15 Return of Mount Justice

Central City

10:24 EDT, Thursday, July 8, 2010

X tapped his foot with eyes narrowed at the supervillain now tied up in front of him. "Let me get this straight. You wanted to defeat the Flash."

The captive wore an orange and blue striped shirt and a midnight cape. His pants were half orange and half yellow with blue polka dots. "Exactly! For I am the Trickster, his greatest archenemy."

"Uh-huh." The alien hero blinked. "I was just walking down the street, and I saw something sticking out from behind the warehouse." He gestured to the Rube Goldberg machine of assorted objects and weapons. "Low and behold, I find you stuffing a bowling ball into a turkey.

"Yes! It is one of the ways that I will overpower the scarlet speedster." He snapped his fingers. "I never had a chance to set up the crates of Orbeez and marbles."

Before Ben could reply, the familiar speedster finally arrived. "X! I got your call."

"Thanks, Flash." X pointed a thumb at the Trickster. "We were just talking about you."

A yellow blur soon followed with the red-headed teen from before coming in. "I came as fast as I could, Flash."

Ben smiled. "Hey, it's Mini-Flash!"

Hearing the name, the protege frowned. "It's Kid Flash. No one gets to call me Mini-Flash."

"Yeah, only I get to do that," declared the Trickster.

The teen rolled his eyes before staring at the man. "What? James? You relapsed."

Ben raised a brow. "Am I missing something here?"

Flash apologized. "He's got a medical condition. We know who to bring him to." He walked around the contraption for a bit. "I have to say, James. This might have been your most complicated work yet."

The villain smiled. "Thanks, Flash. That means a lot."

"That's not a good thing," replied KF. He looked over X. "So you're the new guy?"

(^ ^) "Yup. Nice to finally meet you. Flash has said a lot about you."

The teen laughed. "Good things, I hope."

"He mentioned how you kept crashing into walls when you first started out."

"I figured…" Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "I heard how you helped out the League against Wotan. You turned into a bunch of different aliens and kicked his but. Man, I wish we could have joined you guys."

"I mean, I helped, but it was Zatara that really took control of the situation. It was a battle of magic, after all.

KF scoffed. "Magic. Yeah, sure." He walked away, smelling something good coming.

X noted the tone, but he didn't press on the matter.

Meanwhile, James was chatting with Flash. "I was really hoping we could try it out later today, but never got a chance to finish."

"That's for the best, really. We'll take care of you in a bit." Flash turned to X. "On lighter news, the League finished going over the paperwork, and they want to see you again today about your probation membership."

Ben smiled. "That sounds like good news."

The scarlet speedster turned to the teen as well. "We would also like to see you and your friends as well."

Kid Flash stopped taking apart the contraption, holding a turkey with a bite taken out of it. "You guys are actually keeping your word about giving us more freedom?"

"Something like that. Batman will explain it better than I can." Flash walked over to the Trickster and picked him up. The two became a blur and a few seconds later, Flash returned, dusting his hands.

Kid Flash gave a thumbs up. "Great. Let's get to the alley."

Ben blinked at the teen. "What?"

Kid Flash pressed his face into his palms. "Oh, god. It's happening to me now. We have a teleporter!"

Soon, Flash, Kid Flash, and X stepped into the derelict looking phone booth and disappeared.

However, they never noticed a man in a Victorian lab coat standing on a rooftop not that far away. He tapped his cane against the floor. 'It seems things are all coming together.' He checked his metal right hand. 'I better not be late for the God of Knowledge. Who knew being let in here would lead to this.' Checking his pockets, he pulled out a red Fez. 'I hope my old friend is right about this sort of gift. I'm not sure if they are still cool.' In an instant, he disappeared from this plane of reality.

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor

10:58 EDT, Thursday, July 8, 2010

The trio exited the portal to see cave walls and an assortment of advanced hardware. Several heroes were moving equipment and cargo.

Kid Flash ran further into the cave. "Woah. This is so cool!"

X smiled as well. "Nice place. You got here."

"Thanks. It's kinda old, but it'll do." Flash walked over to the other Leaguers. "We still have time before the rest come, so let's help out with cleaning."

Overhead, Green Lantern and Captain Atom lifted the last large pieces of equipment around the Mountain.

In the central command room, they were ready to start the meeting. Four teens dressed in civilian clothes stood before, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Hawkman, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Captain Marvel. They had X stand to the side until the latter half of the discussion.

Batman stepped forward. "This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League. Due to recent events, we're calling it into service again. Since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms." Batman gestured to the others. "Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary requested to be in charge of training. I will assign your missions."

Wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, Robin spoke up. "What kind of missions?"

"Objectives will vary, but you will be deployed when the League is unable to respond," replied Batman.

Flash spoke up from behind Kid Flash's right shoulder. "The League will still handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these big targets on our chest."

"The Cadmus incident proved that criminals are getting smarter, and the League can't be everywhere at once," continued Aquaman before turning his head towards Batman to continue the flow of conversation.

That's why we've decided to try something new." Batman nodded and turned to Ben. "After further discussion, we at the League would like to welcome you as a probationary reserve member."

X smiled as the rest of the room congratulated him. "Thank you for the opportunity to work with you all. However, what does all this have to do with me?" He gestured to Mount Justice.

"As part of your probation, you will be shadowing the League's senior members for the next few months. I believe that assisting Black Canary in training, for now, would be beneficial to you and them."

X nodded at the offer. "I see. That doesn't sound too bad. I'll do it."

Batman turned to the teens. "With that out of the way, the five of you can get acquainted as a team."

"Cool! Wait." Robin blinked. "Five?"

Batman only looks over his protgé's shoulder and they turn to see Martian Manhunter stepping out of the shadows with a green-skinned, red-haired teenage girl. "This is the Martian Manhunter's niece. Miss Martian."

Along with the other adults, Ben waved at her as another genetic sample was logged.

She raises her left hand, giving them a small wave and smile, then a shy "Hi." Kid Flash quickly introduced himself while skimming over the others. "I'm honored to be included." Miss Martian clasped her hands in front of her to enunciate her point.

Upon greeting Aqualad, she gave him a wide side high-five. "Whazzup?" She then leaned back to the right while snapping her fingers.

The Atlantean teen smiled. "I am doing well. Thank you for asking."

While Aqualad and Aquaman shrugged off the unusual greeting, the others in the room looked at each other with raised brows.

Green Arrow leaned to J'onn. "Uh, where did she learn that?"

"Oh, she and I have been watching a lot of Earth television to understand the local culture," he whispered back.

"From what? The 90s?"

"Yes, actually. They were highly recommended online."

Elsewhere

Under a Cadmus' reconstruction, Guardian spoke to Dubbilex and the scientist from the endeavor. "Cadmus changes today. With Desmond out of the picture, the board has placed me in charge." he turns to the scientist. "Dr. Spence, you're acting Chief Scientist. No more G-gnomes suppressing our wills. No more secret breeding projects. This is a kinder, gentler Cadmus."

Dubbilex ensured Guardian. "Then I will of course help in any way I can, brother."

Unknown to the group, the entire conversation is being watched.

Ocean Master hummed in contemplation. "Can the Light afford to leave Guardian in charge without the G-gnomes?"

Lex Luthor shook his head. "We have a subtle means of control. What concerns me are the two new pieces on the board: the children and this shapeshifter. L-7, did you know of Wotan's plans?"

Klarion shrugged in indifference. "I mean, yeah. It was supposed to keep the League distracted, but how was I supposed to know their kids would intervene."

"My interest in this Shapeshifter and its possibilities," added the Brain.

Vandal Savage nodded. "We shall deal with these new variables carefully. We may be able to use them to our advantage. Even the temporary loss of the weapon may prove useful. Eventually, everyone sees the Light."