The Wolf's attack was relentless, as steady and as unyielding as the encroaching winter cold. Even injured as it was, Fate could not stop it, only slow it. Magical shields crumbled under the torrent of blows that the Wolf would deliver, breaking under heavy sweeps of bestial arms. Nature had created the Wolf to hunt, and no force in the universe could stop it after it had scented it's prey. Not the half remembered memories of friendship, not the begging of Fate, not the man within Fenrir, desperately trying to wrest control back from the Wolf. This would end only one way. . .

You are a monster. We know it, you know it. Why fight it?

The last magical shield shattered into a million brilliant specs of light that danced in the air, a beautiful yet grim juxtaposition for the ugly savagery that caused it. Fate was spent, the Wolf wasting no time in pressing home its advantage. The pain the Wolf was suffering was still clouding it's mind, a Godsend for Fate as the bestial monstrosity ignored a kill strike, the big lupine head darting forward, heavy jaws clamping down on the sorcerers arm with bone-crunching force. Fate's pained screams rang out, echoing through the base that was now strangely silent. The man trapped within the Wolf railed against his constraints placed upon him by the beast, desperate to regain control of his shared conscience before it was too late for his friend. Before it was too late for him.

The jaws tightened. Fate screamed louder. Only one way this could end. Have to fight it.

The screams stopped suddenly, the Wolf's jaws meeting a strange resistance, as if it was no longer in full control. The beast, releasing it's hold on Fate's arm, tried to claw wildly but it's limbs felt heavy and leaden. The Wolf, unused to being denied, began to lash out ever more wildly, struggling to comprehend why it wasn't moving as it should. Slowly a brilliant gold light enveloped him, its limbs now refusing to move at all. The pain from its wounds began to disappear, but the Wolf did not calm. It was afraid of what this portended. Animals have a heightened awareness of all things mystical and It realised quicker than the man what was happening. Then the voice thundered inside his head.

You are lucky Magnus Boyle. Lucky my host has petitioned for your life. I would have put you down, as one should when confronted with a rabid dog.

Magnus. A name he hadn't used in so long. . . so very, very long. But who was this strange, booming voice in his head, and how they know who he was? The only people who knew that Magnus was Fenrir were either long dead or disappeared into the wind, hiding from their crimes and the repercussions that would surely follow them. He didn't get very long to ponder this though, as the golden light blanketing him intensified, and with it an indescribable feeling of relief, like the feeling of finally managing to scratch and itch that had been tormenting you for weeks. The light shone so bright that the Wolfman felt that he was blind. He tried to raise his hand to his face but he couldn't even see that. A strange sensation tickled his spine, his legs, his arms, his entire body.

Slowly the light dimmed, and as it decreased his vision returned, not that he believed his eyes. His hand, still held in front of his face, was not the one that he remembered. Long, clawed hands had been replaced by soft pinkish ones, the fingers long and strong. He looked down in disbelief to see normal human legs leading to normal human feet.

I. . . I don't believe it. . .

His wonderment was short lived though, after he spotted the prone form of Fate. The former Wolfman fell to his comrades side, the horrible realisation that it was his fault chasing away his short-lived joy at his new found humanity.

"Fate. . . " He whispered, a cold dread gripping him "Fate" More forcibly now, but still no response.

"Somebody help. HELP!"

Orbit's knees wobbled as she looked around her, at the carnage. Bullets, destruction, fire, so much blood. Her body and mind were having trouble believing it was actually over. Still, the echo of the final gunshot still rang in her ears, a constant low whine at the edges of her hearing. "..." Her mouth opened, and she let out a soft, almost inaudible groan. There weren't words. They hadn't lost, but... there was no way that this was a victory.

Finally, her brain kicked into gear, moving her tired, adrenaline-worn body into motion. She moved to Gabe and crouched, laying a hand against his wound. "You flaming idiot..." It was something only the two of them would understand. She used to call him that, at the very beginning, when they were just getting used to each other. Jin nicknamed everyone, and neither her mentor or her partner had escaped at first. Eventually she settled into a respect for Batman, and a camraderie with Gabe, so the nicknames weren't so usual anymore. But now, he'd made a rookie mistake, thinking with his heart rather than his mind. In her mind, he was back to the start. "I'm so pissed off at you." She didn't know if he would answer, if he even could answer, or if he ever would-

A choked noise escaped her throat, as she placed more pressure than just her shaking hands could manage. Her power was all but gone, as she'd been doing some heavy work blocking all those bullets and a mutable shield besides. A splatter of blood against the black of her glove made her almost panic, until she realized it wasn't coming from Gabe's wound. It was coming from her nose, and it was enough that she had to turn her head and spit it out. She'd never bled like that before, and if everyone else hadn't been some form of bloody, she would have been worried.

"...someone wanna get us a stretcher? Some surgeons?" A smile graced her now-bloodied lips as she addressed the room in general. "Heck, I could make do with a needle and thread. Oh, or duct tape!" She gazed down at her friend, speaking to him as if he were conscious and ready to joke. "Remember that time we had to tape up my broken wrist, Hell? Man, that was a fight."

Gabe was slipping in and out of consciousness. He could feel the slick, warm blood gushing out of his wound. Pain ebbed from it, weak at first, then unbearable, pulsing throughout his body. The first time he regained consciousness, his vision was clouded by darkness, only able to see straight ahead of him... the ceiling. He heard Superman's voice- then Deathstroke's- heard Superman call the man Ben. Heard Ben call Superman Kal. Heard Superman say that Ben blames the League for Vixen's death... And then it all clicked. Gabe realised that Ben wasn't just any Ben- he was Ben Turner. The Bronze Tiger. His wife, Vixen, was killed by a rampaging Martian Manhunter, and Ben must have blamed the Justice League for it. But Gabe's reasoning didn't get that far. He slipped back into nothingness before he could finish forming his thoughts.

The second time he regained consciousness, Gabe could see a bit more clearly. He turned his head slightly, seeing Fenrir attack Fate. What was going on there? He opened his mouth to speak, to tell Fenrir to back off, but then pain racked his body, and his vision dimmed once again.

The third time, he saw Jin lean over him, her hand touching his wound. He winced at first, but decided to welcome her touch. It comforted him. This time, he could barely make out any sound, and his vision was both dark and blurry. He could only just register Jin's voice- he didn't need to be told that she was scolding him. He tried to lift his arm to touch her, just to let her know that he was alright, but he couldn't even manage that. The pain and exhaustion was too much. Then she applied more pressure to the wound, her voice changing to her usual joking tone, and Gabe felt himself warm up. He didn't know how she could keep so calm, but he was glad. Glad to hear that she wasn't too bothered about him. But what if she was bothered? What if she was worrying right that very second? If so, it was Gabe's fault... After all, it was he that had decided to attack Turner. He was the one that forced Turner to shoot him. It was all his fault. So as the guilt washed over him, Gabe opened his mouth to utter these words, his words pathetic and weak.

"Jin... I'm... Sorry..."

"I wasn't expecting THAT..." Ditto1 thought to himself absorbing his 3rd duplicate, after the man identified as "Ben" revealed himself to be the Deathstroke impostor who killed himself minutes later.

Ditto1 walked over to the injured Ditto2, who was being helped by Black Canary and Booster who was shot himself.

"I can take it from here, wish I could do the same for you 'Boost." Ditto1 said absorbing his last duplicate and becoming whole once again.

"It's not nearly the worst I've taken. I hope this is the last time you guys see this much death. 'Tiger just fell off the deep end, it's happened to the best of us at times..." Booster Gold commented while holding his leg.

"Don't make excuses for the man. I lost my significant other, to him no less, you didn't see me going out and executing the badguys or the League because of it did you? DID YOU?!?" Black Canary said a bit loud at the end and shaking some debris with her voice and resonance.

She walked off with her head down.

"You'd think seeing the man who killed your husband dead would give you some form of closure. Our 'den-mother' is clearly dealing with a lot of stuff." Ditto thought still trying to take everything in, including the now mostly hairless Fenrir.

---

Days later...

Billy Batson, now around 25-27 years old himself, is now the mentor of the kids in the team while Canary takes some time off to sort through some things. After moving some debris around the last few days in between rocking as a new radio DJ on the local Star City station, Batson decided it was time to just be Billy around the young heroes and not Shazam moving the stuff in the HQ around. After saying the magic word, lightning struck in the central hub of the underground HQ and the young heroes began coming around after dealing with the death and destruction of days earlier. The newest hero Bast was taken back to Gotham for an undetermined amount of time, not so much that she couldn't deal with what had happened, but because Catwoman couldn't. But there stood Billy, with floppy black messy hair and stubble, in jeans and a white t-shirt.

"I put a call into the Flash to help me finish up here with my speed of Mercury," he began pulling out a few credit cards, "these are basically company cards for the League in times like this. With the fire and cave in a lot of your things were destroyed. You guys split up and go shopping, catch a movie, just go out and be civilians for awhile..." he continued.

"Fenrir, Magnus, whatever you're going by now... Hawkman called earlier and said to be expecting a package soon..." Billy said in closing.

~KL~

"Magnus." Replied the former wolfman with a shy, almost bashful smile. The sound of his own name was exquisite, so good that he almost felt he could taste it, as sweet as honey on his tongue. It seemed such a small thing, but to forget your own name is a torture you don't even realise you're enduring, and the remembering of it a relief you never imagined receiving.

He had been living as if in a dream these last few days. The simple joys of having his old body, his old thoughts, were almost indescribable. Just looking into a mirror and not having to see a scowling, hulking monster was something he had thought long lost to him. If only Granny and her lackies could see me now. Would they recognise the man I am now? Or would they be offended that Fate has undone so much of their evil work?

Thoughts of Fate, or more accurately Phil, brought a pang of guilt to Magnus. The sorcerer had given the former wolfman the greatest gift he had ever received, and in return Magnus had tried to kill him. It didn't matter that he hadn't been in control at the time, the young metahuman still bore the full weight of responsibility for his actions. He had apologised time and again, until he was blue in the face, then apologised some more. Phil was probably sick of hearing it by now, but truth be told Magnus didn't think he would ever forgive himself for the accident, so he wasn't sure why Fate should either.

He took the card from Billy, realising that he had never used one before in his life. Never had a reason to. At first his parents had cared for him, but thoughts of his parents were too painful to deal with right now. Then he had been a prisoner, and prisoners don't typically get to deal with cash. Then he had been a refugee, and in his weakest moments the Wolf had provided, but the Wolf had little interest in junk food or designer clothes. Even the clothes he wore now were just spare work out sweats, dug out from the base's practice room.

Magnus just stared at the small piece of plastic in his hand, unsure of what to do with it.

Plastic Man was practically skipping back to base, meeting the former namesake really helped give him a boost in seeing what he was now, and more importantly what he can be. "I'm walking on sunshine, wellllll, and don't it feel good... hey." Plastic Man sung under his breath when suddenly he was back and base and it was very, VERY not like what it was when he left it. "Guys? I'm home?" Luke called out until he saw all of them, well most of them. Fenrir wasn't anywhere to be seen, just some guy. Fate's arm looked horrifyingly messed up, Hellfire, a Ditto, and Booster Gold were all shot. Plus part of the base was collapsed in and on fire. "Oh what the fluff?!" Plastic Man huffed in annoyance. "Did I miss something?" He asked as everyone very awkwardly looked at him.

---

Indeed Luke missed something, and now he felt bad about it.

When Luke was finally told what had happened, about 'Deathstroke', Magnus and Fate, everything. Luke felt guilty he wasn't there to do something. Everyone tried to console him, telling him he might not have been able to do much. Deathstroke's magical sword would've chopped him up, his ammo was too high caliber. All it did though was make Luke feel like he still should've been there. Dammit he was a hero right? He was suppose to be there in these kind of moments.

Regardless Luke helped however he could, and with all the changes came along Billy Batson, their newest den mentor. Since Black Canary had a lot to dwell on because of the imposter Deathstroke. Billy moved his morning radio show out to Star City and became the new mentor. It was quite nice to have him around. Black Canary was a good mentor to have, but he was like having a best friend. Very smart about things, but kind and not to mention quite funny. Luke took quite well to him. As he was given the credit card though Luke began to formulate numbers in his head. He had already gone out shopping a little, Wearing a purple polo shirt with jeans and loafers, But it was to get clothes to last him a few days. Regardless he did also make some other purchases while the HQ was getting repaired. An apartment in the swanky part of town first. Somewhere he could stay, and have as a general 'decompression chamber' of sorts when he needed to get away from the others. However his big purchase was still on it way.

Sure enough Luke's phone rang out, the ring tone Lorde's "Royals". "Hello? Ah so its all set to go? Fantastic." Luke started to leave, pocketing the credit card as he stopped and turned to the others. "Anyone want to go do some shopping with me? Jin how about you?" Luke asked pointing over to the young woman.

The machines that were used to heal injuries were surprisingly effective, Gabe found. It was the League's equipment, after all. His bullet wound had healed in three days, all evidence of its existence gone except for a barely visible scar. However, though the wound was healed, the pain was not. Gabe was weaker than usual, and the taking of deep breaths often resulted in racking coughing fits, the pain emanating from his chest. Whether this was the result of getting shot or because of something else, Gabe didn't know. Was he allergic to bullets? The more he dwelled on the question, the more he realised how idiotic it was.

He was with the rest of the team when Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, handed them each a credit card. Gabe found shopping to be an extreme bore, but he also found himself in a position of extreme guilt, as he was the one that burned everyone's belongings in the first place. After he woke up from a very brief coma, he was repeatedly scolded by Jin for being such an idiot, for letting his feelings take control, for not using his head. As much as he felt obligated to listen to her, he had often caught himself focusing on her features, not on her words. He couldn't help it. A fluttery feeling filled his stomach whenever he looked at her. What was that feeling? All he knew was that he was very fond of her.

Snapping himself back into reality, Gabe noticed, for the gajillionth time, that Magnus, who had only just recently revealed the name to everyone, was human, a feeling of disbelief coming with the observation each time. The guy seemed happy, and Gabe was happy for him as a result. Being a werewolf seemed to suck. A lot. So seeing Magnus happy was sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. If not, then you're probably Batman. Gabe hoped, not for the first time, that Batman couldn't read thoughts.

And then something happened which changed Gabe's reasonably good mood. Luke asked Jin if she wanted to go shopping with him. Though Luke hadn't said it, Gabe heard "Just the two of us" somewhere in there as well. And almost instantly, he felt a pang of... what was that feeling? It was a mixture of anger, hurt, hostility... Wasn't that jealousy? He was looking forward to watching a movie with Jin, a plan which had been postponed due to Bronze Tiger's rampage and subsequent death. He'd planned to ask Jin if it was still happening... Another plan, one that was repeatedly bashed in the face by Luke. But not yet, right? Jin was yet to answer Plas, after all. As these thoughts passed through his head, Gabe tried to keep his confused feelings from showing, but ultimately failed. His facial expression betrayed him. He'd never been good at hiding his feelings, anyway... No matter how hard Batman had tried to change it. His eyes darted quickly from Jin to Luke, dreading the answer that his brain was convinced she would say.

Laying on the hospital bed, Phil gazed at the overhead fluorescent lighting. He hadn't been the same since the battle. He didn’t trust the Helm anymore. What had once been a blessing was turning to a curse. Phil flexed his fingers, or at least tried to. Between the enchanted sword and the Fenrir’s teeth, his arm had been torn to literal ribbons in places, revealing the broken bone beneath. Phil wasn't sure if he would be able to use it again. He wasn't sure if he would be able to use the Helm again. Even though he hadn't put the Helm on since the fight, he had still been hearing Nabu's voice in his head, but it was softer, like an echo in a cave.

Once again Fenrir, or rather Magnus, entered the room. Like last time, he mumbled an apology to Phil. His tone was halting and low; he was still unaccustomed to his renewed human voice. Phil did not look at him. I hope he doesn't take it personally... Phil thought. I hope Nabu doesn't see him. Or hear him. Or however it is that he seems to know what happens to me. I don't know how he even perceives anything. He's just a helmet, after all.

"The wolfman returneth." Nabu's languid voice echoed once more in Phil's head. "His form was so easily changed. But his mind, that is more of a challenge. Still now, it stirs with animalistic urges. I could change that. Or I could change him back to a beast. I long ago mastered the art of shape-changing. Wolf, bear, lion. Take your pick." Nabu chuckled. Phil rolled over, trying to get away from the voice. He saw that Magnus had left some time ago.
”However, if you as I say, I will do you a favor: I won’t change your dear friend back into that wild beast. All you have to do is place my Helm upon that feeble head of yours. I’m sure you would be able to do that, now wouldn’t you? It’s over there on the table.”

Phil glanced, spying the Helm. How did that get there? Maybe they just brought it in with me… Phil thought.

”Be quick about it, boy! Put on the Helm!” Nabu yelled. ”I do believe that your so-called friend is growing fur as we speak.”

Hesitantly, Phil reached out, grabbing the magic helmet. He could here Nabu’s voice get louder and louder as he slowly put it on.

”Now I have you!” Nabu screamed once the Helm was on Phil’s head. In a flash of light, Phil blinked out of this world to someplace… else.

A plain stretched out in front of Phil, dead and dark like old leather. Scraggly branches twisted their way from the dry earth towards the grey skies as a final reminder that they had once been trees. A single tower rose above the bleak landscape. Where did he teleport me? I didn’t even know he could do that to me. He must be up in that Sauron look-alike, considering its the only thing around. Phil shivered, noting that he was in his street clothes, rather than the regalia of Fate. And where is the Helm?

Jin was not doing well.

She hadn't gotten a good night's rest since their base had been attacked, and had taken to sleeping with one of her orbs under her pillow. Even without her glove to launch the blades, she had a very good throwing arm. If anyone wanted to attack her in her sleep, they'd get a broken nose for it. There were dark rings under her eyes that she'd started to cover with makeup. It was really the only good use she'd ever found for cosmetics, hiding bruises and cuts.

Even though Gabe was awake and on the mend, she was still worried. He was making faces of pain, though she knew he was trying to pretend everything was fine. Everything was not fine. Mom-Canary had left, Bast was back in Gotham, Fenrir'd had a very close shave and was now Magnus, (she called him Maggie) and Phil's arm was torn to shreds. She hadn't bothered getting to know their new supervisor, Billy. He'd just leave anyway, whenever Canary got her groove back. Why bother making all that effort for someone who wouldn't be around?

She'd come to the common room when Billy had called, and looked curiously at the credit card. There was a lot she could do with this, but credit cards were so trackable. Before she could go back to her room, Luke mentioned her name, and something about shopping. She gave him a dubious look.

“Shopping for what? I've got enough clothes.” Her things had taken damage, but not so much that it bothered her. So her jeans smelled like smoke. No big deal. At least they were still functional. “I'm not hungry, and unless you wanna run me by the used electronics shop downtown, there's really nothing I need.” Her voice had a sort of flatness to it, like she didn't even have energy to spare for needless conversation. “What's the point of shopping?”

"What's the point of shopping?" Ditto had heard Orbit ask to nobody in particular.

Kilian Darukk had seen death before, just before coming to the planet Earth his mother lost one of her duplicates. Still, it wasn't the same as seeing a man try to murder his friends and then commit suicide. Many of the young heroes took Billy up on his offer, taking the credit cards and heading out into the city. It was obvious to Kilian not all of them had been able to deal with all they'd seen. Apollo returned just in time days earlier, it probably would've been better for him had he not had to witness everything that had went down.

As some of the young heroes headed out into the city, Ditto split into his three selves. Ditto2, the one who had been shot, was pretty much healed from their own enhanced physical attributes.

"Number Two, I want you to be the one to take it easy today. Go out with Shock or somebody, I only mention Shock 'cause she mentioned a barbeque recipe a few days back. Go out, have some fun, enough for the three of us..." Ditto1 began to say...

"What about you two?" Ditto2 asked raising an eyebrow.

"War Room." Ditto3 said bluntly and to the point.

"I guess I'll see you when I get back then," Ditto2 said touching his symbol and disipating his suit revealing regular civilian clothes, "Hey, Veronica, wait up!" he yelled across the base.

Minutes later...

The War Room was cold. After hitting a few switches lights came on and machine started functioning and making noise. Ditto1 had learned the English language now and understood the controls of the 'Room better. After setting it on a medium level threat and scenario, Ditto1 joined his duplicate down in the 'Room and readied himself with stretching and popping his neck. The surroundings blurred and suddenly the young hero clad mostly in black was in a busy downtown area. One explosion seemingly from a bank had Ditto running over and seeing his enemy in this session... Warp...the teleporting/flying foe of the Justice League.

~KL~

If Guillermo del Toro directed The Last Crusade, this is what it would look like, Phil thought as he wandered past statues of sphinxes and long-forgotten gods, through hidden passageways lined with richly carved columns, and under archways carved with runes whose meanings have been forgotten centuries ago.

A voice echoed from no where in particular, warm and gentle, but firm, in contrast to Nabu's hauty arrogence and general distain. "Turn now to your right. No, your other right. That's it." A couple of years ago, before I found that Helm, I might have thought twice about listening to disembodied voices, thought Phil. I probably would have thought I was going insane. Now, I'm following a stranger through some crazy magic prison in an attempt to rid myself of another disembodied voice. Maybe I should begin to question my sanity.

"Say the magic words I taught you to open that door. No come in young man," the voice said, emulating now from an amulet lying on an ornate pedestal.

Hopefully this talking relic is nicer than the last one. "Are you, um, the Necklace of Nabu?" Phil asked tentatively.

"No, young wizard. The relic you see before you is the Amulet of Anubis. It normally does not talk, I assure you, however I am trapped inside of here, thanks to the madness of Nabu. My name is Kent V. Nelson, former Doctor Fate and Lord of Order," the voice explained. "It seems that you have been trapped here as well."

"And where is here?" Phil asked.

"Do you not know where you are?" Kent implored. "This, son, is the Tower of Fate! It is supposed to be a sancuary for Doctor Fate, but Nabu has turned it into a prison for those that would get in the way of his plans. Something is wrong with him, son. I believe this madness is not natural, but rather the workings of an agent of Chaos. As I am imprisoned in here, it must be you that breaks this curse. Don't worry, I do have a plan."

Hearing Jin deny Luke's offer to take her shopping hadn't changed Gabe's envious mood. Her response not only discouraged Luke, it discouraged anyone else from asking her to go shopping. So now not only did Gabe not confidence, he also didn't have a chance. And he thought girls liked shopping!

Looking down at the floor, the Bat-Prodigy thought of ways to get his mind off girls. There were movies to watch. Always movies to watch. There was a new addition to the Speedy and the Seething series, and Gabe was busting to watch that one. He'd gotten hooked on the series back in Gotham, and had watched all of the current movies a grand total of twenty-one times. But they weren't the kind of movies you'd want to watch alone, and Gabe was looking for a way to get girls out of his head, not in. So instead of searching for a girl other than Jin to ask to the movies, Gabe found himself turning towards Magnus, who was staring at his credit card in a confused expression.

"Hey, Magnus? Do you think you'd want to watch a movie? Just to, uh, hang out and stuff, y'know?" asked Gabe. Man. He was as awkward with boys as he was with girls.

The sound of someone else speaking his name brought Magnus out of his momentary reverie. He turned to look at the speaker, surprised to see it was Gabe. The fire-wielder hadn't really spoken to him much, and Magnus had always figured that he had probably been more preoccupied with Jin. Gabe always gave off a funny smell when he was around Batman's other ward. The sorta smell an alpha male would give off when approaching a suitable mate. The sorta smell that Plasticman had recently started giving off around her too, a situation which could get complicated fast.

Still, it had been so long since Magnus had experienced real human contact. His one sided conversations with Fate weren't exactly fulfilling, and Hawkman hadn't been the most sociable of late, ever since the death of Hawkwoman. Understandable, really. Bare seconds past before Magnus answered.

"Yes!" he almost barked it, not even bothered what they were going to see. Not that he had kept up to date with Hollywood's trends as Fenrir.

Gabe jumped back in his chair, momentarily taken aback by Magnus' excited reaction. He hadn't expected the former wolfman to be that enthusiastic about watching a movie, but hey, he'll take whatever he can get. And so it was then that the teen bolted up onto his feet, grimacing slightly at the pain that followed.

"Okay, awesome. Let's, um... Go to the movies now, buy the tickets there, save some time to buy snacks. That sound good?" he suggested between moments of discomfort.

Magnus looked on with concern. Gabe looked to be in some amount of pain still, grimacing as he got out of his chair. It was a trial that the savage metahuman had never experienced, even if he had put up with tortures that would kill a normal man. His super-human regenerative abilities usually had him healed up in no time. Still, it looked uncomfortable to say the least.

"Sounds good," returned Magnus. He hoped his short replies wouldn't cause offence. He still hadn't mastered English, but since he had become human again his taciturn nature could come across as churlish, when in reality it was because of his embarrassment at his lack of skill in communicating.

"You can lead. . .I don't know the town well," he continued with a shy smile.

Gabe broke into a grin. 'This... Is going to be fun,' he thought as he walked towards the hallway, occasionally limping from the pain that was emanating from his mostly-healed bullet wound. He signalled with his hand for Magnus to follow, also nodding at the rest of the team, in a moment of polite farewell.

"Alright Magnus, follow my lead. We're going to tear up this town," said he, a newfound confidence surging through his pain-filled body. The pain was suddenly masked by a feeling of light-heartedness, one which was only achievable in good company.

Magnus trotted behind obediently. The thought crossed his mind that he was behaving exactly as a well behaved dog might, following when beckoned and listening to commands. A slight smile spread across his face. All that time Granny wanted me to become a good little attack dog and all she had to do was turn me back into a human. The irony abounds.

He hoped it didn't get to hectic though. The last time the pair of them 'tore it up' their base almost got burnt to the ground, and Fate nearly died. Still, what's the chances of that happening twice?

The two metahumans walked out of the base together, already enjoying each other's company. And so sprung a friendship from the ashes of tragedy.

(GG/Sam)

The second Ditto, or rather Ditto2 or Number Two, had set out to enjoy life on Earth with the heroine known as Shock. After learning the English language and alphabet one of the first things Kilian Darukk did was read the files in the League database on his teammates. Shock was one of the more interesting legacy heroes in that her older brother had been a hero for around a decade now. Static, the guy on the Dakota City manhole cover. The two young heroes made their way into the forest to explore the large star shaped green area that consumed most of the center of the city.

"So I don't sound like a complete sook-up, I'm gonna go ahead now and say your brother is one of the coolest guys out there doing the hero thing..." Kilian2 said to Veronica and mispronouncing the word suck-up.

Veronica laughed. "Suck-up? But yeah, he is pretty cool. Not as cool as me though!" She winked and pulled out her pipe. "Way better than a manhole cover."

"Did you really have to bring that thing? I mean, I can understand wanting to be prepaired, but you ARE in the presense of a Carggite triplicate with enhanced strength. I'd break some doomass in half before you had to beat them with that thing..." he said now trying to sound tough while also mispronouncing dumb-ass.

"Very true." She stifled a giggle at his mispronounciation. "But, it's always fun to get a birds eye view."She winked and then hopped on, sideways. "Wanna ride?"

"I'm not too sure, V... it looks a lot smaller up close. I don't think I can balance on that..." he said kind of nervously at the large steel pipe with intricate piece on the ends.

"Is the mighty Carggite scared?" she laughed and did a quick lap around him. "C'mon, it'll be fun, I promise."

"On Cargg I rode on the backs of tusked sabre cats, one lap can't be that baaaaaaAAAAH!! he yelled after trying to hop on, taking the pipe a little hard in the crotch of his pants.

He quickly lost balance and fell off the side of the pipe while barely knocking Veronica off center. The Carggite had never taken such a sting in his crotch on his alien world. Kilian2 would not make the mistake twice, however he knew somewhere Kilian1/Ditto1 felt a low blow.

Back at HQ, in the War Room...

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Ditto1 screamed to Ditto3's surprise in the middle of fighting Warp in close quarters.

"What happened, is it Warp or something with 2?" Ditto3 asked backhanding Warp through some debris.

"I think Shock just kicked Number 2 in his [alien dialect for balls]!" he began saying, "..but we're good, we can take this Earth clown..."

Back in the forest of Star City...

Kilian2 picked himself and what was left of his pride off of the ground beneath him. The elegant sister of Static flew around on her pipe like a witch on a broom stick. But it wasn't a broom she was riding on and she was anything but a witch and Kilian2 just admired her for as many moments as he could before she caught him staring.

She was a little bit flustered when she caught him looking, so she hopped off her pipe. As she put it away, she awkwardly stared at the trees. "Hey, you know...anything worth doing doesn't come easy. Maybe we could try it again. You could use a lesson or two."She looked towards him now and smiled gently as she thought about how cute the alien was.

E/~KL~

From high atop the Pru, a lone figure leers down at the street below, unflinching. The wind howls around him, nothing but open air and a long drop ahead of him. He takes a deep breath, steadying himself as he balances precariously at the top of the tallest antenna he could spot.

“No fear… no fear… you’ve got the courage of Achilles, remember?” He takes care to remind himself, his words barely above a whisper compared to the cacophonous vortex around him, “No fear.” He recites the phrase like a prayer, closing his eyes and putting all of his faith in his words. He feels his fingers slacken against the metal rod he’s presently holding on to, his toes teetering over the edge. He lets go… and says the magic word:

“CAPTAIN MARVEL!”

Lightning descends from the heavens as quickly as he falls out of the sky, the bolt of noise and magic seeming to be racing him to the ground. He’s done this at least a half-dozen time, each time waiting longer and longer before pulling the trigger on summoning his powers. He’s wanted to do this ever since he was a kid, leap off of the Prudential Building, but now that he has the power to do it and survive… he feels he’s just testing himself, pushing his limits as to how far he can go. He’s young, brash as Billy would say, but then… Billy’s not here, is he?

The lightning connects. There’s a blinding, brilliant flash of light, a sound of thunder… and suddenly the young man isn’t plain-clothed, 17-year-old Robbie Currie anymore.

No, now he’s Thunder. …He absolutely refused to be called Captain Marvel Jr., Billy’s insistence on “tradition” or no.

He veers up, soaring over the brownstones of the Back Bay and out across the Charles River. He skims his fingers along the water, the wake created by him rippling out and towards either side of the shore. He rolls over in midair and turns upward, trying to make out the stars above but with little success because of the city lights. He turns again and shoots upward, up into the clouds.

Once he gets to a high enough altitude, he pauses to take it all in. The city of Boston, that skyline he’s seen all his life… he never gets sick of it, ever. But those new security postings blemishing the skyline, the so-called “police” roaming the streets who were no better than jackbooted thugs… that’s different, and he’s gotten sick of them awfully quick. But he's forced to deal, if he wants to protect his home. One needs to be on good terms with the local authorities, Robbie can practically hear Billy chastise him.

He's broken out of his reverie by the chirping of his earpiece.

“Robbie?”

Well, speak of the devil. Robbie taps the earpiece he’d been instructed to wear at all times while out and about, just so his mentor can get a hold of him, “Yeah, Billy? What’s up?”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m home, Billy.” He tells his mentor, not completely a lie, “Why?”

“I’m over at the Young Justice compound in Star City. …I think it’s about time you met the team.”

Robbie almost drops out of the sky from pure shock, “You think so?” He asks, trying not to let his elation show too much.

“Yeah, I think I do.” Billy says over the open line, “Can you make it tomorrow?”

“I can make it tonight.” Robbie argues, in no hurry to delay his induction.

“Not necessary; most of the team is taking the night off. They’re out and about. Take the night off, finish whatever homework you have left—”

“Yeah, okay, mom…” He groans. Sometimes, Billy really did feel like his mother.

Still, it gets a chuckle out of him, “…and then you can come and meet the team tomorrow.”

“Fine, Billy. …See you tomorrow.”

“See you then, Robbie.” The call is ended there. Robbie hovers in midair for a while, contemplating all the things to come…

“First, you need to go back to the Earthly realm. You cannot accomplish our task here in the Tower, where Nabu has so much power. You must also take me with you.”

The memory of Kent Nelson’s instruction passed through Phil’s mind. He awoke, not in the Tower of Fate, but in the newly renovated infirmary in the Young Justice base. He groped around his neck until his fingers found it: the Amulet of Anubis. It worked then, just as Kent – er, Mr. Nelson had said. First step down.

“Where are you, you cowering cretin?!” Nabu’s voice sounded even more distant now. “Come back here! I will destroy you for such insolence!”

Kent’s voice once more floated to the top of Phil’s memory.

“Do not worry about Nabu for now. He can neither control you nor read your thoughts as long as you do not don the Helm of Nabu. When you need magic, you will be able to draw on my power, as well as that of the Amulet of Anubis

“I will teach you the spell we need. Due to your binding to the Helm, it must be you that casts the spell. Unfortunately, you lack the magical finesse needed. I will teach you all I can in this short while. However, you will need to practice in the Earthly realm. It is much different and more difficult working magic there. It may take several days to adjust.”

The best place to train would probably be the War Room. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to battle Doomsday again… Phil thought as he headed to the lower levels. With almost everyone gone, the base had an eerie vibe to it.

It turned out that the War Room was not empty. From the observation deck, Phil saw two-thirds of Ditto battling a teleporting villain that Phil did not recognize.

“Yo! Ditto! I call next round!” he called down to his teammate.

Ditto1 could just barely make out the control room window in the upper edges of the War Room, however the two man Ditto team were just as effective as ever. Phil was waiting for the next round in the War Room but the Carggite didn't see him with the helmet of Fate, rather a golden amulet in his hands shining bright. Warp teleported once more to try and get the drop on Ditto1 and didn't see Ditto2 had already set him up for a clothesline in mid-air. The villain was defeated and the Star City Mall scenery faded into the steel and computerized looking walls and the training droid's holographic appearance faded revealing it;s robotic state. The two Carggite's became one and headed for the exit. On Kilian's way out, he spoke into the intercom up in the control room...

"Don't know what kinda new toy you brought to play with, but let me know how it goes, Phil."

"Thanks Ditto," Phil replied. As he began to type in the new scenario, the aching began to come back in his damaged arm. When the computer asked for number of combatants, Phil wondered if there was anyone else that wanted to join in training...

Ditto went on to see both Captain Marvel and the Flash working together like a pair of red and gold blurs to finish the repairs to the main floor of the HQ. He noticed the main difference, the meeting room was now suspended to a glass hallway high above the floor of the level looking down and around the rest of the floor. The new personal quarters were much of the same thing, now all in white marble with a jagged rock wall on the one side of the hallway and the back walls of the young heroes' rooms. After taking off his mask and upper part of his suit to cool off a bit, Kilian decided to check the fridge. Maybe there was something in the fridge this time of day that could give him the energy to go another few rounds with some holo-droids in the War Room. What the young alien found is what seemed to be another type of barbecue in some plastic container. It was some BBQ beef that Shock had brought from her parent's home a day or so earlier, and as far as the alien had known BBQ chicken was the only meat around coated in the tangy goodness that was bbq sauce. He'd had what was called 'beef' in hamburgers, and while he didn't understand why ham wasn't in hamburgers, he never questioned if BBQ was served on anything other than chicken. This beef was shredded, like no hamburger beef that Kilian had seen in his weeks on Earth. Kilian dug into the pound or so of BBQ beef with his now bare hands and had he not removed his shirt and mask earlier he would have made a dark red or maroon mess on them. With sauce now all over his face and hands, and bits that had dripped onto his chest, he looked like a wild animal on the Discovery Channel tearing into a smaller animal.

"Oh yeah, maaaybe I shouldn't have done that. Desert snare beasts on Cargg don't make this much of a mess tearing into jellyhogs..." Kilian said out loud with his glowing green eyes flickering making his only available duplicate in the same shape as himself.

"What's up, and why do we look like desert snare bea.." Ditto2 began saying, also shirtless and dirty with BBQ sauce.

"See if you can find the new shower rooms/restrooms and score us a towel. But don't use it on yourself before I reabsorb you, otherwise I'm still a mess..." Ditto1 instructed.

"I'll be right back." Ditto2 replied jogging away.

~KL~

Luke stayed paused in the room, hand still outreached to Orbit even though it meant nothing now. Slowly and awkwardly he watched the others leave as he glanced around and saw them exiting. Looking back over at Batson, Luke only got an awkward shrug from the mentor as he sighed realizing the crappiness of it all. Scratching the back of his head Luke left deciding he needed to get his car at least, maybe just get some stuff for his apartment at least.

As Luke took his time, strolling down the streets outside. He glanced up at the sunny sky through his shades. He had arranged to have his new car dropped off away from the HQ so there wouldn't be any clues given out as to its location or where one can access it. Lord knows they've had enough house guests already. Finally he met with the two gentlemen from the car shop, and got a look at his brand new ride. A dark cherry red Lamoghini Gallardo. Given a tune up, better sound system, and much more comfortable seats. It was a gorgeous ride worthy of anyone with a taste for European sports cars. Luke paid for the work their shop had done, leaving in a fat tip in for a thank you on the job being in such short notice. Finally Luke slid in nice and easy. Feeling the fine leather seating cushion him, gripping the steering wheel. Turning on the engine gave him a thrill that coursed through his veins comparable to the superhero lifestyle itself.

Driving around the city aimlessly, people gazing over and wondering who was driving behind the black tinted windows. Luke thought about the others, Orbit especially. How just beaten up she looked, sounded, just seemed to feel in general. Luke paused at a stop light, thinking about what she said when suddenly an idea, and a smile from said idea, creep onto his face. Quickly Luke punched into the GPS to look for a computer store. Pulling away as the light turned green. He knew the perfect pick-me-up for her....

Phil inspected the controls to the War Room. No wonder Ditto messed up last time. I understand English and I can't make heads or tails of all this. Maybe someone knows how to work this thing. Orbit seems pretty good at computers, maybe she can help. She's pretty bad-ass, too. Maybe she can share some of that Bat-fu knowledge.

Exiting the control room, Phil wandered through the base, looking for the telekinetic techno-wiz.

Orbit was in the workroom, sitting on a stool in front of a long bench. Her orbs were dismantled in carefully laid out pieces, and she was carefully cleaning them and shining them. They were already clean, because she'd done this yesterday. And the day before. The day before that, too. Her orbs were shining, dust free, and if they could speak, would probably complain of chafing. Honestly, tools and combat were the only things that kept her hands from shaking lately.

She'd cleared out quick after denying to go shopping with Luke. She didn't even know that Gabe had left. Slowly, she ran a tiny cotton swab around the outer edge of her blade, removing dirt that wasn't there. Her fingers spasmed and she fumbled the swab, losing it to the ground. "Dammit!" She swore, setting aside the blade she was working on. Slowly, she leaned on the workbench, her cheek resting against the cool metal. Her eyes slid shut of their own accord.

Phil entered the workroom, and softly knocked on the door frame to announce his presence.

"Hey Orb, what's up? I'm finally feeling better after..." Phil trailed off after he thought about all he'd been through these past couple of days. The fight, Nabu, the Tower. His arm. Now that he was back in this reality, he could feel the pain of his wounds once more. He tested his fingers: they responded, but slowly and painfully. His eyes snapped back to his teammate.

"So anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to do the War Room with me," Phil said. He was suddenly embarrassed that he couldn't figure out the controls, and decided to not mention it. [i]Orbit is put together, it's intimating. She knows how to use her powers, she knows unarmed combat, and even all this techno-stuff. I can barely cast my spells properly.

Jin opened her dark eyes, staring down Phil with sudden intensity. It was like she wasn't looking at him, but someone else. Blinking several times, she lifted her head from the bench and gently cracked her neck. "War Room... yeah, sure." She rubbed her cheek a bit. "Sorry. Was just... ah... catching a couple Zees." After casting a look back at her unfinished but unnecessary work, she hopped down from the bench and walked past Phil.

"You sure you're even up for a fight? I mean..." She gave a look to his arm. The way he held it spoke of injury all over. "Maybe you should rest or something. Unless you can toss magic with your other hand." Her slim shoulders rolled into a seemingly indifferent shrug.

Phil shrugged. "It hurts, but it should be fine." I need to get this plan in action. I can't let pain get in the way.

Jin led the way to the War Room without further comment, and looked over the controls. With her head tilted to the side, she studied them, her eyes darting back and forth rapidly as they did when she was figuring something out.

"So, who do you think we should fight?" Phil asked.

Jin spoke with her eyes still on the controls. "Depends. I mean, I'm tech and you're magic. Usually they don't play along, so I guess we gotta find something we can both handle." A faint, predatory smile twisted her lips. "Or something we can't. But you're hurt, and I don't feel like trying that hard."

Phil flashed back a grin. "Are you wimping out on me?" Phil asked. He didn't want to admit how much his arm was hurting. Holding the Amulet in his fist, Phil reached out to Kent Nelson. Is there anything I can do about this arm?
"Remember the shield spell? Just imagine that wrapping around your arm when you cast it. And watch out for this one. You best not push her too hard, she's close to breaking down."

Jin snickered, unaware that Phil was having another conversation. "Me, wimp out? Please. I'm looking out for you, Philly."

"I got this," Phil said trying to sound confident. He held up the Amulet of Anubis, and, with a focus of will, cast the shield spell just as Kent had instructed. Gold ribbons formed and laced themselves around Phil's healing arm, almost looking like a boxer's hand wraps. "See? All better."

Jin watched, the fascination in her eyes evident. "That's a nice trick." She would love to know how magic worked. There had to be some kind of rules, right? Something to know what would work and what didn't. Otherwise, magic would be everywhere... "Alright, Cheesesteak." She calmly adjusted the dials and levers, having worked out the basics of the control panel. Working it out in more detail would take another hour.

"Cheesesteak?" Phil repeated, wrinkling his nose at Jin's nickname.

"Yep." She grinned widely at him, teasingly. "Or perhaps I call you Philly Cheese instead? I was gonna go with Doctor Phil, but given the choice... I'd rather be something tasty than a big white dude who talks too much."

"Uh, and what should I call you? Jin and Tonic?" Phil playfully punched Jin on the arm. She was still struggling with the controls of the War Room. "Instead of messing with holo-driods, maybe we could just spar? You culd show me some of those Batman moves."

Jin raised an eyebrow, turning from the controls. "Uh... you sure? I don't want to hurt you. I mean, you were laid out in the infirmary a good while. The last thing I wanna do is put you back in a bed." She smirked and tweaked several things, before turning it on. The War Room settled into what looked like a Japanese dojo. A pristine wooden floor beneath their feet, sliding paper walls on the far ends, and out one cracked window was the view of a starry night. Jin kicked off her worn sneakers, and looked to Phil.

"So. What do you wanna learn?"

Following Jin's example, Phil kicked off his shoes as well. "Maybe some basic moves. I don't know much about martial arts... I just want to be better in combat," Phil explained. "Maybe some grappling moves?" What am I getting myself into? Phil thought.

Dizzy/Riurik

Days later...

After the battle with the new Deathstroke, formerly the hero known as Bronze Tiger, the team now called the Young Justice League by the press got reacquainted with their underground HQ. Captain Marvel and the Flash did a good job of working with the cave like set up and had reconstructed the foundations around the corners of the cave. The new personal quarters were a lot more sleek in design, and the bathrooms/showers were now split apart instead of being non gender specific. The young Carggite exited his room and walked down into the main area of the HQ beneath the meeting room now above the floor and looking down over the rest of the base. Billy had left a note that he had to cover for another DJ at the radio station and he'd be back late. It was on the refrigerator, the one place everyone would see it. He'd mentioned a protegee would be coming by to check out the team sooner than later and everybody had wondered what a younger Capt. Marvel would be like since Billy himself was a pretty awesome guy.

"Can somebody let a metahuman criminal escape from Supermax Prison or something? It feels like it's been forever since we took down a criminal..." Kilian mumbled to nobody in particular, "..I'd take a cliche bank robbery at this point just to stretch my legs somewhere other than the War Room..." he continued while making himself a sandwich.

Kilian walked out of the kitchen and made his way towards the lounging area where they had a couple flat screen tv's, couches, and chairs. After turning on the tv Kilian was surprised his questions were answered. A female looking yellow creature had come up out of the Pacific Ocean on Star City's coast and had civilians and the authorities frightened and at bay. Heroes were clearly needed...



...Kilian ran towards his private quarters to grab his black and white costume. He pushed the Yellow Alert on his way and hoped he wouldn't be alone in dealing with the situation, but time was not something he had to waste...

~KL~

"Dear Mum and Dad, its me, Magnus" . . . No.

"I have waited so long to write this" . . . Wrong again.

"Remember me?" . . . That's the worst of the bunch.

Magnus had faced Shrapnel without blanching, stared down a known hero-killer like Deathstroke/Bronze Tiger and hardly worried, even managed to escape Granny and her Huntsman without a second thought to his own safety, yet now a simple letter had him flustered. But this was no simple letter, to him this was quite possibly the most important letter ever written of all time. Or at least it would be whenever he managed to write it.

But how do you tell your parents, parents who haven't seen you in almost a decade, that you aren't dead?

Too make matters worse Magnus's handwriting was terrible. Years of having talons instead of fingers will have that effect. He didn't want to use a computer to write the message for a couple of reasons, firstly that it felt to impersonal and secondly he was terrible with technology. So he sat and he wrote and he crossed out what he had written and he worried that it would never be good enough. At this rate he would never speak to his parent's again, never manage to let them know that their son wasn't dead.

Why not just go to them? the thought leapt unbidden into his head, a host of conflicting emotions battling within him at it's wake. He couldn't go home, not while Granny was still looking for him. She was sure to have spy's watching his old town, waiting for him to rear his head. He was almost surprised that the Pack hadn't been attacked by Granny's agents yet after their battle with Shrapnel had been televised, showing Fenrir in full glory, but then even Granny would be wary of facing off with the Justice League. But if he was to go home on his own then she would strike, making the best use of his time alone. No, the letter would have to do for now.

A flashing yellow light disturbed his thoughts, a Godsend for the Meta teen really. If he remembered rightly then yellow meant some sort of villain disturbance. His lips pulled back into a tight smile, revealing white teeth. He'd been cooped up too long, it was time to let the Wolf out. Quickly donning the costume that Hawkman had sent him and buckling his new Hunting knife onto his belt he made his way to the corridor, nearly bumping into Ditto on the way.

"Trouble," growled Magnus, his monosyllabism seemingly a fixture now. Though his words went very descriptive the way he said them was, as his tone indicated it was both a statement and a question, as he was keen to know if the Cargitte knew anything more of the situation.