Ben 10: Justice Incarnate

Central City

10:24 EDT, Thursday, July 8, 2010

Ark tapped his foot, eyes narrowing at the supervillain now tied up before him. "Let me get this straight. You wanted to defeat the Flash."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ark smiled. "That sounds like good news."

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

Kid Flash stopped disassembling the contraption and held a turkey with a bite removed. "You guys are keeping your word about giving us more freedom?"

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

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

Ark blinked at the teen. "What?"

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

Flash turned to Ark. "Unfortunately, as a Probation Member, you won't have access to the teleporters, systems, and other League services without a registered member with you."

Ark shrugged. "Understandable."

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

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

Mount Justice, Happy Harbor

10:58 EDT, Thursday, July 8, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Objectives will vary, but you will be deployed when the League cannot respond," replied Batman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ben waved at her and the other adults as another genetic sample was logged.

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

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

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

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

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

"Oh, she and I have been watching much Earth television to understand the local culture," he whispered.

"From what? The 90s?"

"Yes. They were highly recommended online."

As this was going on, a dedicated camera in the cave focused on their new Probation Member. There was a fine line for caution.

Elsewhere

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

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

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

#

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

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

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

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

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

#

A/N: Special thanks to Jebest4781, Charles, vividlearner744, and Seana!

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