186I have returned! And I am more powerful then ever! (Dodges a hail of bullets) Woah, woah there guys! I am very sorry for the really long wait, but there was some very good reasons for it.
First off, I had gotten a new job that was really draining for me. Plus, this whole coronavirus thing. Which not only contributed heavily to the stress at work, but also got me and a decent amount of my family freaked out. Which only added another layer to that. Luckily we are all in good health and are safe.
Mostly though I just sort of needed a break from this story. I was having a hard time summoning inspiration for it and needed to take a step back. Remind myself why I loved this story in the first place. Obviously I'm back now so it worked. One other good thing about the break, is I was able to refine more of the plot and how I want certain things to go. So that's good.
So some... well depends on your definition of good news. But it is interesting news! Not only will this be the chapter where The Team goes on their first real mission. It will also be where we get the reveal of Ben's costume and hero name! Remember, the name is corny but intentionally so, even in universe. Now for answering reviews!
JimmyHall24: I know right! It's one I've wanted to show off from the start.
DRAGONDAVE45: We'll see. There is something I have in mind.
DullReign82: I mean I guess that could be neat. Wouldn't happen though. Baby Necrofriggians need to live in cold places, with solar plasma to feed on. Aka, space. Also, Necrofriggian's only reproduce every 80 years. So by that logic Ben will give birth again when he's 95 years old.
Emrys Akayuki: I KNOW RIGHT?!
Amit Barabi: There is no fan art of the new Omnitrix design, hint hint anyone who wants to draw it. PM me and I'll tell you more.
Rio Skyron: More then likely no.
Axe Hero: Thank you, I will fix that in the future.
CorruptHero: Yep!
Maximum Rhapsody: I will definitely be adding my own stuff, do not worry. Some of it is original, others inspired by other DC stuff.
That's all there is so without further ado, let's get going!
Santa Prisca. July 22nd, 8:08 pm
Today was the day. Today our group of teenage superheroes had their first actual mission. Inside their Bio-Ship The Team sat, mentally preparing themselves for what's to come, while also going over mission goals in their heads. According to Batman, this island nation they were on route to called Santa Prisca was the headquarters of a massive drug smuggling ring. Said drug was a kind of a super steroid called, Venom. The guy running things was a man called Bane. He was an old enemy of Batman's.
However, shipments of Venom had been cut off for some time. This is where they came in. The Team's orders were to secretly infiltrate, investigate and report back what they find. Simple enough right? Well... it didn't look like it so far. Bat's had told them right off the bat to select a leader on their own. However, they had failed to before setting out. Robin seemed pretty eager but nobody had actually agreed, or tried to deny him. They mostly ignored him actually.
Ben didn't like this. Lack of properly defined leadership always leads to disaster. "So guys," Ben said getting everyone's attention. "I really think we should select a leader now. You know, before we get there."
"I wholeheartedly agree." Aqualad chipped in.
"We already have a leader." Robin assured. "Me. I mean I do have the most experience, so the choice is obvious." He wasn't wrong. From what he heard, Robin had been on the job longer then anyone here. Even Ben himself since he took those four years off. Still though...
"Just because you've been doing this longer. Does not necessarily mean your the best fit for leader." The Omnitrix hero reminded.
"Just you watch. After this mission, you'll see." He told him confidently.
Ben still didn't like this, but they couldn't argue anymore as the first drop zone was almost upon them. "Might as well give him a shot, I guess."
Getting up from his seat, Aqualad pushed the symbol on his belt. This caused his suit to go into stealth mode. Which changed the bright red shirt he had on to dark grey.
"Approaching drop zone one." M'gann stated plainly. The floor opened up and Kaldur jumped into the ocean below. Easily taking out any obstacles he found while swimming towards the shore.
'Motion and heat sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop, move in.' They heard Kaldur say over their coms. When they reached drop zone two, everyone got up from their seats, which sunk back into the ground. Wally pushed his lightning bolt symbol, which turned his suit black and dark grey with hints of dark red.
"Gotta say, I was unsure about this new stealth tech. But black is definitely my colour. Speaking of new outfits, yours is... interesting Ben."
That's right Ben had a super suit! He was wearing a tight white sleeveless coat with green highlights, black fingerless gloves and a brown utility belt with an hourglass symbol acting as the buckle. On his lower body he had on black spandex pants, with white long boots that had green bottom souls. Finishing off the outfit was a mask identical to Robin's. This addition was at Batman's request. But Ben didn't mind.
"I'll be honest, I feel more like a comic book character now." Tapping his belt buckle, his clothes also shifted to stealth mode. All his greens became much darker, while the whites shifted to very dark grey.
"Duh, that's half the fun."
"By the way Wally, remember it's Omniman for the time being."
He snickered. "I still can't get over how dumb that sounds."
"Says the guy that knows someone named Superman? Let's also not forget to mention Aquaman, Batman, Green Arrow, our teammate is named after a bird and-"
"Alright, alright point proven." In classic Wally fashion he turned his attention to Miss Martian. "What do you think?" he asked. Trying to impress her with his outfit.
"Very impressive." She told him before her own outfit began to change. Her clothes quickly morphed into a skin-tight black body suit, with a dark red X on her chest. The cape became a darker blue and grew a hood. Over all it looked awfully similar to her uncle's suit.
"Uh... that works. What about you Supey? Not too late to put on the new stealth tech."
"No capes, no tights. No offence." Superboy told him firmly. Deciding to stick with his shirt and jeans.
"It totally works for you." M'gann told him dreamily. She then realized what she'd said, and tried correcting herself. "In that I mean you can totally do good work, in those clothes!"
The boy of steel didn't seem to care, which caused her to pull up her hood and camouflage herself out of embarrassment. The floor opened up as rappelling lines sprang from the ceiling. Robin, Kid Flash and Ben used them to get down, while Miss Martian simply floated down. Just as everyone unhooked their lines, Ben noticed Superboy jumping down.
"Heads up!" He called out. Everyone leaped out of the way as SB landed. Shaking the ground and causing a loud boom sound when he did.
"Told you I didn't need a line." He gloated.
"Yet creating a seismic event probably didn't help much with the covert!" Robin said, chastising him.
After a quick talk with Aqualad over coms, everyone began making their way to the Venom factory. Ben couldn't help but be amazed at the tropical beauty of this island. If it weren't a corrupt and vile place, teaming with drug dealers and crooked officials, it would make a nice tourist destination. Suddenly, Superboy stopped in his tracks.
"Did you hear that?" He asked everyone.
"Uh, no." Answered KF. "Wait is this a super hearing thing?"
"You do have great ears."
"Easy Miss Martian. He's only a few months old." The bearer of the Omnitrix teased. Causing her to blush again.
"Alright Robin you're the stealth master. How about you-" As Ben began laying down ideas, his own time as a leader showing, he turned to the Boy Wonder. Only to find he was gone. "I'm really starting to hate when he does that."
'Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked.' Kaldur instructed.
Pulling down his goggles, Kid did as instructed. SB also used his infrared vision to do the same. Albeit in the opposite direction.
"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming." Wally pointed out.
"Two squads." SB continued. "But they'll meet each other before spotting us."
"Think they're working together?" Ben asked. Immediately after saying that the sound of gunshots could be heard. "Guess that answers that. Alright guys, let's swing wide to avoid-"
"Yeah yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." Kid Flash said before speeding off. Ben looked as if he were about to call out for him, but grit his teeth and groaned instead. His face contorting in frustration. Those two really needed to wait for him to finish before running off.
"Think he'll be okay?" M'gann asked him.
"I... think? I mean with how fast he is, Kid should be fine as long as he watches where he goes."
"Shoot him in the ass! The ass, aim for the ass!" They heard someone with a Spanish accent call out.
"No not my ass!" Guess who that was.
Slapping himself on the face, Ben groaned louder. "You were saying?" Superboy snarked.
"Let's just go save the idiot." He told them before slamming on the Omnitrix dial.
At the battle, Kid was running around. Avoiding the hail of bullets trying to kill him. Out of the jungle, Superboy ran out and tackled the guy who was wearing a luchador style mask. While in mid-air the man shifted his position. By the time the two landed, he had SB pinned by the face, with his arm being held up. With his superior strength however the hold didn't last too long as Suberboy twisted his arm free, grabbed his opponent's shirt and threw him into a tree.
Which Kid continued to dodge, Robin appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to beat up two of the goons. "What is wrong with you guys?! Remember covert?! Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?" He asked everyone.
"That's what you were doing?" Asked Kid Flash, who had finally started to go on the offensive. Quickly knocking out one of the guys. "Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers you know."
All of a sudden, the remaining enemies were lifted up into the air. They were then quickly pulled together, clumping into a ball. Once they were in place, a large green beam shot down from the sky. Taking out all of them rather quickly. The team looked up and saw M'gann and a glowing Cerebropus floating down.
"You impatient ignoramuses." Cerebropus stated sternly. "Not only did you wander off without a solid plan, but your actions have potentially compromised this operation."
"Yeah Kid. What were you thinking?" The Boy Wonder asked his speedster friend. Tapping the Omnitrix, Ben turned back to human.
"I was talking to you and him bird boy." It was about then that Aqualad rejoined them.
"Hey, now hold on a minute." Rob started to protest.
"Shut it." Ben said with a piercing tone. It was just enough to stop him from continuing.
"We don't have time right now. If even one of those bozos wakes up, they might contact someone, and this whole thing is a bust."
"What do you suppose we do?" Asked Kaldur.
"Isn't it obvious? We tie them up and keep them from doing that. So... anyone have some rope?"
Luckily there was some rope on the Bio-Ship. Why? Hell if Ben knew, but right now he didn't care. Within minutes everyone had been tied to a various trees. Most still unconscious.
"I recognize those outfits." Robin spoke up. "They're from the Cult of the Kobra." He said, looking over then men in red cloaks.
"Man, these cults are getting weirder and weirder names." Omniman mentioned.
"I agree with you there. I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed these guys out." He said motioning to the guys in more normal clothes. "That's why Venom supply lines are cut off."
Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "We get it, Kobra wanted super cultists. Just radio Bat's and we'll be on our-"
"These guys aren't on Venom, Kobras hording the stuff. We don't leave, not until I know why." Robin said with determination. This lead to an argument breaking out between him and KF. Off to the side, Ben talked with Kaldur.
"I mean, I agree with him. But I'm not sure Rob is the best leader for us." Ben told his Atlantean friend.
"He does seem rough around the edges. But I believe he has the potential to be a great leader."
"If you say so man. But potential or not, this team needs a leader now. Last thing we need is to be left hanging out to dry if Wonder boy decides to sneak off again."
As the argument continued, they heard laughing from one of their captives. It was the big guy in the luchador mask. This was most likely Bane.
"Such clever ninos. But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest. Get you into my factory via my secret entrance." He offered. Ben wasn't buying it.
"Like you'd just help us for free. I bet you'll double cross us, first chance you get. Miss Martian, do your thing. See if there's actually a secret way it."
Kneeling down, she focused on him. Trying to probe his thoughts. However, "Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." He said with confidence before M'gann huffed.
"He's mentally reciting football scores en Espanol. This could take a while."
"It's not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Begrudgingly, everyone decided to follow him. With SB ready to jump him should the need arise. Making it near the factory, Robin looked through his binoculars to find Kobra moving tons of crates.
"So a buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual's then-"
"We need to identify that buyer." Aqualad told them.
"That's just what I was thinking." Wally said.
"Yeah, because you're the thinker." Robin told him sarcastically.
"Sarcasm? Really? A real leader would focus on getting answers."
Not far away, Bane moved a giant rock that had been blocking a secret tunnel. "Answers are this way."
"Great, so I guess El Luchador is our leader." Kid Flash said sarcastically. He still got a smack to the head for it though.
After a while they walked in front of a door, which the wrestler opened with his thumbprint. Peeking inside, Robin saw nobody around. Once they all entered Ben sighed when he noticed that he'd disappeared again.
"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane asked.
"No. He just does this." Kauldr told him with a sigh.
"Stay put. I'll get our intel, and be back before the boy wonder." Wally reassured.
"Kid you better not-" Ben started to say, but it was too late. He was this close to smacking one of the machines near him.
Taking cover, his remaining teammates plus Bane watced the Kobra cultists moving crates of what they assumed were Venom. But something wasn't right.
"It's a massive shipment." Aqualad stated.
"But they're only taking new product." Suberboy noticed. "They're not touching the older Venom."
"Maybe, freshness counts?" M'gann stated innocently.
"Doubt it." Ben thought aloud. "My guess is that there's something special about that stuff."
Suddenly, something caught SB's ear. "Helicopters coming!"
"Miss Martian, go invisible and check it out." Ben instructed. Nodding, she pulled her hood up and disappeared. A few minutes later-
"Aqualad, Omniman, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."
In their heads they all saw a tall, muscular man wearing what looked like modified sports equipment. The most noticeable being a hockey mask.
"Who's the Jason Voorhees reject?" Ben asked.
"Sportsmaster. He's a well known criminal, as well as our mystery buyer." Aqualad told him. Pressing on his com, he tried to call Red Tornado. All he got however was static. "Arg Can't reach the League, Robin or Kid. Coms are jammed. We need a plan."
"I have a suggestion." Bane told them before jumped down from their vantage point and attacking some guards.
"Ah, son of a-" From the window that faced the helipad, a large hulking monster crashed through it. Landing on the catwalk they were on and making it collapse. The beast had red hair and greenish-brown skin, that was cracked in many places exposing his musculature. It charged them, with Superboy mimicking the act.
"Alright, it's Hero Time!" Slapping down the Omnitrix caused everyone to shield their eyes before it faded.
At first it seemed like Ben had vanished. However, if one looked down then they'd see a tiny ball of green goo with tendrils, equally small eyes with the Omnitrix dial on it's "forehead".
"What the?" The glob asked itself, as it examined it's tendrils. "Holy moly, I'm a Slimebiote!"
Before he could come up with a name, the monster guy, who they'd later nickname Mammoth, threw Superboy. He unfortunately landed right on top of Ben. The Boy of steel groaned and got up. Cracking his neck, he felt the goo on his back.
"Gross! What is this?!" The green slime quickly reformed. Planting itself on his shoulder.
"Please don't do that again." He asked.
"Wait... Omniman?"
"You got it. But right now you can call me, Overkill!"
"... What? Why that name?"
"Sorry, it's sort of an inside joke." Just then Mammoth grabbed onto them and raised the two above his head. As he prepared to wail on him, Superboy punched him in the face with both of his fists forcing the beast to let them go. But wait a moment... both his arms were busy trying to loosen the monster man's grip? Looking over his shoulder, SB saw two more arms had sprung out of Overkill.
"Ah! That is freaky!" he exclaimed.
"Freaky, yes. Awesome? Also yes! Now let's get him!" Smirking, The Boy of Steel did just that. Punching him in the face, while another fist hit his chest. Immediately after that he got a fist in the stomach while at the same time receiving an uppercut to the chin. Mammoth was having trouble dealing with the two extra pair of hands. Mainly due to shock.
Regaining his composure, Mammoth caught one of the fists before hitting Superboy in the face with his own. Making him stumble back.
"Never fear, Overkill is here!" Absorbing the extra arms. The snot coloured alien stretched himself over his teammates arms before they changed. They remained the same size, but now had a purple hue. Before he could ask what his friend had done. Mammoth got the jump on them. Body checking them into some machinery. Slamming his fists down, caused the brute to stumble in a daze. Allowing the Boy of Steel to lift the beast man before throwing him into a forklift.
"Punch him from here. Trust me." Ben whispered.
Taking his advice, Superboy did the normal punching motion. Only this time his whole arm extended. Hitting Mammoth right between the eyes. He stared at his arm as it retracted. "Aw man, this is so cool!" Stretching his other, he rapped it around his opponents neck. Then swung him around.
"I think I just found my favorite of your aliens."
"Miss Martian, the coms are down. Link us up." They just barely heard over the gunfire.
"Everyone online?" They heard inside their heads.
"Yeah!" Both SB and Ben said at the same time. The Kryptonian sounding exited as they continued to toss Mammoth around.
"You know it beautiful." Wally told her.
"Good," said Aqualad. "we need to regroup."
"No way! We can win." The Boy of Steel told him, while caught in a headlock. Using one of his stretchy arms. He punched the brute in the jaw.
"Yeah! Plus, I'm sorta busy now." Said Robin. But the Atlantean was having none of it.
"No we need to go now!"
"He's right." Ben chimed in. "If one of them get's away with the drugs in this chaos, our mission is a bust. We need to fall back and come up with something. That means you too Boy Blunder!"
"Kid, clear a path for us." Complying, Wally blitzed a bunch of Kobra goons. Allowing everyone else to follow unabated back through the secret tunnel. Just as SB was about to join them Mammoth leaped at him. Locking the two in a struggle to out muscle the other.
"Superboy, inhale then let it out when I say." Overkill told him. The goo on his arms retracted and spread across his mouth, turning into a scaly beak. "Now!"
Doing as he was told, Superboy inhaled, the inside of his mouth glowing. When he released it a strong laser blasted his opponents face. Mammoth roared in pain before letting go. Which also sent him flying to the other side of the factory.
"... Ok, definitely my favorite alien." Running after the others, he closed the door behind him.
"Take out the support beams! That way they can't follow us." Omniman instructed. SB punched one down, while Aqualad made a mace out of water, which helped him knock down another. M'gann picked up the Boy of Steel and his snotty hitchhiker. Saving them from being buried alive by the cave-in.
Once everything had calmed down they cracked some glowsticks, while Ben hopped off of SB's shoulder. Transforming back to human in a flash.
"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin asked himself.
Ben's head whipped in his direction when he heard that. "Um, excuse me? I think a better question would be how in the hell wouldn't it. We set out with no established chain of command, no back-up plan and the guy that kept insisting he'd be our leader bailed on us twice!"
"It's not my fault you all failed to follow my lead!" He shot back. "It was blatantly obvious what we all should do, from the moment we got here."
"It might have been obvious to you, but how would we know?! Maybe you could have, I don't know, told everyone to do that before vanishing. You know, like a leader. I was unsure about letting you take charge of this operation but I figured, "Hey, might as well give him a shot" Well now I'm regretting it! You clearly have no experience leading, what-so-ever."
Seeing the building tension, Kaldur chimed in. "You do have the most years of experience Robin. But perhaps that is also what has left you unprepared." He told him calmly. "Working with Batman your roles are, defined. You do not need to talk. But this team is new, and a leader must be clear, decisive. He cannot vanish and expect others to follow an unknown plan."
Taking a deep breath, Ben smiled at his friend. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
"So I'm supposed to hold everyone's hand?!" Robin snapped. Taking a moment to think it over, he smiled back. "Ah, who am I kidding? Ben should lead us." Ben's eyes widened a little.
"Say what now?"
"You've been trying to reign us all in throughout the mission. You clearly know what your doing, so it should be you."
"Please," Wally groaned. "I can run circles around, this guy! Plus after that factory incident I don't think"
"Wally come on. You know I'm right. We all do."
"Hello Megan! It's so obvious."
"Could have told yah." SB added.
"If your tales are true, it does make the most sense." Aqualad told him.
After a minute Wally begrudgingly agreed with his teammates.
"Well if it's unanimous." Ben shrugged. "Alright everybody, our first priority is making sure that that super drug of theirs doesn't leave the island."
"It's called Kobra-Venom." Wally pointed out.
"It could be called, Happy Fun Time Muscle Juice for all I care. Point is, we gotta do something about it." Tapping on the Omnitrix, Ben continued. "During our little camping trip I discovered a new alien that should help us do just that. Now listen up, this next part will take some very careful prep. If successful we will not only stop the Kobra-Venom, but also have Sportsmaster in custody by the end of this."
After a little bit of planning, the Team made their way to the entrance of the tunnel. "There's one thing I don't get." Robin brought up. "Sportsmaster doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula, or get Kobra to do his dirty work."
"I believe the expression is, tip of the iceberg." Aqualad told him before they all stopped in their tracks. Standing at the entrance to the cave was a much more muscular Bane. With empty vials at his feet.
"Halt ninos. I'm feeling rather, explosive." Turning on a device in his hand, they noticed the cave had been lined with charges.
"Well I don't want to say I told you so... But I totally told you so." Omniman snarked.
"It's nothing personal. I want my factory back. I figured either you'd take out my enemies, or die trying. Then, the Justice League would surely come to avenge their sidekicks."
"Is... is he monologuing?" Kid asked through the psychic link.
"Guess some things are Multiversal." Ben told them. "Still we should probably stop him. So Wally, if you wouldn't mind."
"But blowing up the cave with you in it should have the same effect." As the roided out man went to activate the charges. He found his detonator gone.
"With what?" Kid asked while leaning against a nearby tree. Remote in hand. "With this trigger thingy?"
Bane went to punch him, but it never connected as he started floating high into the air. Thanks to Miss M.
"Finally." Superboy said with a smirk. "Drop him." Doing as he says. Bane was rendered unconscious in one blow.
Back at the helicopter landing pad, Kobra had just finished repairing the vehicle. You can thank Robin for breaking it in the first place.
"The helicopter is ready exalted one." A Kobra cultist told his leader. Who was a tall, bald and very pale man wearing a red snake themed cloak. Taking it as his cue to leave, Sportsmaster started walking to the helicopter.
He never even got close as Kid Flash zoomed by. Knocking down several cult members, before spreading out to kick more ass. Not long after Superboy landed he looked right at Mammoth and smiled. "Round two tiny?" he challenged.
Accepting the challenge, Mammoth roared at him and charged. Only to be blasted to the side by a massive surge of water. "Sorry, not the plan." He then focused on Sportsmaster.
"You on the other hand." He muttered while cracking his knuckles.
Back with Mammoth it was revealed that the water was being controlled by Aqualad. Who quickly used his magic tattoos to send a current through the liquid. Shocking the brute, and rendering him unconscious.
As this happened, SB had leapt at Sportsmaster. Grabbing hold and tossing the villain away. Recovering quickly, he caught himself and landed on his feet. But Superboy didn't let up. Sportsmaster, used his superior training to maneuver out of the way of each punch. As everyone fought nobody seemed to notice the ground under the helicopter moving subtlety.
Over with Robin he made contact with the leader of the cult. "Hey Koby. So, I know you hate getting your hands dirty."
"Very true." Lord Kobra told him, while removing his cloak. "But sometimes, even a god must stoop to concur."
Back with Superboy, he continued to swing his fists at Sportsmaster. Who continued to parry his blows while working in his own. His punches and kicks didn't do much to the Boy of Steel. Which is why he put some distance between them, and pulled out a laser machine gun. This actually caused Superboy pain.
In the middle of unloading his gun, it was surreptitiously ripped away from him and thrown by an unseen force. Thanks to Miss Martian who was staying cloaked. The surprise at having his weapon fly out of his arms allowed SB to run up and sock Sportsmaster across the face, damaging his hockey mask.
It was about now they received a mental message, from a certain someone.
The Boy of Steel went in for another punch, but Sportmaster was able to dodge it. Rollover and grab his gun. He then proceeded to continue where he left off. M'gann floated down to try and help but was quickly ensnared in a bolas thrown at her by the villain. Not letting up on attack, he walked over and picked up Miss M, using her as a hostage while he walked backwards towards the helicopter.
When he finally entered the chopper, he tossed M'gann back at Superboy. "Thanks for the workout. But I gotta fly." He taunted. When the back hatch closed Sportmaster ran to the cockpit and strapped in. He pressed the appropriate buttons, he expected to start taking off. But was concerned when he didn't. In fact, now that he was actually listening, he couldn't hear the engines running at all. He tried pushing more buttons, but was met with the same result.
"Didn't those idiots say they fixed this hunk of junk?!" He shouted in frustration before hitting the controls in anger. To his surprise he did not feel his fists hit metal. But rather, they sunk right in. "What the?"
"Now now. Don't you know hitting your problems, won't make then go away." A blubbery voice informed the villain. He didn't have time to wonder who had said that, as the whole helicopter began to melt into what looked like purple mud which quickly engulfed Sportsmaster.
SB and Miss M watched in awe, and a little fear, as the helicopter melted into mass of mud. Which quickly began to reshape itself. First it was a large sphere, but it stretched out a tail, while three long streams came out it's sides and top. The side ones grew very long fingers while the top got green eyes and a mouth. The Omnitrix dial oozed out of the chest area. Sportsmaster's head appeared out of his back soon after.
"That is freaky." Superboy said.
"Phew." It sighed, while wiping it's 'brow'. "I'll be honest. Wasn't sure that would actually work."
"Got to say Omniman. That is a weird looking form." M'gann said as she and the Boy of Steel walked closer to him.
"I know... Would you believe me if I told you one of my cousins married one of these?"
"Ew." Both alien teens said.
"Oh and by the way. The names, Mudbash!"
With Sporty taken care of, the only one left to fight was Lord Kobra. Who was currently fighting Robin. Speaking of the bird boy, he was not doing well. Kobra was a far better fighter then he had thought. So needless to say, the Boy Wonder was getting his ass firmly handed to him.
"Argh!" Robin grunted as he got pinned under Lord Kobra's foot.
"A mosquito like you never stood a chance against me." The pale man stated plainly.
"Maybe... not. But then again, that wasn't really my job."
Right on cue, everyone showed up. Aqualad and Kid Flash cringed a little at Mudbash. But they quickly settled down when they say the Omnitrix.
Seeing his men down and Sportmaster currently restrained, Lord Kobra decided to call it quits. Exhaling through his nose he stated, "Another time then." as he slipped into the bushes.
"Like hell!" Mudbash proclaimed as he stretched out his right arm successfully grabbing onto him. The mud alien pulled him back, before he began to pull the cult leader into his body. Despite his struggling, Lord Kobra quickly found himself stuck. His head sticking out of what would be Ben's shoulder.
"Well I don't know about you guys. But I think this was a pretty successful mission." He said casually.
"Yeah," Wally answered with a thumbs up. "Two bad guys and a whole lot less drugs in the world. We rock!"
"We also picked the right guy to lead." Robin told Ben as he patted him. Only to gag when he saw a little of him covering his glove.
"So, where's the Kobra-Venom?" Asked Superboy. Ben turned and pointed back where they came from. Using his super vison, SB was able to see that the vehicle had been moved a dozen feet away from the landing pad. "Oh."
"That was friggin hard to move man! Not only was it heavy, but I had to do so silently. Damn near dropped the thing a few time. Let's not even talk about how fucked things would have gotten, if they had simply looked in that direction."
"But enough of that. I think it's time to head back home ladies. I'm sure we'll get an earful for this."
"While I'm glad we got them, a thought occurs." M'gann interrupted. "How are we going to take those two back with us, safely?"
…That was a good question. One that Ben had not actually though of. After some debate, a decision had been made. The Bio-Ship would create a cell for Lord Kobra. But, Sportmaster was too dangerous to be left unrestrained. This part, Ben hated.
As the ship flew, Wally snicked. "How's it going down there fearless leader?" He asked through the telepathic link.
"Shut up!" Ben groaned. Right now he was in a separate compartment under the Bio-Ship. Miss Martian made it, to hold both Sportmaster and himself. Ben had used his shapeshifting powers to morph into a cocoon with a face, that was attached to the walls via mud tendrils. The villain inside struggling and screaming to get out.
"Hey now, stop your squirming! I'll have you know I don't like this any more then you do."
Mount Justice. July 23rd, 10:01 a.m
When they got back to base, the leaguers took the two villains into custody. Leaving the team behind to hear a lecture from Batman.
"A simple recon mission! Observe. Report." The Batman said to then harshly. "You will each receive a written evaluation. Detailing your many, mistakes. Until then, good job." This visibly surprised the young heroes.
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." He told them. "How you adjust, determines success. And how you choose who leads, determines character."
Ben and Robin shared a look. A small smile spreading across their lips.
"Your all dismissed." He told them before leaving.
"Not gonna lie. I was expecting that to go worse." Wally said.
"Knowing Batman, that evaluation will be very detailed. So prepare for that." Robin warned. Causing everyone's shoulders to slump.
"Well until then, I'm getting a much needed smoothie and some chillI fries. About ten gallons of each should suffice." Ben stated.
Wally perked up at the mention of food. "Dude, that sounds so frigging good right now."
"I think I'm going to join." said Superboy.
"Same." Everyone else concurred. That day, the Team stuffed themselves with as much food and drink as they could. Their first mission was now officially finished.
Holding cell. Location Redacted, July 23rd 12:01 p.m
Sportsmaster had been taken to this cell not long after being captured. He decided to pass the time by exercising. All the while thinking of those brats that had caught him. More specifically, that shape shifting one. As he finished his eightieth sit-up a door across the room opened.
"Well, well, well look what we have here." Said an obese guard that had walked in. "The great Sportsmaster. Finally in the penalty box."
Despite the guards taunting, Sporstmaster continued his workout. "I know it's not much to look at, but don't worry. You'll get nicer room at Belle Reve Penitentiary. Might even have a roommate."
Seeing that he was being ignored, made the guard a little angry. "Whatever! You just keep working out. I bet that will make your roommate very happy. Might get lucky on your first night."
Out of the blue, Sportsmaster leapt up and grabbed hold of the bars.
"What are you-" Before the guard could ask, the wall behind the cell doors exploded. Sending a piece of concrete right into his face.
Turning around. Sportsmaster couldn't help but laugh a little, when he saw who had been sent to save him.
"Didn't expect it to be you." He said, smugly.
"Believe me. If it were up to me, you'd be rotting in Bell Reve." A woman with black hair and a white mask told him. "Unfortunately, the Master's orders are clear." Sportsmatser smirked, then proceeded to leave his cell with the woman.
So I would have had this out a few months ago. But in the time between the last chapter of a story I updated and this one, many things brought me down. To the point where I didn't feel like doing much. One such thing is that I, unfortunately, lost someone close to me. Not from Covid but it was still very sad. I don't really want to go into it, but it definitely still hurts. Then there was the guilt I felt over not getting a chapter out in so damn long. Really felt like I was letting all of you down. This one was a persistent one.
Then, one of my favorite writers had to quit. But luckily, his story was adopted and will continue. I am of course referring to Ultimate10 and his story Ultimate Fairy. This not only made me question my own ability to write, but added to the guilt I felt earlier. And of course can't forget about all the people that died. Over all, I think we can all agree 2020 can go suck it. I am already working on the next chapter, so I really hope I can get it out sooner rather then later. I hope you find this chapter good and worth it
To end this off, I hope you are all doing well. Make sure to stay safe out there and treat each other with kindness in this trying time. I will see you all when I see you. Have a good day/Afternoon/Night.