Mount Justice was beginning to get a bit crowded.

Such a feat should have been impossible for such a large mountain base, but with one atlantean, one speedster, a cyclops, a sort of god, a former assassin, a mutated former villain, a weird, spherical sentient machine the size of a wrecking ball, 4 aliens clone or otherwise, two mutant crocodiles, a dozen pregnant mares preparing to give birth, a hellhound and her newfound pack of two dozen mutated wolves… things were getting slightly hectic.

The wolves were easy enough to handle, Mrs. O'Leary was kind enough to lead the pack into the forests outside, though Percy worried for the local ecosystem.

The crocodiles soon found residence in the indoor swimming pool, which thankfully had not seen much use on account of the beach being right outside. Waylon took much delight in setting it up to be an ideal habitat for his "little fellas", though he had to order his supplies via the League's personal network as he still wasn't cleared to go out on his own.

For the most part the pool was avoided, though a few came to "play" from time to time. Tyson jumped right in with Waylon to play wrestle with the gargantuan lizards. Shazam was tentative at first, seeming oddly frightened of the beasts though they likely posed no threat to the man. Eventually however he joined in on the fun.

When Jackson wasn't playing with Wolf, the former alpha of the pack, whom he had taken a shining to, he was sparring. After his victory with the gordanians, he had gotten a bit obsessed with improving his band to hand, and luckily for him, had plenty of friends to test himself against. Tyson was almost always happy to go a few rounds, and his sheer strength, yet to be surpassed by anyone in the cave, made him a worthy challenge, but sometimes he wanted a more even fight.

On those occasions, either M'gann or Kori were his best bets. M'gann was only slightly stronger than him as young as she was, though as she aged she'd likely creep closer and closer to Kara's strength levels, as Martian's were extremely broken.

As she was, her shape shifting abilities provided a unique challenge for him. Getting into grapples with her were about as treacherous as trying to wrestle clay face, so he had to keep his distance and focus on quick in and out attacks.

The fact that she was often hovering high above him didn't make it any easier.

His most troublesome sparring partner, without a doubt, was Kori. The fiery princess was a master combatant, proficient in many of her home worlds martial arts. Unfortunately for Jackson, the majority of the style revolves around flight,, but she was still able to teach him a few things, and black canary happily taught them both her own techniques.

It soon became that Koriand'r was an avid fan of the blonde siren. Many days Jackson would ask Canary for extra lessons after class, which the mentor acquiesced to easily, pleased with his new attitude, and Kori would be right beside him eager to learn something new.

Jackson was currently facing off against the Tamaranean once again, the pair facing off at ground level, no powers allowed. They did this every once in a while, both to shake things up and even the fight a bit for Jackson. Not that he minded constantly having to face off with fliers, and being constantly reminded of his own shortcomings. Not at all.

At first it seemed he might pull off another win, not that anyone was keeping score. (He had 12 and she had 20) the pair had begun with a few jabs to test the waters, before Jackson took the initiative and used his enhanced speed to break into her guard and hook his leg under hers.

With no small effort, he twisted around, dragging the surprised princess with him, and sending her onto her back with an "oomph."

He knew better than to wait for her to recover, he had made that mistake too many times in the past. . Instead he straddled her prone form and went to grab her wrists. He did expect her to buck he'd hips violently and send him flying over her head.

"I will not be subdued so easily" she taunted causing him to tsk in annoyance

"What did I say about the banter?"

Kori smirked and rolled her eyes, "Honestly, I know you're young but you've been in enough fights by now to know that no one will abide your no-talking-while-fighting rule. You need to come to terms with—"

"Not falling for it!" He snarled as he rushed her again. She spit an alien swear before going on the defensive. She dodged what she could and blocked what she couldn't, though when facing someone like Superboy, blocking was dangerous gamble. Luckily for the alien princess, her strength was just enough to deflect his right cross and send him momentarily off balance, which she used to twist around and drove her elbow down on the small of his back.

Rather than go shooting into the floor like a meteor, Jackson took the strike with a pained grunt as he braved himself with his arms, before pushing himself up into a spin, planning to deliver an elbow strike of his own.

Unfortunately, as his elbow was inches from her face, her green eyes lit up in panic, and her hand soon followed suit.

Jackson snarled in pain as a green enters bolt send him flying across the floor, before he rolled to a stop. "What the hell! I thought we said no powers!"

Koriand'r looked horrified, "I am most sorry frie— I mean Jackson.,: it seems I panicked a bit. You took me by surprise."

"What about the other 50 times! It's a fight Kori it's gonna happen!" He felt a fire in his chest as he roared at the girl, but it was completely extinguished by the crestfallen look on her orange face.

" I am most apologetic…"

Running a hand through his hair, Jackson spoke softer this time, "It's… it's fine. I'm sorry for yelling, I'm still… working on my temper."

Kori still looked upset, "It is the not-okay. I broke the rules of the spar and injured you in the process."

"You reacted instinctively." He countered, "That's like, half of what fighting is. Maybe if wasn't fair of me to suggest these rules. Your powers are a part of you, I shouldn't have asked you to hold back just because I can't—"

"That is not true!" Kori cut him off, "Yes instinct is a part of fighting but control is too, and I failed in this regard. To speak of the truth, I haven't sparred with someone as powerful as you before I came to earth. It is sometimes… overwhelming."

Jackson frowned, "Should I… hold back more?"

This seemed to panic Kori even more, "No! I mean it in a positive way like… oh globgor how would the humans say it… I was "caught up in the moment". I deeply enjoy our spars, especially because you do not hold back against me. Back on Tameran, no one would dare fight me so ferociously, being of the royal family, so you are… a welcome change of pace."

"Oh, uhhh… well good then. All the same maybe I should ask Tyson for some fire proof shirts cause uh," he gestured to the smoldering ruins of his t-shirt, "at this rate I might as well start fighting shirtless."

Instead of laughing at his, admittedly, weak attempt at humor, Kori had a thoughtful look on her face, and Jackson felt a strange shift in the room, l "Hmm, I would not mind, though it might get a bit distracting..:"

"Distracting?"

"Indeed, you have a very attractive body after all."

Jackson felt a heat in his cheeks that he didn't recognize, "Uh… what?"

Kori tilted her head in such a way that only made the heat worse, "Well I might find myself staring at your torso and lose focus while we are fighting. It is a common if not cheap tactic where I'm from, it is quite unsportsmanlike."

Jackson's head was whirling but he forced his voice to remain even, "You're saying you find my body… attractive? Even though we're different species?"

She seemed deep in thought now and absentmindedly waved him off, "Yes of course, and your face…maybe it could be a fruitful new training exercise! A way to train our focus as well as our combat prowess. I'd have to take my top off as well to make it even…"

"Take your top off?!" Jackson exclaimed

"Now? Well if you insist."

Time seemed to slow down for Jackson as his sparring partner grabbed the hem of her purple top and began pulling it up. How did it come to this? Am I being punked?

As the bottom of something soft, orange and round can't into view he decided that he wasn't and quickly rushed forward to grab her wrists, "'Hey! Woah! That's not what I meant!"

Kori looked and seemed to finally notice his flushed face and panicked expression. "Issomething the matter Jackson?"

"You're taking your clothes off in public!"

"We are not in public, we are in Mount Justice."

"In front of a complete stranger!"

"Stranger? I've known you for almost an entire earth month, I'd hardly call you a stranger."

"W-well… I mean… it's weird!"

A hurt look crossed over her face, "You find my body weird?"

"No! You're hot! I mean not! What I mean is…" he took a deep breath, "Sorry, poor choice of words. I meant, it's not appropriate"

Understanding seemed to dawn on Kori then, "Is this an Earth thing?"

She lowered her shirt, which did wonders for Jackson's heart rate. "Yeah, well, for the most part . There are some small countries and indigenous tribes out there who practice different customs, but as a general of thumb, nudity is pretty much frowned upon unless you're in private with someone you're close with, or in designated location like …ahem… nude beaches."

Kori tilted her head again, and Jackson had to force himself not to watch her bright red hair fall over her shoulder, "I see… on my planet we have a similar belief, though our clothing was often far less constricting than what I've seen here, likely because tamaraneans draw energy from exposure to sunlight. Though it is not entirely uncommon to see some people wander around free of even those burdens. They are what you might call 'extroverts'."

That was an image Jackson really didn't need, "Uh, right well. Like I said, that's no good here. You could even get arrested for it, indecent exposure and all…"

"How does one judge whether the exposure is decent or not?"

Jackson opened his mouth then closed it, then opened it again, "honestly, I'm not sure. I mostly have my telepathic education to go on, but from what I can tell it depends heavily on the situation and who is involved. Like when you go to the beach, you can wear a lot less than usual, bikinis and such. Also like I said there are the… Uh … nude beaches for those who are more comfortable with it.

"I see… we are not at the beach, and yet you seem comfortable now with your torso exposed to me, yet you do not feel comfortable with me doing the same?"

Jackson gulped, "It's uh… it's different."

"Yes?"

"I'm a guy."

"Yes?"

"And you're a girl!"

"Yes?"

Jackson found himself pinching his nose in exasperation, "Honestly Kori you might be better off asking one of the other team members this, they have more…life experience, and the more I try to explain it, the less I feel like I understand it."

"Alright." She responded with a slight giggle. Before growing pensive, "You said that it is appropriate in the company of those you are close with. Do you mean to say you do not feel we are close."

Jackson shifted uncomfortably, "Well, I'd say we're close as friends, considering how hard we hit each other we have to be. I was talking about a different kind of close."

Before he realized it, she was in his space, her body nearly pressed against him, and her breath hot on his Adam's apple, "Like this kind of close?"

Jackson began to sweat, which usually didn't happen unless he ran 10,000 miles or he was inside a volcano, "N-No I mean… you know… intimate.

A warm hand pressed itself flat on his bare chest, and a whisper hissed next to his ear, "This feels pretty intimate to me."

Jackson was going to correct her one more time, though he wasn't sure if he would actually get the words out. Luckily he was saved by the sound of the door sliding open behind him. "Hey Jack—woah! Am I interrupting something here?"

Relief flooded his body as he spun around to see his sort-of-cousin Kara leaning against the doorframe with an amused expression on her face.

"No!/Yes."

The two answers caused Karas eyebrow to arch even further, if such a thing were possible.

Jackson looked between the two girls for a moment before shaking his head clear, "We…ahem…we just finished up a spar."

Karas smirk turned devilish, "Yeah I bet you did. That why you're half naked?"

Before he could snarl a response, Kori beat him to it, "A stray star bolt unfortunately. Is there anything we can help you with friend-Kara?" Her voice was sweeter than usual, though Jackson couldn't pin down why.

Chuckling to herself, Kara pointed to Jackson, "I have something to discuss with Baby brother here. Family business, you understand right?"

The two seemed to have a staring contest for a moment before Kori responded, "Of course. Family comes first. I will leave you to it." She glanced at Jackson, "Perhaps we may continue our discussion at a later time?"

Jackson swallows, "Uh… we can? But again, one of the actual humans in the team might be better suited—" he was cut off by a finger to his lips.

"I think you're. underestimating yourself. Farewell." With that she gracefully spun away and exited past Kara, who gave her a sardonic salute as she passed, before grinning dangerously at Jackson.

He felt himself grow defensive, "What?"

"Sparring huh?"

He growled at her, "It was just a misunderstanding, alien culture and all. What's with "baby brother"?"

Kara gave him a look of: I'll-let-you-off-the-hook-for-now, before responding, "Well you're practically a baby, and I've always wanted a little brother! Plus, since someone isn't filling that role…" at the look on his face she quickly added, "and he is not a part of this by the way, at least not directly..."

"What else could 'family business' mean for me?" Jackson huffed.

A disappointed look flashed over her face, "He really hasn't told you anything has he? Why did you choose Kent as your last name?"

Jackson shrugged, "it was M'gann's idea. She suggested Connor Kent, but I altered it a bit because…"

Kara waggled her eyebrows as she poked him in the side, "Because you have a man crush on Percy?"

He swatted her hand away in frustration, "Shut up! It's not like that! I just… he's the one who's done the most for me okay! He has my back! I just… I wanted to let him know I have his… or something…"

"Sweet Rao…" he turned to see her barely holding back tears, "You really are adorable sometimes you know that? I mean most of the time it's hidden under a shield of rudeness and cold personality but it's there! I wonder if there's a word for that?"

There was, one of the many cursed words the Japanese language had to offer, but Jackson would spend a day locked in a kryptonite cell before he agreed to being labeled a tsundere.

"Get. To. The. Point." He gritted out.

Seriousness shrouded Karas features now, "Okay well. I've been talking to some people, all good things! But they've recently made it clear that they… they want to meet you. If you're willing."

Scrunching his face in confusion, Jackson responded, "Who?"

"Superman's parents. His human ones."

(0o0)

"So these people found an alien baby and just… decided to keep it? Didn't wonder if it was dangerous or anything?"

Kara rolled her eyes as the pair made their way down the tunnel to the cavern docks. "It's called human decency Jackson, ever heard of it?"

"Where did you hear it? Wouldn't have been kryptonian decency back on your planet?"

Before she could respond they emerged into the now well-lit cavern. It seemed that someone had taken the time to attach light fixtures to the walls and ceiling. What halted their conversation however, was the cacophony of banging and grinding noises coming from the lower decks of the Wise Girl, which floated next to the bare bones of a new dock.

Kara looked to Jackson in confusion, "Shouldn't we have heard that sooner?"

Jackson stepped back behind the threshold again, and marveled as the noise quieted, only to return as he stepped through again. "Huh, Tyson must've soundproofed it. Good work big guy."

"I don't think that's how soundproofing works.." Kara said as they made their way down to the ship.

Jackson scoffed, "I don't think Tyson really cares."

They jumped/flew onto the ship before taking the stairs to the lower decks. There they found Tyson and Percy huddled around a strange panel they seemingly affixed to the wooden hull.

Tyson was taking the lead in tinkering while Percy watched with interest and handed over tools when needed, the two appeared deep in conversation until they noticed the newcomers presence.

"Hey guys!" Percy greeted, he was clad in worn out jeans and thoroughly greased up white t shirt, while Tyson was clad in his favored jumpsuit, "What brings you down here?"

"We just wanted to let you know we're headed out for a bit," Kara answered, "We told Shazam already but your team leader and… well We just didn't want you to worry."

Percy smiled at them, "I appreciate it."

"What are you guys working on?" Jackson asked, only a little irked as he couldn't remember a project that Tyson didn't ask for his help on. Sure he declined half the time but…

"We're giving the old girl a few upgrades," Percy answered as he patted the hull lovingly, "I promised Tyson after I finished restoring her that we'd work on a few tactical upgrades together."

"Sorry I didn't invite you," Tyson said as though sending Jackson's thoughts, "I just… this is kind of…"

"It's fine!" Jackson said quickly, "I get it! It's brother bonding stuff right? I'm not a big boat fan anyways."

"Neither am I," Percy said, "boats are dingy little things, the bicycles of the sea. This here is a ship, and don't you forget it buster."

Jackson held his hand up in mock surrender, "Alright I get it! Well leave you guys to… what, are you installing an electrical system in here?"

The brothers looked to each other, then flashed a pair of terrifying smiles, "For a start."

"Have a safe trip!" Tyson called to them as they walked a little too quickly off the ship.

"So how are we getting there?" Jackson asked, "Teleport?"

Kara gave him an apologetic smile, "No teleport pods in Smallville."

Jackson winced, "We could walk…"

It wasn't that Jackson didn't like flying. A large part of him felt at home in the sky, like a hole he didn't always know was there had finally been filled. He just wished he didn't have to be carried by a girl half his size grabbing him under his armpits like a toddler, though his other options weren't too much better.

"So," Kara spoke up as they flew, "What's going on with you and Koriand'r?"

Jackson's eye twitched, "I told you before, it was misunderstanding. She's from an alien culture."

"Dude, I'm from an alien culture."

"Well maybe hers is different!" He argued, "She told me her people have different ideas about love and clothing and stuff that's all!"

"Mhmm, and the whole, trailing her fingers seductively across your bare chest thing?"

He hesitated, but she didn't let him stutter out another excuse, "In case you've forgotten Jackson, Kori is a Tameranean Princess. She's dealt with alien cultures before earth. Do you really think she is so careless in how she interacts with people as to unintentionally come on to you that strongly?"

The younger teen stared at the ground flying beneath him, "You're wrong. She doesn't like me that way."

Kara would have thrown her hands up in exasperation if it didn't mean dropping her passenger, "Jackson come on! What's so scary about a girl liking—"

"I'm not scared!" He snapped, causing a long silence to follow, until he broke it, much quieter this time, "I mean… I was literally created less than a year ago Kara. I see something entirely new nearly every week, it gets a bit overwhelming as it is! Now… if she were to feel that way about me, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to deal with that! I can barely tell how I feel about her! The whole idea is just so… so…"

Kara smiled sadly down at the top of his head, "Scary?"

A defeated sigh answered her, "Yeah. That."

"I'm sorry for pushing you about it." He looked up at her in shock, "What? I am! I get so caught up in my own head and my own issues sometimes, that I sometimes kinda steamroll over other peoples issues. I'm sorry."

Jackson looked to the horizon ahead of them, where the sun was beginning to peak over the hills, "It's okay. You and… and Kal," he spat the name with distaste, "You lost an entire world."

"So did you." He almost protested but she didn't let him, "I don't care if you're a clone or not. Just because you weren't born there doesn't mean it's not your heritage. We're in this together okay?"

"…Okay."

Kara had to restrain herself from ruffling her new brothers hair, knowing it would ruin the moment, "You know, technically I'm older than Kal. My ship got caught in the phantom zone for a while, so I'm still biologically 17, but I was supposed to arrive on earth before Kal, so I could take care of him and keep him safe. I'm not saying I'll try and boss you around around or mother you, and I know you already have Percy and the rest of the Team… but if you ever need someone with a little more life experience to ask advice of free of judgement, I'd be really happy if you'd rely on me from time to time."

Jackson was silent for a long time, and Kara worried for a moment that she'd give too far, but he cut the silence with: "Judgement free? Are you sure you're capable of that?"

A genuine laugh bubbled up from Karas chest for the first time in a long time, "I can try at least, but honestly it depends on how stupid your questions get." She delighted in the feeling of his body shaking beneath her. She actually made him laugh!

"I think I'd like that." He told her, "Though maybe no dating advice just yet, until I sort out how I feel about her in the first place."

Kara thought back to the bright red flag she had seen on Jackson's face back at the Mountain with a smirk, but let it rest. "Sounds good to me."

"But… do you think you could tell me about Krypton? Unless it's too soon… sorry I shouldn't have—"

"I'd love to!" Kara cut him off, and she noted to herself, that she really, really did.

(8^])

Martha Kent was in the middle of making lunch when a knock on her door sounded, Jonathan was working on something in the barn, so she wiped her hand on her apron and went to the door.

"Kara!" She exclaimed as she opened the door. She had met her sons cousin shortly before he sent her to the Amazon's. Not her favorite of her sons decisions, but what's done is done, "I'm so happy to see you dear!"

"Hi momma Kent!" Kara greeted, causing Martha to beam inwardly. She didn't expect Kara to call her Ma like Clark does, but she was happy the girl had warmed up to her new family as well as she had, given the circumstances.

"We'll come in dear!"She opened her door wider, "You're just in time for… Clark?!"

When she opened the door wide enough she was face to face with the spitting image of her son in his high school days, "Oh my word… sorry honey, you surprised me. You must be Jackson! Why you look just like Clark don't you?"

The clone looked confused, "Clark? Do you mean Kal-El?"

Martha furrowed her brows, "Well yes but… exactly how much did he tell you dear?"

The dark look that crossed the boys features told Martha that she wouldn't like the answer.

Meanwhile in Metropolis

Clark Kent a pretty busy guy. He worked for the best news agency in the world after all, oh and yes, had had the side job of being earths greatest Protector.

Being Superman, he was gifted with incredible hearing, which served him quite well in the interest of detecting danger. The only downside is that he can hear everything, literally, every scream cry and whimper on earth is within earshot for him. As callous as it may seem, he has taken great pains to train himself to ignore the majority of it while in his civilian identity and while sleeping, only for the sake of his own mental health. He wasn't God after all, he couldn't be everywhere.

However, there were a few people whose voices he would always hear, and he would always respond to them. Right now one of them was calling out to him.

"CLARK JOSEPH KENT!"

And she was using his full name. Like any wise son, he made it to his mother in a flash, literally, "Ma! What happened? Are you hurt? Where's the danger…" he trailed off as he took in the situation.

Martha was standing with her arms crossed and a severe look on her face in the living room. Behind her on the couch, Jonathan Kent wore a similar expression, as well as Kara who sat next to him.

And on the love seat, carefully avoiding eye contact with Clark, was Superboy.

Suspicion immediately overtook him, "What are you doing here?"

Before he got an answer, his view was blocked by his his mother, who placed herself in front of the clone, "He is welcome here whenever he likes! I'm not so sure about you anymore."

Clark visibly clinched at that, "M-Ma?! What are you talking about? What did I do?"

"What did you do?!" His mother shrieked, rage blazing in her eyes, though it dimmed a bit when her husband put a hand on her shoulder, "Sweetie, calm down a moment, let the boy speak."

Martha huffed, "He damn well better talk fast."

Clark sighed in relief, "Thanks Pa I—"

"Don't thank me yet boy." Jonathan gave him a hard look, "if I don't like what you have to say you're gonna have a lot more to worry about than your mother, got me?"

Superman, who was at least half a foot taller than Jonathan, shrank in on himself, "Yes Pa…"

"Why didn't you tell us about him?" Martha asked.

Clark looked like a fish out of water, "I-I didn't think it would matter to you!"

"You think it wouldn't matter to us that we had a grandson out there!?"

"He's not my—"

"I'm not his son!" Superboy snapped, before his eyes widened, "I mean—"

"Don't worry son," Jonathan assured him, "It's your decision at this point, and I wouldn't blame you whatever you decide."

"But you are our grandson," Martha parted his cheek lovingly, "We can figure out what exactly what that means to you later on but for us it's non-negotiable okay?"

Clark watched the interaction in disbelief, "Look, there's a reason I didn't bring him here! Some mad scientists cloned him using my DNA, with absolutely no consent from me!"

"And how is that his fault?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm not saying it is!" Clark felt his frustration boiling over, "But he was programmed to replace me some day, along with whatever the heck else they felt like putting in there. I can't guarantee your safety around him."

Superboy snarled, "Martian Manhunter scanned me himself, he said I'm fine!"

"He said he couldn't find anything!" Clark countered, "That's no guarantee!"

The room was quiet for a moment, before Martha spoke again, eerily calm, "Exactly what guarantee did we have Clark, when we took in an alien baby from God knows where, and raised him as our own? Hmm?"

Clark visibly deflated, "Ma…"

"None!" She answered for him, "We never knew when the government would come knocking on our door to take you away. Why Jonathan learned to shoot for that very reason—"

"Martha…" Jonathan protested weakly.

"—and you know how much your father hates guns! We did everything we did for you, not because we were sure everything would be okay, or even because we knew you wouldn't kill us the moment you were able! We did it because by God Clark it was the right thing. And I have been so proud all these years to see you taking that lesson to heart, but now I'm worried you've forgotten it entirely!"

"Ma please!"

"I don't want to hear it! We aren't a fan of the way you dealt with Kara and the Amazon's, but we figured you knew what you were doing so we let it slide. Now we find out you let poor Jackson here, a boy who hadn't even seen the sun before meeting you, figure everything out by himself!"

"H-he had Batman… the team… Jackson?"

"That's my name, Jackson Kent," Superboy answered, earning a shocked expression from Clark, "Relax, I didn't know about your name when I picked it. I'll be happy to change it if it bothers you so much."

It was then that Clark took a truly good look around the room, at the looks his family were giving him, and realized what they thought of him.

A deep sigh escaped him as he rubbed his face tiredly, "Look k—Jackson… I don't want you to change it. I was just surprised I … I'm sorry okay. I'm sorry I wasn't… I'm Superman okay? The entire world knows who I am, they trust me and depend on me to protect them. Out there, where they can see me, I play it off like it's no big deal, like it's easy, but it's not. Inside I'm just as human as everyone else, the pressure I'm under is something no amount of super strength can handle, and sometimes things slip through."

He looked to Kara, "I slipped with you. I was so happy to find you again, but if I'm being honest, I was so relieved when Diana offered to take you away to train you, that I jumped at it without considering your feeling on the matter, and then when I saw you with Percy, with what I've seen him do… I got scared. I'm sorry."

He looked to Jackson, "Honestly, I have no good excuse for you kid. I was angry, scared, and more than a bit paranoid when I find out what they did to make you. I dropped the ball Jackson, and you had to suffer for it, I'm sorry." He looked down at the floor

Instead of a cold rebuke, he received a pst on the shoulder from Kara, "I forgive you Clark. I know you have a lot on your plate, just try and keep an eye on what's in front of you from time to time okay?"

Clark sighed in relief, "I will, I swear I will. Thank you." He looked past her at Jackson, who still wasn't look at him directly.

After another tense moment he spoke up, "You're not my dad."

Clark frowned, "Jackson I know I—"

"There was a window," Jackson told him, "And you missed it. I don't want it anymore, I don't need it. Understand?"

Clark nodded sadly, "I understand."

"But…" Jackson met his eyes for the first time, unreadable in his gaze, "I can't sleep very well. I can't turn off my super hearing, so I keep getting stirred awake by all the noise. I'm pretty sure Tyson can magically sound proof rooms now somehow, but if you have any tips on how to deal with it… I'd appreciate it."

Clark smiled at that, but the moment was soon cut short as Kara and him tensed up.

Jackson noticed and grimaced, "Trouble?"

Clark nodded, "I'm hearing mayhem in Metropolis, London, Hong Kong… something big for sure. You two should get to the Mountain, I'm sure Batman will have something for the team."

The two teens nodded and made to leave, but not before Jackson looked to the older Kent's, "I can… come back sometime?"

The couple smiled at him and answered together, "Anytime."

Jackson smiled and ran out the door, leaving Clark with his parents.

"I'm sorry I let you guys down."

The two gathered their much larger son in a mighty hug, "You haven't let us down son." Jonathan told him.

"You just made a mistake," Martha continued, "one you've learned from correct?"

"I'll do my best." He assured her.

"Good, and if you ever need advice on dealing with superpowersd teenagers, you come to the experts okay?"

Clark smiled widely, "I will."

(:-3)

"Batman to Team, report to the Holo room ASAP.

Percy groaned dramatically as he crawled out from under a wooden hatch to look at Tyson, "You just had to be responsible and install a speaker in the Zen Cave?"

Tyson gave him a grin, "It's alright brother, we made good progress today! Just a few more days of work until she's ready for testing!"

Percy smiled back and accepted a hand up, before following Tyson off the ship and back up into the mountain.

"So what do you think he wants this time?" Percy wondered aloud as they made their way up.

Tyson frowned at him, "Brother… do you not like going on missions with the team?"

Percy looked at him in surprise, "What? Why would you think that?"

"You always act so grouchy, and you always irritate Mr. Batman on purpose."

Percy winced, "Yeah see your point. Well… I don't hate It you know? I think I'd lose my mind if they didn't keep things fresh, I just… I think I'm drifting."

Tyson grunted in confusion, "In a bad way?"

"Yeah it's like… I'm going through the motions. I mean I have the patrol, the missions, training, hang out with the team occasionally but aside from that? Working on this ship has been the closest thing I have to a hobby since we came here. Being a hero is great and all, but it's not exactly a life right?"

"You… want to do something else instead?"

"Well not instead, I mean like alongside. One day the Wise Girl will be finished, and while I might try and fix up few more ships afterwards, I don't think that's a realistic life goal you know, I need something else to devote my attention to…"

"Like what?"

Percy sighed deeply as they finally arrived at the holo room, "That's a damn good question."

Percy nodded to Zatara as he entered, which the older hero returned. The man had taken over as their "den mother" recently, though for some reason Shazam still came to hand out all the time. Not that anyone minded.

The rest of the team soon follows, right on time as Batman teleported into the room a moment later, "Computer, national news."

Upon his request a news feed appeared on the holo screen showings you g reporter with a severe expression, "The initial attack was short lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve ." The footage showed enormous plants growing out of city streets and wreaking havoc on populated areas, "Due to the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, we mercifully have zero casualty reports so far, though the property damage world wide numbers in the millions. Despite their efforts to restrain the vines, there seems to be no end in sight."

Kori was the first to speak up, "We must go and assist them!"

"Yeah we should get out there now!" Robin agreed, with murmured agreements from the majority of the team.

"No, the League has the situation under control, "Batman responded, "That's not why I'm here."

"Where are these things coming from?" Percy asked, staring at the screen intently, "There's got to be a source right?"

Batman nodded, pulling up a new photo that elicited a loud groan from Jade, "Sis you didn't tell me that the sperm donor was involved!"

"You think I'd bring him up willingly?" Artemis replied with equal amounts of irritation.

"Moving on." Batman continued, "According to your previous intel, Sports-master supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra…"

"Who combined it with Banes Venom to create Kobra Venom!" Wally chimed in.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army!" Robin finished.

Percy held up a hand, "Wait, the blockbuster monster thing was how the Kobra venom came about? When did we learn that?"

The rest of the team looked at him in shock, "How did you not know that?" Artemis asked, "I wasn't even there and I knew that!"

"We figured it out from when I hacked their systems Percy," Robin told him sternly, "Didn't you read my report?"

Percy looked around blankly, "I was supposed to read all of those?"

"Brother…" Tyson sighed almost embarrassingly, which hurt more than Percy cared to admit.

"Perseus you will be henceforth receive testing on any future mission reports by Aqualad." Batman stated evenly.

"Affirmative." Aqua lad nodded solemnly

"Fuck."

"Moving on." Batman reiterated, "I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. The vines cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."

"That's not a coincidence is it?" Wally asked reluctantly.

"I think not." Kaldur answered, "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with each other world wide."

"Like some kind of evil conspiracy?" Kara spoke up.

Batman resolved grimly "Exactly, it's now clear that our enemies have formed kind of secret society of super villains."

"Try saying that five times fast," Percy muttered to himself.

"Metropolis is only the beginning!" Robin exclaimed as he tapped away on the holo computer. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham, Paris, star city, Taipei—"

The boy wonder was cut off as all his screens suddenly cut to static.

"That doesn't seem good," Jade sing singed unhelpfully.

The screen suddenly showed a ghastly smile, attached to an even uglier pale, angular face. Equally pale fingers tapped on the camera before the man started to speak

"You're on now pudding!"

The smoke turned into a despicable snarl as the man growled in a voice like a crack addicted crow, "You think I don't know that you buffoon?! "His fist struck out and hit something behind the camera, eliciting a pained cry and a pitiful "…sorry."

Straightening his garish green yellow and purple suit, taking extra care with the oversized flower , the man smiled at the camera once more. The snarl was prettier, "Now then! Sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem, Ladies and germs, but Joker here's gotta message for you you're just dying to hear."

The entire audience collectively rolled their eyes as the Joked cracked up at his own wit.

Kori looked around in confusion, "Is this a human joke I don't understand?"

"Nothing about that man is human." Batman responded, with a growl that conveyed more emotion than Percy had ever heard from the Bat. Soon the cackling ended and the Joker continued

"You see folks I thought I might shake things up today! If Batman can run around with his new friends rubbing my face in it all… why not get some friends of my own?"

The camera shifted to show a new group, consisting of Black Adam, Ultra Humanite, Wotan, Poison Ivy, and the ever superior Count vertigo standing in front of them. "Meet my new besties! The Injustice League!"

"We are the ones responsible for the attacks on your cities." Vertigo spoke up in his heavy accent, "If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait…"

Joker filled the screen once more, his voice turning low and gravelly in a way that put even Percy on edge, "the longer we have our… JOLLIES!" The video ended with mad mad laugher from the clown prince of crime.

"Roger that Diana," Batman spoke into his earpiece, "the U.N. will prepare the ransom as a fall back but it will not come to that."

As he hung up, Robin rewound the broadcast, somehow, and froze it I. The image of the injustice league, "count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan… Seven heavy hitters! Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we faced."

"Likely Harley Quinn as well by the sound of it." Batman added

"There your secret society…" Wally agreed.

"Would not a secret society attempt to remain… secret?" Kori wondered aloud.

"They probably got scared after India!" Artemis answered.

"And saw no point in hiding any longer." Kaldur nodded with her.

"Oh come on!"

The entire team looked over at Jade who had a bewildered look on her face. "You're actually buying this?"

"Buying what?" Wally asked, his arms clinking as he folded them, "Seems pretty cut and dry to me."

"They literally called themselves the injustice league!" Artemis taking her spot next to Wally.

"Oh sis…" Jade lamented mournfully until Percy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lay off them Jade, it's not their fault they aren't paranoid skeptics, they're still young, relatively."

"What are you thinking Percy?" Kaldur asked,

Percy sighed, "Well as much as I want to believe we've found out bad guys and can go take them out and be done with it… something smells fishy."

"And he'd know!" Jade nodded.

"Help or hurt, pick a side!" He hissed at her, "Now then,, what I'm thinking is that right after we took a major step towards answers to all this, this goon squad shows up out of nowhere with the most bad guy plan to ever bad guy. Holding the world for ransom with killer plants? What is this a comic book?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, "But they have the Kobra venom…"

"Yeah but who says this is the final purpose for it? I mean sure it could be but what's more likely? That they decided giant killer plants would be enough to deal with the justice league and Superman, or that maybe there's more at work here?"

"A ruse to draw our attention…" M'gann mused, before looking at Batman hesitantly, "What do you think?"

Batman grimaced, "I have my suspicions as well, but I make it a rule of thumb to not bring them to light until I'm more or less certain. Others may not find the true solution due to me taunting their thoughts with baseless theories."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "You think I shouldn't have said anything?"

Batman shrugged, "I can't tell you how to lead your team, only where." With that he zoomed in on the villains in the image, "While the Justice League fends off the attacks, we need a team to find a destroy the central control system that makes so many attacks at once possible. That is your mission."

Wally grew a petulant look, "Hmph, lame."

Half the team rolled their eyes while Percy snickered, "Dude if were going to the main hub of these things, who do you think will be standing in our way?"

"Uhhh…" the slightly slow speedster was assisted by strums who kindly placed a hand on his head and turned it towards the screen, "Ohhh…"

Percy stepped forward, "Jokes aside, I know when a hard fights coming. You think we're ready for this?"

"I do." Batman stated firmly.

"Okay well, how will even find them?" Wally asked.

"I can assist with that." Zatara finally spoke up, "Batman, a a map if you don't mind."

Batman pulled up a holographic map display, upon which Zatara worked his magic, literally.

"The Louisiana bayou," Robin muttered, "Pretty random."

"No one wants to look for nothing in a swamp," Waylon rumbled, "How else you think I grows up there without getting shot?"

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Unfortunately it's all hands on deck for this mission, Croc and Cheshire will be accompanying you again, if only because we can't trust them in the cave unsupervised. I normally wouldn't allow this for a high profile op but we need to adapt. That said… keep them in front of you."

"You have a real trusting heart don't you?" Waylon hissed.

Batman turned to Tyson, "Tyson your strength and size abilities are simply too valuable not use against the plants, that said, I will leave it up to you which mission to take… Tyson?"

The Cyclops did not respond. He was transfixed, staring intently at the screen, his eye not wavering.

"Bro?" Percy asked, coming to a put a hand on his shoulder, "What's up? What do you see?"

"I see… my Mother…"

(%^0)

"So wait, you have no idea what happens to tree nymphs when they die?" M'gann asked as Percy rubbed the back of his head

"I never really thought about it… I guess I thought they were like Satyrs. When they did they reincarnate into a plant on the spot, I thought nymphs did something similar… but when you cut down a tree a new one first just appear out of thin air so I guess that was pretty stupid…"

This had been the topic of conversation ever since they left the cave. Percy was glad for it, as the talk distracted him from the airsickness as they flew in the bioship. He'd have preferred Blackjack, but sadly flying black stallions weren't nearly as stealthy as invisible jets.

After some convincing, Percy had Tyson go with the League to combat the more active threat, seeing as he could do a lot of good that way. He told him it was just a coincidence like with how Artemis looked similar to Annabeth, but the more he thought about it, the less sure he became.

"Robin, give me a rundown on Poison Ivy, what Is she exactly?"

Robin quickly pulled the data up in his gauntlet, "Well she's definitely not a Nymph, or not a natural one at least. She was born Pamela Isley, a genius Botanical biochemical student, but a normal human one all the same, until the accident."

Percy looked at the picture on the small screen, "How does that happen by accident?"

His teammate winced, "Okay, less "accident" more "seduced then poisoned by her crazy biochemical Professor"."

Percy blinked, "Jeeze, no wonder she's gone crazy."

"I wonder be so sure. Granted she's an ecoterrorist and has a general disregard for human lives in general, but this isn't her Typical MO."

"Uh dude, giant killer plants?" Wally gawked at the younger hero.

"It is my understanding that Poison Ivy cares deeply for all plant life, and has few motivations beyond protecting nature." Kaldur spoke up.

"Right on all counts," Robin answers easily, "having fought her enough times however, I picked up one of those few other motivations." He pulled up a new picture of a seemingly jovial woman in a black and red skin tight suit.

Artemis whistled, "I didn't know they made spandex that tight!"

Percy had a wretched feeling in his gut, "I'm guessing that's Harley Quinn? The one the Joker was smacking around off camera?"

Robin nodded grimly, "Dr. Harleen Quinnzel was one of the first unfortunate psychologists to meet face to face with the Joker. Long story short, this is the result."

"That poor woman," M'gann spoke up sadly, "I heard that psycho does horrible things to her, and makes her wear those disgusting outfits to amuse him."

"Where did you hear of her?" Robin asked

"Minds as twisted as theirs can be dangerous to even experienced telepaths. Uncle J'onn warned me to stay clear."

Kori peered over the seat from her place in the back, "I do not understand, it covers the body entirely and the color scheme is rather striking, what makes it the disgusting?"

Jackson sighed and explained it to her quietly while Robin continued, "Recently the only human Ivy really tolerates is Harley. They've been friends and partners in crime for years. If Harleys back with the Joker…"

"You think Jokers threatening to hurt Harley to get Ivy to cooperate?" Percy asked, "Why doesn't Ivy just sneak her away?"

"Because she doesn't want to go." Waylon spat, "That piece of shit has her wrapped so tightly around his finger he could throw her off a building and she'd come crawling back. Hell I'm pretty sure he has." Upon seeing the surprised looks he hissed, "Most everyone in Arkham likes Harley, she's the only positive thing that dump has to offer."

"Guys," M'gann spoke up warily, "I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy…"

"Right there with you sister." Percy groaned in sympathy.

"No!" M'gann insisted, "it's not me, it's her!"

"Who?" The four other girls in the ship asked.

"No—it's the ship she's—"

Kara suddenly shouted, "Brace!"

Before anyone could react, something slammed into the bottom of the bioship, sending it spinning through the air towards the ground, luckily for Percy, then we're headed towards the swamp.

Fighting back bile, Percy reached for the water and willed it to catch the ship mid air, jolting everyone but avoiding a much rougher landing.

The team almost sighed in relief, when of course something else went wrong. Vines erupted from the water and wrapped around the ship, yanking it underwater before Percy could react.

"How did they know we were coming?'" Percy shouted as he struggled against the plants with the murky swamp water around them.

"We must have tripped some kind of system!" Robin yelled back

Kid Flash groaned, "in mid air? While cloaked? Oh that is such bull—"

An arm piercing through the hull of the ship cut him off. M'gann shrieked in agony as another ripped it open to reveal Black Adam glaring down at them.

Acting on instinct, Percy summoned his weapon in trident form and threw it with as much force as he could muster at the villain. To his disappointment, the trident didn't pierce his chest in the slightest, but the combination of sheer force and the unexpected attack meant that Adam went flying back from the blow, giving Percy a small window.

"M'gann! Door! Everyone! Deep breath!"

Everyone sans Kaldur of course, complied, and as soon as M'gann opened a hole wide enough, Percy used the water that rushed in quickly yank most of the team out and to the nearest shore.

They shot out of the river and landed gracefully, for the most part. There was some sputtering and cursing from, Artemis and Jade, while Robin just barely used his acrobatic skills to land on his feet. Being a baseline human really sucked sometimes.

As Wally helped the sisters to their feet, the rest of them stared out at the sinking bioship.

"She's in shock." M'gann stated mournfully, "She'll need time to recover— aghhhh!"

Her cries were soon joined by the others as an intense sensory overload overwhelmed them all .

Wally grunted as he managed to look up first, "Vertigo!"

The Draco Malfoy wannabe scowled as he emerges from the brush, "It's Count Vertigo peasant!"

Percy gritted his teeth, "Why are all your bad guys so damn extra?!" As he screamed, the water from the swamp exploded towards Vertigo, knocking him back and ending the psychic onslaught.

Panting and struggling not to vomit, Percy reached out his hand and willed the swamp to toss his trident back into his grip, only a second lasted did he remember why he threw it .

Pain temporarily enveloped his being as a fist attempted to drive its self through the back of his skull. As soon as he could think again, he immediately regretted not adding a helmet to his costume like he wanted originally.

Black Adam was Tearing through his team like a Rhino, his magically enhanced strength proving too much for even Kara to match as she tried to force him back in a battle of pure strength. He simply smirked at her before shooting his knee up into her chin, then appearing over her and raising his interlocked fingers to slam them down on her, cratering the ground beneath her as she shot into it like a speeding bullet.

Before he could go for a finisher, a green star bolt blasted the back of his skull. Adam turned to glare at Kori, who only offered a mischievous grin that he took far to long to interpret.

Not wasting the opening, Superboy shot in, crouching down, coiling his body and using every muscle to launch himself up into the most powerful uppercut he could manage, right as Adam turned back towards him.

The hit connected, much to Superboy's delight, but it soon faded as the monster of a man only fell back a step, rubbing his jaw for a moment before glaring down at the hero, "A solid strike… but I've fought your predecessor boy, you do not measure up!"

He struck out in a chopping motion that was liable to take Superboy's head off, but a yellow blur pushes him out of the way at the last second and a metallic CLANG rang out.

Black Adam looked outraged as he looked at the scrawny speedster that had blocked his blow, taking no more damage than a noticeable dent in his bronze prosthetic. For his part, Kid Flash had his eyes scrunched tightly shut and only opened one hesitantly when he realized he wasn't dead yet. A hysterical laugh escaped him, "God I love that Cyclops!"

His joy was short lived as Adam's other arm shot forward in a palm strike, sending him flying back with absolutely Zero air in his lungs.

Black Adam growled in frustration as his arms began to spark and crackle "They were fools to send mere children to face us! Perhaps they will realize this when we send them your smoking corpses!"

He launched his lightning at the heroes, eliciting cries of pain from everyone but Percy, who blocked it with his collapsible shield.

Black Adams eyes widened, "Impossible! What foul metal is that?"

Percy mentally noted that as he called to the others over the psychic link Superboy! Kara! You're my heaviest hitters so your we're gonna keep this guy busy. Kaldur, take the rest and head for the control center!

Understood! Kaldur responded, leading the others through the trees as an already bruised Superboy and Kara backed him up.

"You know I was thinking of calling myself Power Girl". Kara told them as they prepared to fight the seething behemoth, " But after that beating I'm not feeling as powerful as usual. He might be as strong as Superman, how will we beat him?"

Percy grimaced "As soon as I figure it out I'll tell you. Right now though we're the ones with the beast chance against him. Kara if he tries to fly away you're the only one who can stop him, you up for it?"

The young kryptonian visibly gulped, "I'll do my best."

"What about me?" Superboy asked, "I can barely scratch him!"

His answer came in the form of Percy tossing the shield over to the younger hero, who caught in shock, "But this is—"

"The most likely thing to to do damage to him."Percy stated, " Tru hitting him with that, and don't let him get past it. I'll be fine, I can go fluid and I'm probably immortal."

Superboy didn't seem to like it, but he knew better than to argue, "Alright, let's go!"

(!-!)

Aqualad kept his face calm as he led the others through the swamp, but inside he was a storm of nerves. They just lost three of their heaviest hitters, would they be able to make it?

As if voicing his own thoughts, M'gann looked back in worry, "Should we really leave them like that? Maybe we should go back?"

Kaldur steeled himself, this was what leadership was, this is why Percy put him in charge, "No. the longer we spend fighting the longer innocents are put in danger. We must focus on the objective, Perseus knows what he is doing, we all know he's faced worse.

M'gann looked like she wanted to protest more, but Artemis spoke up first, "Uh guys… where's Cheshire?"

When no one has an answer Artemis groaned miserably, "Perfect. Glad to know my suspicions against her were proven right once again. Oh Christ and she knows all about the Mountain!"

"Actually…" M'gann sounded a bit embarrassed, "Perseus had me fix that…"

"You erased their minds?" Kori asked, intrigued.

"Only about the cave!" M'gann insisted, "Perseus had me do it before we left for this mission and the one before."

"Oh, well good." Artemis blinked, "for a second I was worried he was actually whipped."

"Whipped?" Kori questioned, "You thought someone was striking him?"

"No I mean pu—"

"We have bigger issues right now," Aqualad sternly

"Indeed you do!" A deep feminine voices agreed with him. Before the teammates could react, the plant life around them struck out and restrained them in an instant.

Slowly strutting out of the foliage was Poison Ivy, and she looked none too pleased.

"Please tell me the League isn't serious!" She hissed out, "You know they've sent you to your deaths!"

"Not if you stop now Ivy!" Robin yelled back, "This isn't normal for you! You've never cared about money before, and these plants are getting massacred out there, so what's the point of this?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" The green redhead soar, "If tall dark and broody would have had the balls to put that monster down years ago we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"So it's true…" M'gann spoke up, "You're here for Harley?"

"Joker has something around her neck!" Ivy admitted, "I would never put my babies through such pain otherwise!"

"Then help us!" Kaldur pleaded, "We can save her together!"

For a moment it seemed like she might agree, but he face darkened at the last minute, "That's not your priority. Sorry kids… can't risk it…"

Kaldur sighed, "I understand… Now!"

Miss Martian used her telekinesis to shred the plants restraining them, and in an instant Koriand'r was on Ivy.

Ivy's eyes seemed panicked as Kori went for the knockout, "Wait! Don't! Without me he can—"

She never got to finish.

As Kori dusted her hands in satisfaction, Kaldur narrowed his eyes, "That went smoothly…"

"Yeah, a bit too smoothly!" Robin agreed, before flipping backwards just in time to avoid a red energy bolt, originating from Ultra Humanite in the trees above them.

"Ambush!" Artemis yelled out as she prepared to fire back, unfortunately a new wave of psychic energy cascades over them as Count Vertigo crept out of the brush once again, "That fool is not here to save you this time!"

Kaldur groaned alongside M'gann, struggling to resist the attacked get up, but Vertigo was intent on keeping them down this time. The only reason he who managed to bet to their feet was Kori, but that was soon fixed as Ultra Humanite slammed down on top of her and fired their weapon a few more times into her back, eliciting cries of agony.

Count Vertigo smiled as he continued hers attack, walking around them to get a better angle , "This is what happens to peasants who refuse to know their place!"

M'gann reached for Kaldur weakly, Aqualad…. What do we do?

As he was about to respond, he spied past her, past Vertigo, and into the water behind him and managed to give M'gann a confident smile, We enjoy the show.

Vertigo suddenly stopped his monologuing as he felt drops of water raining down on him. He fumed to himself. They had specifically planned for today because there was a low chance of rain! This was a new suit! Irritably he glanced up to soy the offending clouds, only to pale as he found none.

Instead an eight foot tall crocodile man was grinning wickedly down at him, "Boo."

A cry of surprise shifted into a cry of agony as a large clawed hand, ripped the Royals psychic crown off of his head, leaving deep scratches in his skull along the way.

Now free of the debilitating sensation, The team shot up to help Kori, but soon realized she didn't need it.

Eyes blazing green with fury, the princess landed a devastating kick into the deformed apes stomach, doubling them over before delivering a follow up uppercut.

Now on their back, barely conscious , Ultra Humanite could do nothing as Kori snatched their gun out of their hands and melted it in her green fiery grip, "I believe I have acquired a deep disliking of the monkeys."

As Artemis helped tie up the ape, Robin helped Waylon restrain the still screaming Count vertigo, who wouldn't shut up about his beautiful visage, a hiss from his attacker shut him up quick, "Quit whining! You'll still come out prettier than me!"

Waylon has been tailing them from the water as best he could after their ship went down. Percy had separated him and ordered not to reveal his presence until he was needed, a sound tactic as it turned out.

Still Robin was annoyed, "You didn't have to brutalize him in the process…"

"Oh please he may have scars but you know head wounds tend to bleed dramatically!"

Robin sighed before begrudgingly offering a fist bump, "Nice save…"

The much larger man grinned and gave a gentle tap, amused that the boy who had put him away more than once now found himself indebted.

"Although you'll be lucky if Batman doesn't get you nail clippers after this."

Waylon hissed, the moment was ruined

Once the two villains were properly secured the teens moved on with Kaldur taking the lead once more. "Miss Martian, can you sense how the fight with Black Adam is going?"

After a moment of concentration the girl winced, "They're okay for now, but it doesn't look like they're making much of a dent.

"Then we must finish the mission quickly so that we can go to their aid, Waylon, if you would not mind leading the way."

Waylon narrowed his eyes, "What since I'm part croc I know how to navigate a swamp?"

Kaldur tilted his head curiously, "Were you not raised here in the bayou?"

"Oh yeah fair enough."

(_)

Percy cursed as he narrowly shifted to fluid in time to avoid getting shish kebabed by Black Adams fist. Thinking back to his previous fights with gods and titans, he wondered if he was getting rusty or if Black Adam was really that much stronger than him .

As it stood, Perseus could barely touch the guy. Supergirl and Superboy were having much better luck with their greater strength and speed.

He decided that that must be the difference: he had faced strong enemies , fast enemies and smart enemies, but very rarely did one possess all these traits, oh and with flight and lightning blast thrown in for fun.

To his relief however, putting the shield in Jackson's hands was the right choice, he and Kara had pulled off some pretty strong hits together, and his hunch about the celestial bronze doing extra damage to Adam turned out to be right, as wherever Jackson slammed the shield into, it actually left a mark.

It still wasn't enough, and Percy was weighing an even riskier move.

He wasn't really clear what the rules were exactly with celestial bronze. He knew if he sliced his sword through a normal human it went through, not Kryptonians however. It went through the Amazon's as well… would it go through Diana? All that Aside, he was entirely unsure if the same applied to blunt objects, such as a shield slamming into a centuries old magic elf man. Was that just an exception? Fredrick Chase was able to interact with divine weaponry and mans then into bullets so…

"Percy! Mind participating a bit more?"

"I am!" Percy yelled back while dodging another lightning blast, "I'm uh… supervising! Strategizing! Team leader stuff y'know?"

"Well could you strategize a little faster?" Kara interjected, and Percy really had no comeback for her, especially since she was practically being bent in half in the aid over Black Adams head. Percy thought it was a bit of an odd tactic until the villain smirked

"SHAZAM!"

The world lit up, crackling energy filled the air, and Percy knew that if that lightning hit Kara, it would leave more than bruises or scorch marks, Kryptonian or not.

There was no way he could get there in time, there was no reason to try really, but that's never stoped him before, and it wouldn't start now.

Kara was shoved away and before Adam realized what had happened, Percy had taken her place, and the Lightning struck.

Now, Percy had been struck by lightning before, mostly during spars with his beloved cousin Thalia. So he figured he probably wouldn't die from this. When it hit him he became less certain.

The bolt wasn't like Thalia's, who sent out quick but powerful shocks one at a time. This was a continuous stream that went on for about five seconds, which felt a lot longer when every nerve in your body was being jump started.

He couldn't even yell out in agony, as his jaw was clamped shut and he wasn't even sure his lungs were still functioning.

Percy!

While he couldn't really react he was still startled by Kaldurs voice in his head. Had something gone wrong?

We have found the base but it is guarded by Atomic Skull and Wotan! The latter has us all pinned and I fear our capture is imminent. Without the helmet we are out of options!

Percy winced internally. Kaldur had requested they bring the Helmet of Fate as a backup plan, but he had vetoed it almost immediately. He didn't want to risk any one of his teams freedom. Now it might cost all of them their lives.

The lightning stoped, he collapsed to the ground in a shining heap. He was gasping for air. He he was… glowing?

He looked down at where the lightning struck and saw a crack in his chest. Not just in his armor, or just his chest, but both, or maybe neither.

The crack was emitting a brilliant golden light. It was mesmerizing, though a quick glance at the others showed that it was blinding to them, even Black Adam.

Percy felt better. He felt stronger. He felt Power.

It was time to end this.

Rather than waste time moving to a standing position, he turned fluid and morphed his body up before solidifying in a standing ready position. The crack was gone, and he felt it's power fading quickly, he had to act.

Before Adam could recover, Riptide was in his hands, and he shifted forward, ignoring Kara and Jackson as they began to protest and shot forward .

Black Adam recovered just in time, "What are you—AGHHHH!"

The villain collapsed fo the ground with low groan is Percy turned to his companions, "I didn't hit anything vital!"

"You stabbed him with a sword I don't think it matters where you hit him…" Kara protested weakly.

Jackson on the other hand was taking it a bit better, "Are you gonna leave the sword in him like that?"

Percy nodded impatiently, "it'll return to me eventually but for now we don't want his Regeneration to kick in before we finish the mission. Any more questions or do you want go save out friends who are being overwhelmed as we speak?"

That did the trick and soon Kara was flying the over the swamp, holding them both by the arm.

They soon came upon the scene of Wotan shooting lightning at all of his team simultaneously.

"Well that's unfairly overpowered." Percy muttered, "Superboy! Pass me the shield! Power Girl! Fastball Special!"

"What?!"

"Throw me!"

She didn't argue further, spinning around once to fling Percy directly at Wotan. He stretched his body forward and held his shield out in front of him. He soared through the air with his capes tendrils fluttering by hind him. Wotan of course noticed him coming and shot a magic blast, which of course binged harmlessly off the celestial Bronze shield

Wotan's eyes widened, but before could adapt, the shield slammed into his face at the speed of sound.

A few teeth went flying and the sorcerer fell to the ground in a heap, knocked out cold.

Percy landed gracefully beside him before jogging over to Kaldur to help him to his feet. "You alright?"

The Atlantean opened his mouth to speak, before his eyes widened in panic.

A green radiation blast, sent Percy flying with a curse before he got his shield up again, "Fuck! Forgot about Skeletor…"

Unfortunately for Atomic Skull, his ally was down and Wotan was really doing all the work.

An onslaught of arrows, birdarangs, speedster striked, star bolts and laser vision was more than enough to keep the man distracted while Miss Martian snuck up behind and placed her hands on the back of his head. He dropped a moment later, no match for her direct psychic attack.

Percy raised his fist weakly, "Woo, go team!"

"Are you alright?" Kaldur asked, though he was still wincing from his own injuries, "You seem exhausted, did something happen while fighting Black Adam?"

Percy was exhausted. The power he felt earlier had faded and then some. Before he could answer however Jackson answered for him, "Well he spontaneously gained the ability to fly, got blasted by the mother of all lightning bolts, then stabbed Adam to end the fight."

A collective groan came from many of his teammates at Percys stabbing, which he pointedly ignored, "Wait I flew?"

"Yeah!" Kara say, "When Adam had me, your eyes started glowing green and then you shot towards me without moving your legs. You don't remember?"

Percy blinked, "Hub..,"

"Percy what are the chances Adam is still alive?" Robin asked, clearing dreading the answer.

"Oh he's fine. I didn't stab anywhere vital."

"How'd you pull that off?" Wally asked.

"Any good swordsman knows what vital points to aim for, I just aimed for a space between them."

Before the inevitable complaints about his logic, an enthusiastic clapping followed by bone-chilling laughter echoed through the swamp, as the doors to the control center opened.

The Joker had arrived, with Harley Quinn tied to a wheel chair rolling in front of him. The man, if he could've called as such, was practically skipping out to meet him, coming to a stop just ten yards from where the team was assembled.

Percy looked at Robin, "This is the guy who has Batman on edge?"

Robin looked panicked, but before he could say anything Joker laughed again, "There it is! That's what I was hoping for! I must say Perseus, you seem so much more fun than the other Justicw fellows… of course you could never replace old Batsy, but that's not your fault! What he and I have is special…"

"P-puddin?" Harley stuttered from her chair. Now that she was closer, Percy noticed the bulky collar around her neck, not unlike the inhibitor collars they used at Belle, R prison, only this one seemed jury rigged, with multicolored wires pointing out in every direction half-hazardly. "Shouldn't ya untie me? I can distract them while you get away!"

Percy blinked in shock. Did the woman not realize what was happening, or was sr really so bat shot crazy in love with him that this was acceptable to her?

The love her eyes told him the latter, and it made Percy sick

Her pleading was answered with a backhand across the face.

As he stepped forward to do something however, the Joker held up what looked like a detonatof and pressed the button down,, "Ah ah ah! Not so fast there Boy! That pretty necklace of hers isn't just for looks oh no! It's a gift from our mutual fried Amanda Waller, lovely woman! Of course I fixed it so the buzzing doesn't stop until the wearer, well, stops! Wouldn't want you ruining the fun while we still have more fun ahead of us! So I'd keep your distance, cause it my thumb releases from this here dead man switch well… the babes a bit of a spoiler eh?"

Percy glared alongside the others, "It's over Joker. All of your allies are down, what chance do you hope to have? Just let us take down the plant andb e done with this."

Joker cackled as he looked at Robin conspiratorially, "Is he really trying to reason with me? What universe is he from? Hehe get it?"

"Perseus," Robin spoke calmly but Percy detected a hint of panic in his voice, "He has something planned, we can't rush in until we know what it is."

"Listen to Bird brain boyo!" Joker agreed, "He knows the dance to my tune! Enough stalling don't you think? Let's move on to the main event!"

He held up his free hand, which appeared to be covered in some type of electronic glove apparatus, and wiggled his fingers a bit.

Like magic, two hatched opened on the ground behind him and two televisions lifted onto view, "let's see what's on the news!"

The screens flickered on show news footage From two locations in New York .The plants there were no longer wreaking random havoc like before instead they seemed to be covering something. As if on cue the camera zoomed in to show what they had.

The one on the right showed a school bus full of children, caught in the vines, which had crept their way inside and wrapped themselves around the necks of each child inside. Though the news camera couldn't pick up the sound, it was obvious that they were wailing in terror.

The second screen wasn't any better, especially since Percy and the majority of the team recognized, who was on it.

Caroline, the humble owner of Puzzles, Percy and Tysons favorite restaurant, was in a similarly precarious position alongside several of her customers.

Percy could only shake in anger and astonishment at how quickly the situation had escaped his control while the Joker continued gleefully, "Ya know I have to hand it to ya kiddos! Without you I couldn't have pulled this little game together at all no way no how! After all, that little minx Ivy has this ridiculous reservation about "endangering the children" and an infuriating habit of overriding my controls when I go "too far"… not anymore though! What with her unconscious and all, great job!"

"…Why are you doing this?" Percy growled out.

Jokers tutted in disapproval, "Oh no no no Percy boy, that's the wrong question! can I call you Percy boy?"

"No."

"Well you see Percy boy if I'm being honest I created this confounding conundrum with the big bad bat in mind, he's always in my heart you see. But Batsy had to be rude and delegate!" He crossed his arms with a pout. "Now I have to settle for breaking a god… I'll make do I suppose."

He suddenly spun around and presented the screens flamboyantly, "Now for the real question, oh great and mighty Perseus!" He bent almost 90 degrees forward, an eager grin scarring his face, "Who will you save?"

(8-()

The Justice league was no longer handling the plants.

That is to say, they were no longer stopping their destructive rampages, as the heroes were now far too busy evacuating every civilian in a a square radius. The behavior of the sinister plants had recently changed from random and destructive to focused and deadly.

Many heroes were completely unprepared for the sudden shift, and could only watch as civilians were skewered on spearheaded vines, and thrown around like rag dolls.

To make matters worse, the plants suddenly started sprouting strange plants that, when they blossomed, released a toxic cloud of gas that Batman quickly identified as Joker Venom.

The casualty count was rising quickly, destruction of public property was now shoved firmly into the back burner of priorities.

Batman cursed as his Bat-plane was swatted out of the sky. He ejected at the last second of corse and continued fighting on foot.

A moment later Superman landed beside him, just in time to punch an incoming vine to smithereens. "We need to end this now!"

"The team will come through." Batman responded evenly.

Superman glared, "I believe in them as much as you do Batman, but their fighting people who give us bad days, a little worry is warranted I think!"

"Perseus will come through."

"How do you know that?"

Batman threw an explosive batarang to cull a vine before it could strike a group of fleeing civilians, "After seeing his whole life story from Martian Manhunter, I think I know it better than he does."

(:-3)

Jade cursed to herself as she Follow Sportsmaster out of the swamp. Their escape helicopter was parked just ten miles out so they were in for a nice little hike ahead of them.

"I didn't need you to save me you know." She hissed at her father as she trudged behind him. She didn't, she had been making escape plans for weeks now. Being mind wiped every time she left the cave didn't make it easy, but she was a professional for a reason.

Still, when an opportunity arises she knows better than to let it go by. Even if said opportunity is in the form of her piece of shit dad flashing shooting her with a needle thin dart from a kilometer away to let her know he was close by and that age should slip away.

Why doesn't anyone text anymore.

"I think you may be confused baby girl. I'm not here to save you."

Jade went still, before her hand drifted slowly to her sai…

She wasn't fast enough

My preferred version of the Joker: Arkham Games Joker. The one in Young justice was kinda lame.

Also hello! I'm still kickin! I hope I haven't gotten too rusty.

In my preparation to make this chapter I read through my doc and decided that it was time to provide Percy with an actual challenge for once, and who better to provide it than the incarnation of Chaos! Not to be confused with Khaos.

Obviously the good guys are gonna win (spoiler alert) but I've yet to decide how, and more importantly: whether or not the Joker will come out alive. I kind of want to keep him alive if only for future plot reasons, but I'm not sure that's how our version of Percy wound handle it. Let me know your thoughts please, or maybe just give a thumbs up or down.

No promises for the next chapter, but hey I can't back after two years, how often does that happen?

Also I'm working on my personal story (well my third one I keep starting and stopping adhd sucks) and I was thinking of posting the drafts on royal road or Wattpad or something. Let me know if you want to see that, I'm feeling pretty good about it so far

Love y'all