too. He had to stall them as long as possible. No doubt the superman clone, he had made an educated guess on what he was, would punch his way into the cave thus damaging their equipment and compromising their data along the way.
He moved to the entrance and walked out before pressing a red button in his phone and the whole cave went into lockdown mode with Jarvis monitoring everything.
"You have no business being here." Banner shouted at them a couple of meters away. "Turn back and leave!"
Lex studied the man keenly. He was definitely human, according to his vitals. A very calm human despite the situation he was in, which was quite dangerous for him. Any other human in his place would have run by now or started pleading for their life. He did not have any Intel on this guy but by Lex's deductions, he was one of the new hero arrivals because he was currently standing guard at their base.
Stupid of them to leave a defenceless human to guard their base, Lex thought.
"Grodd, get him out of our way." Lex ordered. He had no time for this as they had wasted too much already tredging through the jungle.
"I can't...interesting" Grodd replied back. He had been trying to get into Banners mind for the past few minutes only to be blocked each and every time.
"What do you mean you can't? This is no time for insubordination!" Lex was getting angry and impatient.
"I mean that I cannot get into his head, he is protected somehow," Grodd responded, glaring at Luther. He did not appreciate a being with his intellect being scolded in such manner.
The time is near... He thought.
"Poison Ivy" Lex called out.
Upon hearing her name she commanded one of her babies to tie up Banner.
His reaction time in his human form was significantly enhanced, thanks to his occasional training with Steve and Nat, which he utilized to escape all the weeds reaching for his arms and legs in an attempt to restrain him. Poison Ivy became impatient and sent a few more plants that were too much for Banner, forcing him to be restrained.
"You're quite agile for a human your age," Grodd noticed Banner floating in mid-air and fighting against the bonds.
Banner was able to rip some of them with the strength he gained from the Hulk awakening and landed on his feet on the ground.
"We don't have to do this" Banner spoke up to them. He could feel the hulk threatening to emerge from the distress and danger he seemed to be in, after all, threaten Banner and you threaten the hulk.
"You must be one of the Justice League's wannabe superheroes. I have nothing against you, but this is business, and I know the occupants of this place are probably on their way here right now, so...Bizzaro likes him." He pointed to Banner, and Bizzaro rushed up to him, knocking him to the side and disappearing into the massive trees.
"Bizzaro loves weak humans," He declared after noticing the guy had passed out from his bump.
Banner didn't have time to dodge since the strike was too fast, and he was knocked down into the shrubs and woods that surrounded their base.
Lex Luther was experiencing difficulty hacking the door open, because the system technology and programming was on the same level, if not more sophisticated, than his.
He had to crack this door open because they'd come too far and he'd burned up far too many resources just to figure out the avengers flight paths so he could triangulate their supposed base, and now that he'd found them, no door will stand in his way of victory.
"Just blow the damn thing open," Grodd said, growing restless. He did not argue with Grodd for the first time. Sure, he'd hack it in a couple of hours at the pace he was going, but that was time he didn't have, so he took a step back and fired a missile at the door, which managed to survive with small dents on its surface.
"Bizzaro!" Lex called out to him, pointing to the reinforced door.
"Wait!" Grodd abruptly yelled. "Do you hear that?" He enquired of his colleagues. He also sensed wrath, far too much rage.
Lex and Poison Ivy couldn't hear anything, but Bizzaro heard what Grodd was saying and flew to the location where he had knocked the guy down.
"What is it?" Lex asked Grodd trying to scan the area using his suit but the dense vegetation was a nightmare on his scanners.
Loud punches were heard before Bizzaro flew past the others and crashed into the trees on the other side.
"What the-." Lex's curse was cut short by a tremendous roar, which was followed by heavy footsteps approaching their location, before a gigantic green form emerged from the trees, eyes set on them and anger radiating from every pore on the being.
Lex recognized the being right away. It was the one who was able to defeat Superman. The Incredible Hulk charged at them.
Things just got harder for them.
Hulk took control just as Bizzaro was about to attack Banner, and therefore managed to neutralize most of the force behind the hit.
Then Bizzaro showed up again, looking for trouble. Hulk's strength surprised him; the only other individuals whose strength frightened him were Superman and Wonder woman, but this beast or entity was equally as powerful.
During his moment of contemplation, Hulk punched him across the path they had made, into the base clearing, and back into the trees.
Grodd intercepted the hulk with his modified gorilla strength. He wasn't finished with Lex Luther or his money, so he had no choice but to defend him.
Lex on the other hand, knew that Grodd was oblivious to who the hulk was by the way he moved to intercept him, but he was grateful nonetheless for he would have in no doubt been crushed despite his mechanical suit armour.
Grodd was surprised by the hulks strength, he was barely holding on in this fight. For every punch he landed, the hulk returned in kind, a punch that was ten times stronger and with each punch being stronger than the last. The only other people to hit this hard was superman, Wonder woman and Bizzaro. Telepathic attacks was not an option either since the hulk had adapted or developed an immunity to them from the time Wanda had brainwashed him.
The hulk was putting in minimal effort. The massive gorilla was not as powerful as it appeared. Lex was still trying to blow open the door with a salvo of weaponry, he noticed out of the corner of his eye.
He grabbed Grodd by the neck, suffocated the breath from his lungs, and tossed him at Lex, both colliding against a tree on the side, Grodd passing out briefly and Lex's suit suffering slight damage but remaining active.
Bizzaro hit the monster hard, sending him tumbling through the woods and up into the air before landing some distance away. "Bizzaro love green beast very much!" He yelled angrily before charging after Hulk. Bizzaro hated the fact that hulk took him by surprise and that he actually felt pain from that blow.
Lex Luther got up from the ground, pushing Grodd from him and headed for the door preparing the most powerful weapon in his suit to blast it open. If it fails he will have to make a tactical retreat...they had overstayed their welcome already and back up was bound to arrive.
"I would not do that if I were you!" came a voice from behind. Turning, he saw the man with the America themed shield with a woman beside him. He recognized them from the video clips of the port incident.
"Would you believe me if I told you we were the good guys?" Lex inquired innocently, allowing time to plan his exit route. The presence of these two signified that the remaining members, as well as maybe some Justice League members, were on their way.
Thunderous fists exchanged between Bizzaro and the Hulk could be heard from afar, accompanied by the sound of trees tumbling down.
At the same time, Grodd was regaining consciousness, rising up, and taking a moment to absorb his surroundings, Captain America raised an eyebrow at Lex Luther.
"We need to get out of here" Lex said to Grodd who nodded his head in agreement. "These two are just humans" Lex informed him with mild suspicion who proceeded to cast illusions in Caps and Wanda's mind to give them time to escape. The last person they thought was human turned out to be the green guy, allegedly.
"Where are they!?" Cap asked Wanda as they just vanished before his eyes, the illusions working. Wanda seemed to remember Captain America was affected, before waving her hand in his face clearing the illusion cast upon him. Wanda saw the psychic attack coming and shielded herself from it then helped Cap out.
"Why are they still looking at us?" Lex asked impatient. He was waiting for the illusion to take effect and fly them to their jet.
"It seems that most of these humans are immune to my telepathic powers" Grodd answered irritated. In a single mission he had met three people immune to his telepathic powers, something that had never happened before since they did not seem to be using advanced technology like Luthor to prevent his attacks.
"Great! Just what we needed. Useless imbeciles. Where is Poison Ivy?" Lex asked realizing they were one member down. As soon as he asked for her, branches sprang to life restraining Captain America and Wanda before poison ivy descended from one tree. Apparently she had just been watching the whole show.
"All you had to do was ask" she retorted to them. "And we should probably leave, my babies are telling me Bizzaro is not doing so well..."
Just then Wanda used her telekinesis to cut through the branches restraining them and Cap launched his shield directly at them with Lex blasting it away with his canons.
More plants sprang to life restraining them and this time she used some of the strongest tree barks she could find around.
Wanda was already breaking out of it.
"Let's get out of here" Lex ordered before grabbing Grodd and poison ivy and flying away to their jet. "What about Bizzaro?" Grodd asked after seeing hulk punch him, sending him toppling a short distance.
"He can fly, he will follow us" Lex replied.
Bizzaro charged after the hulk, attacking him in the clearing created by his impact without a second thought.
Hulk started getting up when he was bombarded by heavy powerful punches from bizzaro. Bizzaro's punches were not as powerful as that of superman but he made up for it by punching wildly, ensuring that hulk did not have time to regroup and counter the attack.
The more punches landed on the hulk, the angrier he became and caught Bizzaros right fist in a grip with his powerful left hand. Sure hulk was known to be less intelligent when in battle, but he too knew what bizzaro would do next…it was a no brainer. Bizzaro's left fist came rocketing down to land a blow but was again caught in a grip by hulks powerful right hand.
Bizzaro was momentarily stunned by the level of strength exerted by hulk just to hold him steady while he lifted himself off the ground then towered over him.
For a moment he thought he saw the hulk smirk at him before head-butting him to the ground, further enlarging the crater initially made by the hulk.
In his time as an avenger, the hulk has delivered his fair share of head butts to villains rivalling his strength such as abomination thus his head had adapted and the bones and skin hardened extensively, that he only felt a little sting from the head-butt because he did not apply that much force to the attack.
Bizzaro was a little dazed on the ground but it was quickly fading away, advantages of being a kryptonian clone…he could take almost anything.
Hulk picked him up by his legs and smashed him severally on the ground just like he had done to Loki and Wonder woman, then threw him into the nearby trees with his momentum shattering tree barks as they gave way to him.
Hulk jumped back to the base to deal with the remaining intruders, but a projectile struck him in mid-air, bringing him back to the ground.
It was Bizzaro. Kryptonian physiology was quite useful. While decelerating to the ground, heavy blows were exchanged. The blows were so powerful that they could be heard from kilometres away, breaking any tree they collided with. The massive Amazonian trees with thick barks that had existed for hundreds of years could not compete with the two powerhouses.
Bizzaro was actually straining. Sure, he'd fought Superman and Wonder woman with ease in their many encounters, but he'd never fought a being with the same degree of power as him, and the said person wasn't holding back like Superman and Wonder woman, who knew their strengths and typically balanced them.
The Hulk had no sense of restraint. He assaulted Bizarro as though he were confronting abomination. Bizzaro, after all, could take it.
Because of his enhanced senses, bizzaro was able to spot his companions going for their plane, implying that they had begun (completed) what they did not come for. (everything about bizzaro is contrary).
Looking ahead, he could see the Hulk racing at him again, and he couldn't do another round with him, which would surely take forever because neither of them was getting tired.
Bizzaro's tremendous blast of fire breath caught the behemoth head on, throwing him back to where he charged from and burning off most of the skin and flesh on his chest.
Bizzaro threw everything he had at the monster, knowing full well that no meagre attack would slow him down.
The hulk roared out loud at the intensity of the fire breath but as soon as they were cut off, his skin started healing immediately.
He did not wait to see if the hulk was down or not and took off for the jet. He had to get out of there before he ended up in a prison in the watchtower.
Lex, Grodd and Poison Ivy were already taking off in the jet, which did not worry him because he could just fly after them and join them.
WHAAAACK! A massive tree connected with him in mid-air, sending him tumbling to the ground in a heap, when a projectile, the hulk, dropped on him, even angrier than before, hitting him as well as the tree that struck him down, which was still on top of Bizzaro.
Nothing enraged the Hulk more than someone making him bleed or causing him severe bodily injury, even though he would eventually recover from the ordeal. The tree was quickly broken to splinters, leaving Bizzaro entirely exposed and now the recipient of the punches.
With each strike, the crater grew in size.
Bizzaro was being hammered into the ground, each hit more violent than the last, further confusing him.
The hulk was unfazed by the counter-punches delivered by him. He was far too enraged.
Drops of blood were flowing from his mouth and falling to the ground, but the Hulk kept attacking.
He had tried to use his fire breath to blast the hulk away from him, but it only succeeded for a few seconds before the hulk was on him again, while his rage grew.
Thick branches sprung from the ground and wrapped around Hulk, preventing him from harming Bizzaro further.
"I think that's enough, he got the point." A gruff voice sounded from behind him. Swamp thing emerged from the ground.
Immediately the hulk and bizzaro started fighting, he sensed it because the rate at which trees were falling was abnormal and the green had called out to him too. He arrived after some minutes and quickly took note of the situation, recognizing the villain bizzaro and the hulk who was from another universe.
Yes, the green told him about it. The green knows almost everything.
Hulk struggled against the branches, they were surprisingly strong but hulk was getting angrier. He saw a human like figure standing a few meters away from him and was completely covered in plants, more like his body was made up of plants.
Hulk did not know him and he interrupted hulk while he was in the middle of smashing. At that thought he looked at bizzaro, who was getting up and surveying the scene. Noticing the hulk is restrained and swamp thing standing a few feet away from him, he took off without a second thought.
Even in his twisted mind he knew he would never win against the hulk and swamp thing, especially if they were working together. Every hero and villain knew who swamp thing was and that he defended the Green or nature of the earth.
Watching bizzaro fly off angered the hulk so much that he shattered the binds holding him and attacked swamp thing who merely disappeared into the ground and appeared meters away from the hulk. "We shall meet again under different circumstances. Don't worry about bizzaro, I am sure he has learnt his mistake…if not, he will soon be apprehended." With those words, swamp thing disappeared into the ground just as hulk threw a fallen tree bark at him.
ROOOOAAAAARR Hulk roared in anger and destroyed some few trees before jumping, heading back to the base to check on it.
Themyscira Island
Queen Hippolyta was in her throne room tending to her royal duties comprised of assigning tasks to the amazons. They had all watched the fight between the justice league and doomsday to the end.
Being in a magically hidden island did not mean that they were technologically under developed. Princess Diana had campaigned to her mother the advantages of modernizing some parts and features of the island such as having electricity and a good plumbing system for them to use. They also installed reinforced doors to their treasure caves, adding to the already existing security measures. The amazons welcomed technology and modernization with open arms.
It turned out to be quite useful because they could now be informed on whatever important was happening in the world of men at the same time keep tabs on their princess.
The doomsday situation had them worried for some time and also raised too many questions for them because they saw a hero who looked eerily familiar to the Norse god of thunder, Thor, fighting side by side with the league. They however did not see Princess Diana during the battle and that worried her mother, Queen Hippolyta, whose mind found peace only when Diana turned up after doomsday was already neutralized.
"Hello, mother," Diana said as she floated into the throne room, landing in front of her and bowing to show respect, as she had learned a long time ago.
Queen Hippolyta raised her eyes from the scrolls she was reading to see her daughter standing in front of her. She hadn't seen her since the previous year, when she paid them a visit just after Darkseid attempted to attack Earth. She appeared as lovely as ever and all grown up, despite the fact that she couldn't physically age past her peak age. Diana, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable. Hippolyta could read her child like a book, despite her stern façade that she normally displayed to everyone.
"My child," Hippolyta acknowledged, rising from the throne and approaching her. "Man's world has not been easy on you." She wrapped her arms around her.
"I'm fine, mama... I was missing you and my sisters. The entire doomsday scenario was also one of the reasons I came; I knew you'd be concerned, so I came to explain what was going on." Diana explained to her mother as she hugged her. To the rest of the world, she was a fearless woman, a warrior, and a hero, but to her mother, she was still Diana, the sweet lady who is never quick to anger but always ready to forgive, and who needed a shoulder to cry on at times.
"We have so much to discuss. Go ahead to your room and freshen up then join me and your sisters for dinner. Your room is just like you left it." Hippolyta informed her.
"Thank you mother."
A small figure bumped into her at the door when she was leaving. "Diana! You are back!" The small figure gushed, overjoyed, turning the accidental bump into a full blown hug.
"Yes I am little sister." Diana hugged her back. She had missed her little sister, Cate, so much and as it appears the same could be said for her.
"Now that you are back could you please convince mother to let me join you in when you go back?" Cate was hopeful. Since the modernization of Themyscira, she had watched so many movies and documentaries that she was determined to explore man's world even if for a month or so. All the adventures she could go on. She was also hoping to attend one of the schools for a while, just to know what it was like to live a normal life away from the island.
"I do not think now is the best time for that, with all that happened just days before." Diana started explaining to her but reconsidered when she saw the sadness and disappointment on her face. "But since you have been so patient I will ask mother so that you may accompany me when I return for a month or so then you can return."
"You would do that for me?" she asked with a huge smile on her face.
"Yes I would do that and more…you are my sister." Cate hugged her so tight that if she weren't incredible durable she would definitely get couple of broken ribs.
Cate was turning 19 in a few months and her abilities had started manifesting, though at a slower pace compared to when Diana's had manifested. Diana knew she was grown and could make decisions on her own and if their mother continued denying her request to go to the mainland, she might just stop requesting much like Diana had done.
"Thank you so much. Come, let me escort you to your room while you tell me everything that has happened." Cate told her excitedly dragging her along the corridors towards her room.
She had really missed her sister. Not that that the Amazons were not her sisters but she missed her biological sister. One can only say so much when talking to her other sisters because they were bound to obey her mother and that would be unfortunate for her if she were to tell them her secrets.
"She doesn't give up…" Queen Hippolyta sighed, having overheard their conversation. She prepared herself, for the next hours would definitely drain her with both her daughters fighting for the same thing and Hera knows they could be quite determined if they set their minds to something.
Amazon forest
Back at the cave, Thor, Black widow, Hawkeye and Iron man had arrived. Jarvis had managed to lock down the cave and prevent Lex from hacking into their system while the rest of the avengers were on their way. The hulk had turned back to banner when he found Cap and Wanda assessing the damage and joined them. The question on everyone's mind was how they had been tracked down to the jungle.
"All systems integrity at 100%" Jarvis informed via the speaker. "That is Lex Luther." Tony said pointing at the screen replaying the CCTV footage of the attempted breach. "Poison Ivy, Bizzaro and Grodd"
"How did they locate our base?" Natasha wondered out loud since Jarvis usually provided different untraceable routes every time any of them needed to report there.
"The same way I did." A new voice added from inside the room making everyone to turn around.
Batman stood there watching the CCTV footage. Contrary to their belief that no one except Ben knew where their base was... batman had traced the location the third day after the avengers and the justice league joined forces. He had to actually buy two more satellites but it was all worth it seeing their surprised faces.
"Lex Luthor is a very smart and resourceful man. It would be wise not to underestimate him or any of the villains of this earth." Batman further explained to the group.
"How did you find it?" Tony whose face was visible from the faceplate disengaging for a moment asked. He was angry and curious of how they had managed to do just that.
"What's important is that you need to scrub this place and either find a new base which will be traced and located eventually or just shift to the watchtower." Batman spoke the words most of them were thinking but did not want to voice them. Silence followed each deep in thought.
Space
Ben and Green Lantern had been in space for what felt like days. They raced each other once, and Ben won in his Asgardian form, although Hal blamed the loss on the dead weight he was dragging behind him. Because of their speed, the people on every planet and space ship they passed assumed they were two shooting stars.
Ben adored his asgardian form. It was tremendously powerful. More powerful than Supreme, but Ben had not yet discovered all of his abilities and skills. He didn't have Miljonir or any other weapon like Thor, but he did observe that his appearance was similar to Thor's but with greater access to the powers. Though he could not think of a name to call himself.
I must be losing my touch, he thought.
Soon they arrived in OA, met by fellow green lanterns in OA's airspace.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Ted asked, offended that Hal brought an unwelcomed human guest in their headquarters without checking in with them.
Hal being Hal replied, "Well if you must know, this is an associate of mine in the justice league" he gestured to Ben "and this is Doomsday" he pointed to the beast he was dragging behind.
"We know who doomsday is but we were not informed you would be coming with someone else." Ted insisted clearly displeased about the issue.
"This universe has a funny way of welcoming guests." Ben spoke out, staring at Hal and then the other lanterns. To be honest, he wasn't scared of them; Humungasor could devour them all for breakfast, but all he wanted was to meet the guardians, so he kept his cool.
When Ben said those words, Ted's ring lit up and a hologram of one of the guardians appeared, forcing everyone to stand at attention out of respect.
"Apologies for the delay…we made a calculative guess that he being a lantern would be enough for passage but it seems we were wrong. Ted, please escort the guests down. We have a lot to discuss." The transmission cut off. Glaring at Ben and Hal, he gestured for them to follow which they did.
Ben was transfixed. The majority of OA's surface was green in colour. The planet was unquestionably highly sophisticated, as most building designs were distinctive and included a variety of technological elements. Ben was reminded of Azmuth's home planet, Galvan Prime.
Trixx was analysing everything Ben looked at.
Ted and Hal were blasting ahead, with Ben following close behind.
This world is nearly as advanced as Galvan Prime. Trixx communicated with Ben telepathically.
I know right! Ben replied excitedly. Have you managed to get a feel of the place? Ben asked knowing Trixx understood what he meant.
Unfortunately No. They have patched up and secured every database I can detect, Trixx explained.
Meaning you cannot get access to any of them? Ben asked dumbfounded. It was the first time Trixx was unable to infiltrate a system.
That is not what I meant, came her monotone voice. It will take a few minutes to tap into their system but in doing so, the breech will be detected. They have set up extensive protocols and countermeasures since our last attempt. Trixx further explained while displaying for Ben all that she was talking about. Ben understood what she was saying. Since the omnitrix upgrade, Ben's intelligence was steadily increasing. He assumed that particular development was because of the omnitrix. Got it.
Hal and Ted took Ben down to a big structure designed like a green lanterns ring. It featured massive heavy doors that led to one of the numerous tight tunnels they flew through. Trixx was documenting every element of this planet through Ben's HUD eyes and tracking every step they went at the same time. After floating for a while, they arrived in a vast chamber with one cell in the centre and various green lanterns in lab coats hovering around, leading them to believe they were scientists.
The moment they stepped into the room all movement seized and eyes stared at Ben and Doomsday curiously. "Pardon them… it is not every day they see Apokolips most treasured weapon and the person who helped stop it" one guardian appeared beside them in hologram form.
The guardian extended his hand towards doomsday and the circular construct encasing it detached from Hals ring with him controlling it.
COOL, Ben thought, impressed of the guardians control over the lantern core.
The guardian levitated doomsday into the holding cell in the middle of the room, opened it and placed it inside before sealing it again. It almost looked like the cell Upgrade had modified in the watchtower to be able to hold doomsday but this particular one seemed to be powered by the one and only central battery responsible for powering up all the rings in existence according to Trixx.
Trixx had scanned and analysed the holding cell. The only difference between this and the one in the watchtower was the source of power maintaining it. The watchtower had a limited supply of power that would eventually give out when exhausted or tampered with thus freeing doomsday but this one had an unlimited and very powerful power source which was guaranteed to never give out in case of anything, thus the cell would hold it for an indefinite amount of time even if it is awake but he had to be sure.
"Are you sure this will hold it?" Ben asked.
"Yes it will. As I am sure you already know or figured out, this is just a slightly adjusted version of the one you modified in the watchtower." The guardian answered him then started floating away, back in the direction they came from.
"You do not have to worry about it anymore. Doomsday will be taken care off. We have much to discuss." The guardian assured Ben as he led them out and the scientists getting back to work focusing on doomsday as the subject. They were instructed to figure out what made doomsday tick and if they can change its programming not to attack life forms since it is somehow immortal through evolution and adaptation. Hal and Ben followed the guardian to where they would meet his colleagues while Ted was dismissed.
In OA, only the guardians and Hal knew the true potential of the omnitrix and the Guardians wanted to keep it that way, lest news of its existence travel to various sectors of the various green lanterns thus attracting whoever craved power to earth.
Sector 13121
Thanos was seated on his throne looking over the information Nebula managed to collect. He had studied them for days including the green lantern corps, who he knew would cause some kind of trouble for him in the future.
He was extremely smart and intelligent thus when he learned of a weapon powered by a persons will, he had to acquire and possibly harness its power. All the simulations he had done with his children to figure out what made the ring work was a total failure for his great knowledge and intelligence could not help him. Since his arrival to this universe he had conquered two planets and planning a third conquest that would hopefully lure a green lantern to the said planet where a trap was already set for him or her.
He would conquer this universe bit by bit and continue his crusade but this time with the Anti Life Equation which he would no doubt find even if he had to destroy every solar system in this universe or rip it from Darkseid's dead body to acquire it.
"Father, the armada is ready and waiting for your command." Gamora informed her father coming into throne room and bowing before him.
"Good… I take it you shall not fail me." He had devised a plan that would conquer another planet with a large population intending to draw out one green lantern. The black order would attack the planet and subdue any lantern that would appear.
"I will not fail you father." Gamora assured him. Of all of Thanos children and forces, she was the most skilled and very dangerous. She was the first member of the black order followed by Nebula who joined them a few years later. Thanos personally trained her in using every known weapon and all the skills needed to become the most feared assassin in their universe, though Ebony Maw was the one who acted as their leader in Thanos' absence because neither Nebula nor Gamora were interested in that position.
She walked out heading to the waiting space ships ready to depart and conquer the chosen planet.
Thanos looked on… his plan coming along without any hitch. He grinned.
Amazon forest
Back at the cave the stare down continued between batman and the avengers. He was not wrong about their base of operations being compromised, but they had not considered fully operating from the watchtower.
"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Wanda asked batman. "Most of them do not fully trust us yet." She added. Everyone knew what she meant by that statement, she had used her abilities on some of the member's minds and knew some of their thoughts.
"If it wasn't then I would not have considered and offered it you" batman simply replied. He had taken time to think this through and the only move remaining would be to invite them to the watchtower. Otherwise their next base would also be discovered eventually and Lex would be more prepared unlike this minor attack.
Earlier, after Ben and Hal left for OA, he had discreetly travelled to the amazon to their base where he had calculated the distance and time it took them to arrive to certain places thus narrowing down their location. He arrived when Banner was confronting them but stayed in the shadows to observe how the situation would be handled. He was actually impressed.
"Thank you for the offer, we accept." Captain America agreed much to Iron man's dismay. He had already tasked Jarvis to find them a suitable location for their next base.
"What! All our operations would be exposed to them." He argued back.
"It is not like they are a secret just like you tapped into our network." Batman replied surprising him.
"OH" was iron man's reply. He thought it was not detected.
Black widow had been observing and could see the doubts in her team mates faces. She decided to intervene. "What if I or Hawkeye or even Iron man were the one on duty? They have a superman or whatever the hell he is." She spoke up silencing everyone in the room by the weight behind the words, even Tony who always had a comeback to everything. None of them except Thor, Banner and possibly Wanda would have been able to fend them off and by the looks of the footages, Bizzaro appeared to be just as strong as superman.
"We will make the necessary arrangements." Captain America told batman then looked at his team mates who nodded in confirmation that they approve. Batman nodded at them.
"How did you get in…?" Iron man turned to face batman but cut short his sentence when the dark knight had vanished into the shadows in seconds when they had started discussing among themselves.
"Does he really not have powers?" Hawkeye asked impressed.
Themyscira
After so many rounds of questions from Cate, Diana managed to freshen up and was heading to the queens personal dining area. Usually the amazons ate together in the great dining hall but this was one of the few times an exception was made because of her daughter's brief return. Arriving at the queen's door, the two guards posted in front of it opened for her and she walked in.
Queen Hippolyta and Cate were seated making small talk waiting for her.
On the dining table was an assortment of food and candles burning brightly while dancing to the gentle strokes of the wind. The meal was to be taken on the balcony under the star lit sky. The chef had outdone herself. Diana could not remember the last time she ate to her fill because in man's world etiquette dictated large portions of food for yourself was frowned upon.
"Sorry for the delay mother, I had to stop and catch up with my sisters on the way here." Diana apologized for her tardiness.
"No need for an apology dear." Hippolyta kindly smiled then gestured to the seat.
They thanked their gods for the meal and started serving the food. "So dear, what happened to doomsday?" she had to know since doomsday roaming the earth would also affect them lest it ran out of living beings to kill and focus its sight to Themyscira.
Diana proceeded to give them a recount of all that happened, including the avengers and ben. Since it was only her mother and sister, she also told them about Thor and the omnitrix.
"So, the legendary Thor Odinson, prince of Arsgard is walking in our midst… I knew that hero looked familiar." Hippolyta stated amazed and hopeful that maybe all the tales they were taught about had some actual truth to it, though Thors appearance in their statues and drawings were slightly different from the real god of thunder.
"How can a watch do all that?" Cate asked. She had been trying to wrap her mind on all the things the omnitrix could do and how it could allow a person to change to different species each with its own abilities.
"That is a question we all ask ourselves." Diana answered her sister. She was always too curious. Since her birth Cate had explored every inch of Themyscira and its surrounding waters. It became a common occurrence to meet her in restricted areas or places she had no business being there. "I got lost" was her go to excuse even though no one believed it. For a moment Diana regretted discussing the Ben situation in front of her but it soon faded as she would have eventually found out from her mother.
"Mom can I go with Diana for a few days? Pleeeaaasssee" Cate pleaded. Diana just stared on then continued eating. She had unintentionally added fuel to the fire that could not be put out given the new information received.
"We already talked about this." Hippolyta sighed knowing exactly how this conversation would turn out.
"But Diana already agreed I can stay with her during the visit." Cate whined steering away from her sisters what the hell gaze. Diana had just been used her as a scape goat.
"Cate you are not ready for the mainland yet, you are barely old enough!" her mother chided.
"I am turning 19 in a few months!" Cate frowned. She hated the way the amazons still treated her like a child.
Diana silently observed. Although she was over a thousand years old, she had been in the same predicament like her sister some years ago. Her mother had refused to let her go to help mankind from the invasion making her resort to stealing Athenas armour plus the lasso of truth and sneaking off Themyscira without approval. Her mother eventually accepted when she noticed her sticking to her decision. She had a feeling if not allowed, Cate would no doubt repeat what she had done with the difference being that she did not have a thousand plus years of training and her abilities were not fully developed like hers was.
Noticing the frustration in both their tones she decided to intervene. "Cate, you should listen to mother… she only wants what is best for you" she spoke up silencing the two.
"But-" Cate started protesting only to be silenced.
"I am not done"
"Mother, I am sure Cate is capable of handling herself and she is too curious about the mainland." Diana said to her mother who did not miss the underlying meaning in the sentence. That was the same thing Hippolyta had feared, Cate running off in the middle of the night to the main land just like her sister had done. The moment Diana had returned she knew it was inevitable since the two sisters were always thick as thieves and she would have eventually had to let Cate go explore the main land sooner or later even if it was in fifty or a thousand years. She was so scared of losing her daughters to the ways of man but Diana had proved that it would never happen and that she taught her daughters well.
"Okay. She can go with you." She finally agreed much to Cate happiness. "But only for two months then you come back" her conditions were to be met at all costs.
"I will mother." Cate happily agreed and got up from her chair before hugging her mother who extended one arm from her sitting position to hug her back, smiling. "Thank you Thank you so much… It's happening! I have a lot of packing to do!" with that she ran out of the room leaving both her mother and sister chuckling.
"What else is troubling you my dear?" Hippolyta asked Diana. She knew something was troubling her and had an idea of what. If there was anything the queen prided herself in was paying attention to detail.
"Is it that obvious?" Diana asked still astonished on how her mother could read her like a book.
"I am your mother" that statement alone was enough for Diana to yield. "Since the arrival of the avengers… I have a strange feeling" Diana tried explaining, she was confused to what she was feeling too.
"Is this about the Asgardian?" Hippolyta decided to hit the nail in the head. Earlier when she was talking about the avengers she couldn't help but notice how her daughter subtly lit up when mentioning Thors achievement in battling doomsday. She also couldn't forget about her fling with Zeus that resulted in both of her daughter's birth.
"What! No!" Diana exclaimed. Hippolyta asked again. "What does this have to do with him!?" she asked in alarm clearly not getting what her mother was hinting at.
"Nothing child. I was merely asking if he is giving the justice league trouble with him being a god and all that." Hippolyta's heart did not miss a heartbeat when she lied. Benefits of living thousands of years, you learned to achieve various tasks fluently. It was not her place to tell Diana what was going on… for her to be able to succeed her for the throne in the future, she had to figure it out herself just like she did.
"No mother, most of the justice league don't even know he is a god. They think he has powers like shazam. Only the avengers, his team mates, believe that he is a god. He is so respectful and kind and strong and…" Diana trailed off when she noticed her mother smiling. "What?" she asked wiping her mouth self-conscious about food getting stuck to her teeth or her lips?
"It's just that you never talked about any of your teammates like that...maybe that kryptonian but it wasn't this extensive." She informed her daughter who seemed deep in thought for a second or two.
"Yes because It is not every day I get to meet a god" she replied. "I wonder if Zeus can lift Miljonir" the thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"I read about Miljonir some time back. So it is true that only he and whoever is deemed worthy by can lift it." She stated rather than asked.
"Yes it is true. Doomsday tried lifting it to no avail yet he is almost as strong as superman if not more." Diana answered.
"What about that Ben and the watch? What was it called again? Omnimatrix?" She tried pronouncing it again.
"The Omnitrix" Diana corrected her mother.
"Are you sure you can trust him?" Hippolyta asked her daughter. According to what Diana explained about the watch, its power rivalled that of the green lanterns ring, and with great power comes great responsibility. Something taught to her by her mother.
"Yes we can mother… at the very least he has not given us a reason to doubt his intentions."
The two of them caught up and discussed various issues from how the island was fairing on with the new technological advancements to Diana's various missions with the league and her life, into the wee hours of the morning before Diana retired to her bed. The next day she would have to fly back with Cate accompanying her.
"I know you're there" Hippolyta called out into the vast space of her chambers. In her long existence she had gained the sense to know if a god was nearby whether disguised or not. Out of thin air, Ares materialized in front of her.
"Someone has been practicing their skills" he mocked.
"What do you want Ares!?" Hippolyta demanded. The two of them never really got along since Ares thought it was unfair for Hera, his mother, to gift the amazons with eternal life. He was also jealous of Princess Diana because everyone in Olympus loved her.
"So it is true that Thor is with us." Ares facial expression changed to seriousness.
"Apparently so. Now get out. I have a lot of things to do!" Hippolyta demanded before she thought of something.
"Cate will confirm his existence when she goes to the mainland with Diana tomorrow." She supplied Ares with that detail hoping to know just how much he had heard.
"What? Already tired of having daughters around that you are now sending them to be corrupted by the ways of men?" Ares taunted and smirked when he heard Hippolyta's breathing hitch. He had struck a nerve.
"Leave! Or I will pray to Hera right now" She threatened him. She had breathed a sigh of relief when she figured he had not heard everything she had discussed with her daughter but Ares thought it was her getting angry and she let him believe that. She also knew for a fact that Zeus or Hera did not know he was in Themyscira and he preferred it like that. "Interesting… we'll be seeing each other again soon queen..." Ares declared and did a mock bow before vanishing. He had a lot of scheming to do.
"Arrogant bastard!" Hippolyta cursed before entering her bathroom to freshen herself up for bed. A well-rested queen is a productive queen. Her mother once told her that.
OA
The guardian led Ben and Hal to a building ten times taller than earth's tallest skyscraper. The guardian's hologram waved his hand and the huge heavy doors gave way, surprising Ben.
Trixx, how is he able to do that in hologram form? Ben mentally asked Trixx who was analysing everything Ben set his eyes on as well as documenting every path they took.
The guardians have integrated themselves with most of this planet and every building you see. My sensors have tagged a large amount of telepathic energy radiating from the air. Thus meaning their abilities are far superior to that of Martian man hunter. Energy readings depict the presence of a power source more powerful than a nuclear reactor and to some extent all power sources on earth. I have synced all the data I possess about OA and that power source is the Green Lanterns main battery. It powers every ring in every part of the galaxy much like the omnitrix has the Codon stream for storing alien DNA but I evolved past that and store my data digitally. Trixx explained to Ben pausing her analysis of the surroundings to show Ben the readings her sensors picked up. The battery was producing energy that could power up the earth indefinitely.
Cool… where are we headed? Ben asked her again. He hated being kept in the dark or not having control of a situation.
I am afraid I am unable to determine that as they have gone through extreme measures to negate my sensors, Trixx answered honestly.
Great! They are more paranoid than the Forever Knights! I guess there is only one way to find out. He concluded and continued flying following them through in the building.
"You will have to forgive the security measures we had to adapt for your arrival. Your intention towards this universe is still unclear to us and from what we have seen and experienced in regards to the Omnitrix calls for the extra security features." The guardian explained for he knew that by now Ben had attempted to collect data on them and since they didn't detect any forceful intrusions in their system he decided otherwise on hacking them.
"No worries" Ben dismissed not surprised they knew the name of the omnitrix, after all they are like the superior lords of information in this universe much like the plumbers in their universe.
The guardian nodded.
"What does he mean by experienced?" Hal asked coming to fly beside Ben leaving the guardian to lead.
"Oh, I almost hacked their system database." Ben shrugged.
"WHAT? When!?" Hal asked surprised then slightly angry.
"Hey! To be fair they started hacking the watchtower first. I only returned the favour." Ben defended himself.
"I believe your friend speaks the truth," the guardian acknowledged.
"Wait… that whole system shut down alarm thing was you hacking our system?" Hal asked putting the pieces together.
"Yeah… sorry. I have a feeling I should have mentioned it earlier…"
"You think!" Hal chided angrily but the guardian interrupted before they could continue with their squabble.
"The others await us" the guardian called out before waving his hand and two huge sets of doors opened into a dark room with more holograms of guardians floating in the middle of the room. The room was HUGE.
"Woah!" Hal exclaimed.
"What do you mean wow? Have you not been here before?" Ben asked him seeing he was just as mesmerized as he was. The room felt like he was in Alien X subconscious talking to them.
"Actually none of us are allowed in here. This is my first time." Hal unwillingly responded not wanting Ben to know he was the reason he had been invited in the first place. Since he was their mutual acquaintance.