The high-pitched alarm rang across the building, getting lost through the collapsed ceiling above their heads. Something exploded, heavy rocks hitting the ground. Guns were shot but brought to silence followed by a deep groan.

Shreds of wall laying around hindered their fast pace, as the three young heroes tried to arrive at the scene. They didn't need to talk, knowing exactly what the plan was.

"So that's how you want to play it? Fine." A deep, robotic voice echoed from the room before them "Contract calls for the main man to put on a show for the locals."

The heroes fastened their pace.

"So, one more time." the voice spoke slower "Surrender or die."

The blonde girl dressed in red and black, with a decorated W printed on her chest, turned to look at the girl wearing a black cape. Not needing a word, the black-dressed bat and leader of the group nodded.

The crumbled door was only a few meters before them but the blonde girl, Wonder Girl, jumped off her feet and gracefully cleared her path through the air.

"…Die it is." the dark voice confirmed.

Wonder Girl entered the room with a backflip, catching the tall white-skinned monster by surprise. Before the alien had time to see what was coming, Wonder Girl half landed with her hands on his skull, pushing him down and catapulting herself upwards before landing. Ignoring his groan of surprise, she quickly punched him in the gut. Glass shattered to their right as the pressure wave of her enormous strength crashed against it.

Her friend, dressed in a black, skin-tight, leather suit with the silhouette of a green fox on his chest, entered the room in that moment. A black shadow swung into the room from the shattered window, perfectly landing in front of the alien's victim. A man in a suit; the head of the united nations.

"Wonder Girl, Mischief, keep him busy." Batgirl ordered "I'll get secretary General Zheng to safety."

With those words, she grabbed the old man by his arm and pulled him out of the room.

Wonder Girl hit her fist "All over it, Batgirl."

At the same time Mischief joined her side "Don't leave me with nothing, Wonder Girl"

"Try to keep up" Wonder Girl smiled and returned to the recovering gigantic figure before her. The alien was only wearing a leathered black vest, exposing completely his pale chest. His looming altitude was enough for Mischief to let Wonder Girl attack first.

Wonder Girl stepped forward "Okay, big guy." She punched him in the face "Let's see how much punishment you can…"

The alien's hand suddenly closed around the blonde's head. Wonder Girl was only able to take in a sharp breath. The young hero was launched across the room, her face hitting what was left of the wall. She fell to the ground hard.

"Curry? Keasy fem thinks she can take down the main man?" the alien asked while his blood-red eyes landed on Mischief.

"How about the keasy male takes down the main man?" Mischief asked and pulled out the two sais from his yellow belt, antique knife-looking weapons.

Mischief jumped into action, turning one sai inside his grip around, aiming for the alien's head with the weapon's handle. The alien's long black mane swung out of vision as it dodged. Mischief was taken by surprise when a fist quickly responded to his attack. He also tried to dodge but couldn't move fast enough. He flew off his feet. A desk crashed beneath his weight as hit his back hard. Waves of pain radiated from the spot, hindering him from getting up.

"Curry!" the alien shouted. Leaving the two defeated heroes in the room, he walked towards the hidden elevator Batgirl had used to get General Zheng out.

The elevator's doors opened painfully slowly.

"We'll get you out through the General Assembly Building" Batgirl told Zheng, still pulling him by his arm. They stepped into the deserted room filled with many rows of seats. They were halfway across the passage that divided the front half of the auditory from the back one when metal scratched behind them.

The elevator was crushed into pieces of grey metal beneath the monster's weight. Batgirl and Zheng were pushed off their feet. Before the alien could get any closer, Batgirl fished two metal marbles from her utility belt and threw.

Clinging quietly, the metal devices landed before the alien's feet, quietly opening and filling the room with a purple, thick gas. When the fog cleared enough for the alien to see something again, his victims were gone.

Mischief and Wonder Girl arrived at the scene just in time. The alien discovered Batgirl and Zheng seeking cover behind a row of seats when Wonder Girl flew in. She swung in flying beneath the alien's knees, hitting his legs and breaking every contact to the ground. The alien fell hard on his back. Wonder Girl landed a few steps before him.

"Hold it, Clown Face." she got into a fighting stance "We weren't done dancing!"

The alien pulled a sword out of his belt, aiming at Wonder Girl. A shadow moved to his left. Rolling into the room, Mischief threw the technologically optimized stars. They exploded the moment they made contact with the alien, giving him enough time to reach Wonder Girl's side.

The girl threw her leg back before using Mischief's distraction to kick the alien in the face. She wasn't as lucky the second time, for the alien grunted in fury and promptly returned to his feet, forcing her to step back with lost balance.

"Keasy Fem!" the alien spat.

Wonder Girl rolled her eyes "Yeah, yeah, keasy Fem. I've been called worse."

Mischief jumped and landed on the creature's back. He stayed there only a second to hit him with the handles of his sia before jumping to his friend's side in one swift motion.

"Have you now?" he smiled at her.

Wonder Girl shrugged "I think."

Losing his temper, the alien swung his fist, aiming to hit both young heroes. Mischief was quick to do a backflip while Wonder Girl dodged. Not losing a second, she punched and kicked, using the opportunity to end the fight once and for all.

The alien stumbled back, his balance lost. Wonder Girl pulled her lasso from her belt, swinging it once before closing it around the alien's body. However, the alien only laughed. His hand closed around the rope and pulled. As soon as she was near enough, he punched her with his entire force. Wonder Girl was thrusted back by the force, taking Mischief with her across the hall.

Batgirl glanced up from her hiding place and assessed the situation.

She quickly glanced at Zheng "When I move, run!" she commanded before jumping into action.

The alien spotted her as soon as she landed on a nearby table. She didn't have time to act. The alien threw the table back, sending her flying off its surface.

Zheng didn't have time to arrive at the exit. Within seconds, the alien was looming over him.

"Time to die, Krolo." He said with an inch of a smile.

He grabbed Zheng by his wrists, lifting him off the ground. Zheng yelled something indistinguishable drowned in panic.

Mischief and Wonder Girl got on their feet. They ran towards them, their eyes wide.

The alien groaned and grunted. He pulled Zheng's arms in opposite directions.

Batgirl was now also on her feet, rushing through the auditory to save the man they were here to protect.

Wonder Girl fastened her pace "No!"

Zheng's clothes tore apart, Zheng cried. Then, he broke into pieces.

The three young heroes came to an abrupt halt when Zheng broke into many grey metallic pieces connected by colourful wires.

Something green wriggled and groaned inside of the broken metal cast.

Wonder Girl gazed down at the fake human "Eww."

The alien closed his hands around the tiny, green creature not taller than half an arm's length. He picked up the creature and looked at it with deeper disgust.

"I don't think that's what humans look like on the inside" Mischief commented, his stomach not having recovered yet.

His comment was ignored by everyone present.

"Stop it, Krolo." The alien told the green creature as it spoke in an undistinguishable language "The main man's contract's complete."

The alien pressed on something in his belt. He looked at the three heroes.

"Keasy fem," he said.

Mischief frowned "Hey!"

"Your world's your world." the alien ended his sentence without acknowledging Mischief's protest.

The wall behind the alien exploded, blinding Batgirl, Mischief and Wonder Girl with heavy grey smoke. Taken utterly by surprise, their first instinct was to seek cover. Using the distraction, the alien jumped out of the destructed wall, landing safely on a small spaceship.

The heroes saw the turbines start and the fire thrust off the engines. In a matter of seconds, the alien was gone.

Wonder Girl and Mischief quickly walked to the edge of the building.

"For the record," Mischief spoke up "he also said keasy male"

Wonder Girl stared after the spaceship "I think- I think clown face was some kind of alien!"

At the same time Batgirl kneeled in front of the metallic body ripped in two.

"And that's not even the scary part"

It was about 4 pm the following day when Stiles parked his jeep in front of Derek's apartment. After he had taken the elevator (because there was no way he was taking the stairs after what had happened yesterday), he entered Derek's loft without bothering to knock. The alpha knew they were all coming, in spite of him not being particularly fond of the idea.

"Don't fret, my friends, I've brought chips and drinks!" he announced, raising his arms triumphantly with said things.

"Thank God, I'm starving!" Erica rose from the sofa and grasped the chips from him, throwing some bags on the couch table and opening one "Saving the day, as always, Batman"

Stiles smiled. If she knew…

"Bro!" Scott walked out of the kitchen "I was hoping you could make it! I wasn't sure you would come, with visiting your uncle and so."

They fist-bumped "Missing out on eating trash food and watching horrible movies with the pack?" Stiles asked "Not a chance."

Jackson didn't glance up from the TV "McCall, Stillinski, some people are trying to watch the news here."

Stiles stuck out his tongue.

Laughing, Scott wrapped his arm around his best friend's shoulders "No changing you, is there?"

"Nope." Stiles popped the p.

Soon, Scott and Stiles were sitting on the sofa opposite to Jackson (thank God). With a cup of tea in her hands, Allison arrived from the kitchen and siat down on the other side of Scott, wrapping one arm around him.

When her eyes found Stiles', she smiled warmly "Nice you could make it"

It wasn't much, but Stiles truly appreciated it. Not like Boyd and Isaac who didn't acknowledge his arriving at first. When they did, Boyd only allowed himself a quick nod and continued talking to Isaac. Isaac on the other hand, just quickly glanced at Stiles without bothering to say anything.

That might be related to their common… arguments. But Stiles still would've liked at least to be noted.

Jackson changed the channel they were watching, looking for something more entertaining than a reality show.

"Why aren't we watching a movie?" Stiles frowned.

Erika ended chewing the chip she had in her mouth before answering "Derek just took a shower after training, we're waiting for him"

"We are totally invading his privacy" Stiles smiled and high-fived Scott.

"You're so pathetic" Jackson muttered.

Stiles was about to stick out his tongue a second time when his eyes landed on the screen. Recognizing the auditory, he frowned.

"Turn that up, Jackson." he said without thinking "I want to know what's going on."

An all too familiar (and disliked) voice spoke as security footage of an black-haired alien tearing a senator into two metallic pieces was shown.

"See? See? The big alien rips open the phony secretary, Zheng, and pulls out the little alien." the British voice said.

The image of the two aliens disappeared and Gordon Geofrey, one of GBS's newsmen, talked in front of the camera.

"Oh, I know what you're saying, folks." he continued "Good ol' G. Gordon's lost it. What's this? The eigth billionth time he's run that clip? But that's because I'm trying to wake you up!"

Erika laughed into her bag of chips "Who would've thought? Aliens do exist!"

"When the flying man Superman saved an entire city, that's when you should've realized." Isaac told her.

Allison frowned "Well, I didn't believe that aliens-among-us-thing either at first" she defended her friend "A flying man? Not so easy to believe."

Still harbouring some hard feelings on her, Isaac didn't take her comment lightly.

"You are dating a werewolf." he reminded her coldly "And your family are hunters. With knifes. Sharp ones, might I add."

Allison went quiet.

"I'm just saying, how long until that happens to us?" Erika returned to the conversation "I could be a superhero. We could form our own Justice League."

Scott scoffed "I think handling Beacon Hills is hard enough already."

Stiles didn't say a thing. Trying to ignore his friends, he focussed on the TV.

"…Who, exactly, are they trying to protect?" Gordon was saying while the Justice League's name flashed on screen "Ok, sure, Superman and the Man Hunter from Mars seem to be on the side of the angels, but that's two aliens in the good column, and two in the bad."

Stiles tried his very best to keep his heart calm. He couldn't show the pack this upset him. He couldn't show them that he hated Gordon. His uncle, Bruce Wayne, had allowed him to return to Beacon Hills two years ago with one condition.

Not telling anyone a single thing about his night activities.

Coming out of his thoughts, Stiles realized another reporter was now on screen. A young, blonde woman standing in front of The Hall of Justice, one of the Justice League's headquarters.

He leaned forward.

"This is Cat Grant at the Hall of Justice. I'm going to try and get a statement from the two newest members of The League, Zatanna and Rocket."

A black-haired girl with pale skin walked into the frame, a short-haired girl with dark skin followed. Cat extended her microphone towards her.

The long-haired one, Zatanna, raised her hand "No comment"

Isaac leaned back on his couch "They should say something." he commented "The world could be ending, and we wouldn't know."

Steps came from behind them "Like we should tell Beacon Hills that there was a giant lizard walking around killing people and fighting werewolves?"

No one answered.

Derek sat down next to Erika "I didn't think so."

Stiles couldn't help but smile. Without knowing it, Derek had just done something incredibly meaningful to him. At least the butterflies in his stomach thought so.

"What's The League hiding?" Gordon's voice was back "We know it provides safe haven for a Kryptonian and a Martian, but what if that's not all? What if the amazons came from outer space? Or the atlantians? How do we really know Flash isn't an alien? Or Hawk Man? Or Icon? What are they keeping from the real earthlings? Like us!"

Stiles couldn't help it "You sure aren't a tolerable earthling."

Suddenly, all eyes were directed on him. Scott glanced at him with a light frown, probably wondering the same thing everyone in the room was.

Stiles rushed to explain "What? He's just blabbering!" he pointed at the screen "I lived in Gotham and I saw Batman helping people! It's stupid to thank him like that for all he has done."

Jackson rose his eyebrows "Doesn't your uncle's company help funding The Justice League?"

"That has so nothing to do with it." Stiles defended himself. "And Sourwolf might be right. Our lives are as shitty as theirs. Understanding, right?"

Isaac raised his eyebrows "I wouldn't mind having that kind of powers."

"Would make everything a lot easier around here." Erika smiled.

A punch of guilt hit Stiles in the chest.

"Come on guys, we're not here to talk about politics." Allison spoke up, leaning her head on Scott's shoulder "That whole alien-thingy happens in big cities. Not here. Why should we care?"

Scott smiled at her and touched her lips with his.

"You're right."

"I'm always right."

"I wouldn't say that."

Stiles groaned "My God! Put on the movie right now!"

As Jackson arranged the movie, their conversation returned to normal topics. The visiting pack that was going to pass through Derek's territory, the new training exercise they still had to practise and the weird looking fairies that wouldn't stop showing up in the woods.

Well, at least it was normal for a group of friends that consisted of werewolves, a hunter and a nice, defenceless human sidekick. A group of supernatural friends that called themselves a pack.

The following day, January 4th, Stiles spent his entire afternoon watching his friends train. It had started with Derek taking his shirt off and daring the four betas to bring him down. In the end, Allison had joined. Furthermore, Stiles was proud to admit his buddy Scott had been the only one to bring Derek down, even if it was only one time.

Like many times in the past, Stiles had felt a tug on his heart, wanting to join and teach them. To fight with them and show them what he could do. But his uncle had been very clear, especially when they had had the my-best-friend-is-a-werewolf-talk.

Thus, Stiles remained in the side lines, cheering for his favourite beta and glancing at an certain alpha every now and then. Lydia sat by his side after she had arrived with Jackson. While the five werewolves were trying to tear each other to pieces, Lydia and Stiles had fun betting who would be the first one to go down the upcoming round.

All in all, Stiles had had a great day. According to Derek, another pack was travelling the country and wanted to pay the old Hale household a visit. He didn't expect any trouble, but, being his old paranoiac self, Derek wanted his pack to be utterly fit and prepared for anything. Which meant training hard.

Finally, at 7 pm, Stiles let himself fall on his bed. Exhausted, although he hadn't been the one training. Admittedly, he was still a bit sore of his encounter with the aliens.

Since his Dad would work at the station for the entire night, Stiles had the entire house to himself. Luckily for Stiles, there was only one thing that came into question under those circumstances. Watching Star Wars.

But just when he was about to get up from his heavenly mattress and head for the couch, his black phone rang. Stiles had only two phones, each one belonging to one of his specific lives. He knew what the call was about before he answered it.

As a matter of fact, his cousin only exchanged a few words with him before Stiles knew Star Wars wasn't going to happen tonight. Promising to arrive at Mount Justice within the next 30 minutes, he pushed himself out of bed and got on his jeep.

Close to the cemetery was a small wooden cabin, abandoned and ignored by everyone. When he had moved back to Beacon Hills, his uncle had found in that cabin the perfect hideout for his sidekick.

It was only minutes before Stiles packed the necessary things and headed there.

Almost the entire team was already there when Mischief arrived. Nightwing and Mal were standing in front of two floating blue screens, pointing at the map, files and data displayed on them. Bumblebee, Batgirl, Lagoon, Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl were already in the entrance hall, waiting for Nightwing and Mal to assign them their next mission.

"Hermano, you're late." Blue Beetle greeted as Mischief arrived next to him.

Mischief glanced around "And Superboy isn't?"

Blue Beetle shrugged. His entire body was covered by the blue armour his scarab provided him with while his face was covered by a black mask, only letting his orange eyes stick out.

"He'll get here soon, hermano, chill."

Wonder Girl joined their conversation "Blue, how about you bring Mischief in on what Nightwing said, instead of bugging him?"

Mischief smiled. "Bugging."

Ignoring the grimacing company, Blue Beetle pointed at one of the blue screens before him "Remember the little green guy inside Zheng?"

"Hard to forget."

"He's part of an alien race, the Kroloteans" Blue Beetle continued explaining "According to data from the League, they travel in packs."

"Oh, can you make it any more boring?" Lagoon jumped into their conversation. His green scales shimmered under the cave's light "The Kroloteans are using zeta beam transportation to get here. There are more of them. We get to kick buts. Done."

"It was good. It was good." Blue Beetle muttered quietly, almost reproaching to himself.

Mischief placed his hand on his shoulder "No worry, I've heard worse"

"It's all hands on deck." Nightwing explained, standing in front of the blue screens "The League and the Team will hit all 14 Krolotean zeta locations simultaneously."

He walked over to a screen, displaying a world map with red points scattered around the globe "Your priorities are to destroy all zeta tubes or platforms and search for any human the aliens may have abducted."

"As always, Mal is ops. manager, coordinating com. from here." He pointed at someone inside the group of attentive teenagers "Wonder Girl, you and I are alpha."

Said girl raised her fist in victory "Yes!"

"Batgirl, Bumblebee, you two and Wolf are beta." Nightwing continued and walked over to the four remaining teenagers "Robin, Lagoon, Beetle, Mischief, you're gamma. Prep the bio ship. You're headed to New Orleans."

Rolling his eyes, Lagoon was the first one to turn around and head out "Gamma always gets the soft gigs." He muttered beneath his breath.

Mischief would've told him soft gigs weren't always bad, but as he turned around to follow Blue Beetle and Lagoon, Nightwing spoke behind him.

"Tim, Stiles, wait a second" the black-dressed and masked hero said, closing his hand around Tim's wrist while grabbing Mischief's with his other hand.

Wondering what he wanted to talk about, Robin and Mischief glanced at each other before turning to look at their older relative.

Nightwing's eyes first landed on Robin "Tim, you'll be running gamma."

"Me?" Robin's eyes widened "Dick, I've never led a squad before."

"Making this a good opportunity to get your feet wet as a field leader."

Robin's eyes turned into thin slits "Because it's gamma and you're not expecting trouble, or because we're stretched thin and you have no choice?"

Nightwing glanced at Mischief who only shrugged. He didn't want to be part of any discussion amongst the two brothers, he knew how heated it could get. Especially, because they were very educated and trained on various martial arts.

Nightwing sighed and looked at both "Just don't die, OK?"

Ignoring Robin's widening eyes, Nightwing shifted his attention to Mischief.

"Stiles, Batgirl told me you were hesitant to use your abilities on the last mission." He told him "Even though it could've given you a vast advantage."

Mischief's palms started to sweat "It didn't seem necessary and it takes a lot of concentration to…"

Nightwing's hand fell comfortingly on his shoulder "I'm not nagging." He explained "I just wanted to tell you that Batman thinks you should start getting more comfortable with them. They might be very useful someday."

Mischief nodded.

"Don't be afraid to use them. They are part of you as much as your lungs are." Nightwing said.

When Mischief and Robin were about to turn around and leave, NIghtwing decided to speak again.

"And no unnecessary risks to the squad. That's an order."

They arrived at the blinking red point on the monitor about two hours later. Sitting inside the bio ship's cockpit, Mischief glanced out of the flying vehicle's window to see what they were supposed to find.

Covered in shadows, old and rusty cars were piled on top of each other forming row after row. Missing parts and trash were laying on the dumpster's ground, accumulating where the space hadn't been enough to pile up more trash parts of the cars.

It took Mischief a couple of seconds to find what they were looking for. A cabin that could serve as a zeta beam tele-transportation portal. Most of the zeta beam tubes were hidden in the most obvious, but inhabited places for the League and the Team to use during their missions.

"A tool shed?" Mischief asked when his eyes landed on the red cabin, not bigger than a public toilet cabin. "Barely enough room for one zeta tube in there."

Lagoon scoffed sitting in the middle of the room on the pilot's seat "I knew we got the soft gig."

"And yet," Blue Bettle turned to look at him with a smile "I'm strangely OK with that."

He brought his hands beneath his head and leaned back on his seat. However, in a matter of seconds, calmness vanished from his features and he leaned forward.

"Yes, I am." He muttered to himself and looked at the floor. "Yes, I am. Yes, I am!"

Without Blue Beetle noticing, Robin, Lagoon and Mischief stared at him with slight frowns on their faces. After a few moments of heavy silence, Robin pressed a button in front of him.

"Gamma squad to cave. We're in position" he announced as Mal's image was projected in front of him.

"Acknowledged, gamma." Mal answered "All team squads and Justice League units are in place and ready. Go time."

"Congratulations, Blue." Lagoon said bitterly as he landed on the shed's rubble "You took out an actual tool shed."

Mischief rolled his eyes and swiftly jumped from his upper position above a pile of cars. He landed next to Lagoon, finding only the remaining wood pieces of the shed that hadn't been destroyed by Beetle's sonic attack.

"Gamma to cave." Robin activated his com "There's no zeta tube here. No Kroloteans, no hidden entrance."

Lagoon kicked the last remaining box of tools on the floor.

"Watchtower sensors still trace zeta radiation from the site." Mal answered through their coms.

Mischief and Blue Beetle frowned, there wasn't any trace of Kroloteans here. With their training and powers, there was no way they would've missed something like that.

Robin looked at his phone.

"Confirmed"

Mischief, Lagoon and Blue Beetle looked at each other frowning.

"But the radiation signature is coming from…" Robin was still staring at his phone but had caught his friend's attention "…below the water line!"

He turned to look at Lagoon "You're up."

Following Lagoon beneath the water, Robin, Mischief and Blue Beetle found their way into the subterranean entrance. Using atlantian magic, Lagoon inflated his muscles within seconds, providing him with enough force to hold the entrance open as the three heroes swam into a tunnel.

When they arrived at the surface, they were met with something far greater than anything they could've expected.

They found themselves in a gigantic cave. A river surrounding the piece of land in the middle. Above their heads were metallic, oval-shaped bridges. All seven of them leading to a circular platform each. In the middle of the cave and on the ending side of the bridges was one final, far bigger platform. A broad column rose from that last platform, reaching the cave's ceiling.

Technology was in every corner of the room. Starting with the small pads near the smaller platforms and ending in the enormous screens and keyboards hanging from the enormous column.

But what surprised the heroes most, was the incredible number of Kroloteans in the room. Most of them were standing on the bigger platform, typing into the keyboards. However, many were walking from a bridge to another. Others walked over to the platforms, disappearing inside yellow fogs of light.

Meanwhile, more Krolotenas talked to each other in growls and squirms, a language utterly foreign to humans. A particular Krolotean, wearing a red band of leather across his shoulders, was talking to a crowd of people. Pointing at various places while some listened and others wrote what he was saying, the Krolotenas followed his orders.

Robin was the first one to climb out of the water, crawling behind a small block of cement that helped support the bridges. Lagoon, Mischief and Blue Beetle quickly followed. They pressed their backs against the stone and crouched down, trying to become as small as possible to go by unnoticed.

"Gamma to cave." Robin activated his com. "We hit the mother lode. Huge base. Alien tech."

He looked over his shoulder at a platform where Kroloteans were disappearing.

"Multiple zeta, uh, platforms." He spoke "And more Kroloteans than I can count."

Mal's voice replied through their earpieces in a heartbeat. "Acknowledged. We'll send back-up. Until then, lay low."

Barely had Mal ended saying his last words when a shrill beeping filled the cave. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough for Blue Beetle to glance up from their cover.

"That may be a problema, ese." He spoke hesitantly.

Mischief, Robin and Lagoon followed his example and turned to look at the column. Mischief's eyes widened. Their image filled the many screens, exposing their whereabouts to all Kroloteans.

He turned around only to spot a green, oval-thing with a lens pointing at them. His teammates soon did the same as he, finding the camera that was streaming their image live for all Kroloteans.

Mischief's heart sped up. The Kroloteans near the columns dropped their activities immediately and came crawling towards them at full speed. A tide of green, little creatures heading their way.

For a moment, neither of the young heroes was able to speak. Their eyes wide, their mouths gaping open, they only stared at the storm heading at them. The alarm pounded in the background, their image still on screen, directing all attention towards them.

Mischief's eyes filled with darkness as he turned to gaze at Lagoon. "Soft gig, huh?"

The tide of Kroloteans jumped off the bridges, landing on the soft ground around the river, only a few metres from the heroes. Their hearts beating at full speed, Mischief, Lagoon and Blue Beetle turned to look at their leader.

Pulling his long stick from his back, Robin jumped from behind the cube, landing on its top. His eyes brushed every corner of the cave, calculations running through his mind.

"Form up!" Robin's grip tightened around his wooden staff "Blue, you have our six!"

Blue jumped to his feet "Sí, hermano."

Lagoon and Mischief jumped from behind their cover, safely landing by Robin's side.

"Mischief, cover as much as ground as possible." Robin's eyes landed on Mischief "Distract as many of them as you can."

Mischief's heart turned into a rock. For a second, he wished Robin hadn't heard what Nightwing had told them when leaving the cave. However, he knew the Kroloteans were too many and him taking care of a distraction clearly optimized their survival opportunities.

Pushing the dark voices to the back of his mind, Mischief nodded.

"Stay liquid, Minnows." Lagoon said before jumping into the masses of Kroloteans.

Like before, his tattoos glowed while his muscles grew. With his tidal strength, Lagoon smashed and punched around him, sending Kroloteans flying off their feet.

Meanwhile, Robin followed, swinging his stick in circles and jumping swiftly from one place to another to fend the Kroloteans off.

Mischief stayed in his spot and took the cave in for one second before closing his eyes. Ignoring his throbbing heart, he concentrated in the darkness. The seven platforms and the one thick column appeared before his mind, all of it connected by bridges.

When the image was clear enough inside his mind, Mischief added his own silhouette to the picture, drawing it seven additional times.

His eyes opened. Standing in front of every platform was another version of himself. All of them looking alike, wielding the two sias to attack Kroloteans and disperse the attack through the entire cave.

The illusion wouldn't last long, neither would his strength, but it took a huge burden off his friend's shoulders.

Pulling out his own sias, Mischief jumped forward, joining Robin. The Boy Wonder's stick started buzzing, sending blue sparks off its end as it hit Kroloteans. The small creatures whined in pain at the electricity, falling to the ground in heaps.

However, they were soon replaced. More Kroloteans took their place, trying to jump on Robin, forcing him to the ground. Mischief didn't hesitate to help his friend. Jumping out of range of the creature's around him, he landed next to Robin. In a heartbeat, his sias swung back to hit the creatures, sending them flying off his friend's body.

Lagoon struggled with more Kroloteans nearer to the main platform. Overwhelmed by the situation, he dug his fingers into the ground, ripping the pavement in a strong wave from the soil. Kroloteans lost the ground beneath their feet and crashed back.

As they fought, sweat ran down Mischief's face. His muscles got heavy. His breaths grew shallower. With a quick glance, Mischief confirmed his dreadful superstition. His illusions were flickering, the Kroloteans jumping through them. Not bouncing off them. He wouldn't be able to hold them for long.

"Anyone with a brilliant plan?" he asked aloud, hoping Robin would tell them what to do.

Lagoon grunted in response as he threw more Kroloteas off his body, Robin was too busy jumping between the creatures.

Blue Beetle used his armour's wings to propel himself off the ground. With only one glance at his surroundings, he activated his canon. Sonic waves crashed into rows of Kroloteans, sending dozens of them falling off the bridges.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The Krolotean with the leather band around his shoulder, screeched terrified, pointing at Blue Beetle. In utter unison, all Kroloteans made a 180 degree turn, heading back to the column and abandoning every kind of fight they had been involved in.

"Wow! They really don't like you." Lagoon smiled as his muscles returned to their normal size and he fought the few Kroloteans left "I'm a little jealous!"

More aliens screeched. They tide turned away from them. The Kroloteans headed for the platforms, disappearing in yellow light.

Blue Beetle's eyes widened "He said what?!"

"He said he's jealous:" Mischief repeated Lagoon's words, closing his eyes for a moment to dissolve his projections.

Lagoon grunted "Don't rub it in."

"Not you!" Blue Beetle frowned and pointed at the red-dressed Krolotean "That jefe over there!"

Robin hit a Krolotean in the face with his staff "Wait! You can understand his screeching? How!"

"I—I don't know, exactly." Blue beetle stammered, still floating a few meters above the ground "But I can. Jefe is ordering all the Kroloteans to zeta off-world."

His eyes suddenly widened "He's setting this base to self-destruct in four minutes!"

Mischief spotted the monitors, displaying four circles, embroidered with vines and symbols. One of them changing each second.

"The clock!" he pointed at the screen.

Robin started retreating towards the water while still shoving Kroloteans aside "Then we're getting out. Anything else I need to know?"

"No sé." Blue Beetle landed by his side "He said something about sacrificing the play things below?"

"Play things?" Robin frowned.

Mischief's eyes widened "Oh, man, the abductees!"

"Three minutes 30, ese, then BOOM!" Blue Beetle warned, looking at the clock.

"And Nightwing said no unnecessary risks to the squad." Robin muttered. He looked up at his teammates "But this is necessary."

"Below! We have to get below!" he told Mischief, Lagoon and Blue Beetle.

Lagoon pointed a few metres away from them "There!"

Kroloteans were jumping out of holes carved into the cave's walls. The holes were across the cave, their path blocked by Kroloteans rushing towards their nearest platform, frantically pushing each other.

"Beetle on point, go!" Robin shouted.

Jumping off his feet and spreading his wings, Blue Beetle answered "Going!"

Flying at full speed across the cave, he pressed his arms against each other, creating a thick shield with his armour. Kroloteans were knocked off their feet as they crashed against the blue metal. The smart ones jumped off the bridge, clearing the path for the flying hero.

After following the tunnels the holes had lead them to, the heroes arrived at a lonely room. A single passageway leading to a enormous cage across the entrance.

A distracted Krolotean hit Blue Beetle's shield, his head cracking at the impact while the creature fell backwards. Robin didn't stop running, but pointed at the alien.

"Grab him!"

Blue Beetle did exactly as told, closing his head around the creature's neck before returning to their fast-paced race.

"Hello? Is someone there? Please, get us out!" a silent voice pleaded from the other end of the room.

Mischief and Robin took the lead, running towards the source of the sound.

Various people were locked inside the cage, standing behind the bars. The moment their eyes landed on the two heroes, they grinned.

A man in a brown shirt's smile widened "It's Robin! The Boy Wonder!" he joyfully announced "And Batman's other sidekick! The new one!"

A woman's shoulders dropped in relief "Thank heaven."

Within seconds, their calmness turned into horror. The woman's eyes widened. The man stepped back, closing his arm protectively around her.

A man in a suit raised his hand over his head protectively "More aliens!"

The woman gasped in horror "Go away!"

The abductees screamed and looked for cover. Mischief and Robin turned around only to see Blue Beetle and Lagoon arrive at their side. With his blue armour covering his entire body and his green skin, Blue Beetle and Lagoon didn't look entirely human, but the abductees' reactions still made Mischief and Robin frown.

"Hey, we're not aliens!" Blue Beetle defended himself. He turned to look at the Krolotean in his hands and shrugged "OK, well, he is. But we're not!"

Robin ignored Blue Beetle and stepped aside to let Lagoon come closer "Get this open."

With shining tattoos, Lagoon's body grew once more. The woman inside the cage screamed. A young man's eyes rolled back in his head. The brown-dressed man closed his arms protectively around the woman.

With a grunt, Lagoon's hands closed around the bars. He pulled them in opposite directions, opening the cage in a matter of seconds.

His body returned to normal, leaving him in front of the crowd of people that just realized they had been saved by the green person in front of them.

A man in a suit stared at him speechless "Thank you. We didn't mean—."

Lagoon stepped forward and smiled at the man in the suit, the real General Zheng "It's fine. I get that a lot, chum."

Mischief rushed into the cage to help the abductees get on their feet. He kneeled in front of the knocked-out man and shook his shoulder. Luckily, the impact hadn't been lasting. Within the next seconds, his eyes fluttered open. While he helped the man get on his feet, Robin turned to look at Blue Beetle.

"Ask him the fastest way out." He pointed at the Krolotean.

"Dude, I don't speak the—" Blue Beetle's eyes widened. He turned to look at the Krolotean in his hand "Wait, you can? Well, what are you waiting for?"

Mischief and Lagoon exchanged a confused glance while Robin only stared at Blue Beetle with wide eyes. None of them understood why their friend often behaved that way, without even noticing how weird it was.

"Blue's an odd little fish, isn't he?" Lagoon whispered for only Mischief to hear.

As in command, Blue started grunting and screeching, pointing at the Krolotean. The creature pointed behind them and answered something in his language. Finally, Blue Beetle turned to look at Robin. But when his mouth opened, none of the heroes understood a word of the screeching coming out of it.

Blue Beetle shook his head "I mean, this way!" he pointed behind him and took off "Come on!"

With one last hesitant look, Mischief, Robin, Lagoon and the rescued abductees followed him through the tunnels.

First, there was only a chaos and light everywhere. After a few seconds, the explosion dispersed, only leaving the crackling of fire. It was moments later when coughing and grunting filled the air.

The abductees were the first ones get out of the river's surface. Their heads popped up, water dripping down their hair as they saw the raging fire burning a few metres behind them. Although the only light came from the moon above their heads, relief filled their hearts at its sight. It had been a long time since they had been in the outside with nothing but the sky loaming over their heads.

The next ones to join the surface were Robin and Blue Beetle, the latter still holding the Krolotean in his hands. The former removed the square device he used for breathing under water from his mouth.

"Where are Lagoon and Mischief?" he asked, his head jumping from left to right in concern.

At the same time, Mischief and Lagoon popped over the surface. Although Mischief was clearly trying to hide it, Robin noticed his cousin was having a lot of trouble holding himself up. Thus, so subtle that only Robin noticed, Lagoon had one arm wrapped around Mischief's waist under the water.

Lagoon raised his other hand triumphantly and closed his eyes in victory.

"Gamma squad rules!" he shouted submerged in glory, earning a small laugh from Mischief.

Hearing those words, Robin sighed in relief. A tiny smile appeared on his face. The mission could have definitely gone worse.

An hour later, Mischief, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing teleported back to the home they would always share. Gotham City.

When their names were announced by the female zeta tube voice, the yellow light took shape as four silhouettes. To their surprise, Alfred was already waiting inside for them. Sitting in front of the biggest screen in the Batcave, the mansion's butler had his nose stuck in a book cradled in his hands.

"Glad to see you all pay me a visit" his British voice got louder as he looked up from the book "Master Bruce will join in a few moments. There's some business in the League he needs to attend to first."

Nightwing smiled as he walked to Alfred's side "Did you make these for us?" he asked the butler, pointing at a tablet with cookies and glasses of milk "Man, Alfred, you're the best."

Alfred got up from his seat and brushed the dust off his suit "Indeed, I've been told."

Batgirl and Robin soon followed Nightwing's example, grasping two cookies from the plate each while closing a hand around a glass of milk.

"Thanks, Alfred." Batgirl smiled at Alfred.

The butler nodded "You're very welcome, Mistress Barbara."

While they were enjoying their mid-night snacks, Mischief quietly and slowly walked over to the seat Alfred had just vacated. Contrary to his cousins, he wasn't interested as much in the cookies as he was in getting a long and lethargic sleep.

Deciding there was nothing endangering his identity, Mischief loosened the knot in the back of his head. The mask around his eyes slid off his face, landing like a necklace around his neck. His entire face completely exposed, Mischief turned back into Stiles.

Robin followed his example as soon as he ended his third cookie, turning into Tim. Next was Batgirl becoming Barbara. Finally, Dick took NIghtwing's place.

For a second Stiles considered getting on his feet and getting a cookie and some milk for himself but his muscles had turned into lead after he had used his abilities. He feared his legs would give up beneath him if he tried to stand.

"Recognised. Batman 02." The zeta tube spoke.

The Batfamily turned to look at their mentor arriving through the zeta tube. Effectively, Batman formed from a haze of yellow, pulling down his hood as he walked towards his proteges, turning into Bruce Wayne.

"I see Alfred has already taken care of you." he said as he spotted the almost emptied plate.

His eyes quickly brushed past Stiles before landing on the group of three standing around the cookies. Taking off his gloves, he leaned on one of the many desks in the Batcave. He was only a meter to Stiles' right, while the team was behind the desk to his left.

"You did well tonight." he told them "Especially, you, Tim. The situation wasn't easy and unexpected. Yet you managed."

Blushing slightly, Tim looked down at his glass of milk.

Dick laughed and elbowed Tim's side "Yeah, dude, way to get your feet wet."

"Since Master Bruce announced you all would be coming within the next hour, I decided it proper to prepare something for you." Alfred raised his voice "If you would take a shower and come to the manor's living room, I'd be pleased to show you."

Bruce smiled "You're too thoughtful, but Alfred, they need to rest. Some-" his eyes fell on Stiles and Tim "-have to go to school tomorrow."

Barbara and Tim's eyes lost their sparks. Nightwing's shoulders dropped.

"But—" Bruce's gazed turned at the blue monitor displaying the Kroloteans' destroyed bases "—since the mission was a success and it's too late for patrol, we may allow us to break the rules for once."

Smiling, Tim and Barbara drank their glasses content up and headed for the cave's elevator. Dick offered Alfred his help with carrying the mess they had made back to the kitchen. Thankful, the butler agreed. Thus, they also headed out of the Batcave.

Stiles was about to try and get up, hoping Bruce wouldn't notice his trembling limbs.

However, before he could do so, his uncle spoke up. "Tim told me what you did tonight."

Turning his chair, Stiles faced Bruce. His eyes were digging their way into his.

"I'm proud you tried to use your powers." He continued. Stiles' heart almost exploded in joy "The mission was as much your success as it was Tim, Lagoon and Blue Beetle's."

Stiles smiled shyly "Thanks."

Bruce got on his feet "But," he intervened "he also told me you were seriously weakened by overusing them."

"That's, uhm…" Stiles scratched his neck, trying to come up with something "That's just partly true."

He was met with a risen eyebrow "That's why you are sitting and haven't tried to get up?"

Stiles knew replying was only going to make him lose. There was no way he could argue against Bruce's brilliant, deductive mind.

His uncle sighed and walked over to him. Swinging his nephew's arm around his neck, he helped him get on his feet. Stiles had to admit, it felt incredible to not have to hold his entire weight by himself. Using his powers for so long and creating that many projections had exhausted his body. Not less because he never used them.

"Let's get you upstairs to your old room." Bruce helped him walk towards the elevator "You need rest right now for your body to recover."

Although a part of Stiles was incredibly thankful for his uncle helping and taking care of him, another part of him didn't want any help. He wasn't weak, he could perfectly take care of himself. He didn't want Bruce to think he needed any special care. That he wasn't strong enough.

"But you said it yourself, I have school tomorrow, I need to beam back to Beacon Hills." He protested, trying to carry more of his own weight by himself.

Bruce most certainly noticed but didn't say a word.

"I'll wake you tomorrow soon enough." he promised as they entered the elevator "But you really do need a few hours of sleep. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"But…"

"Stiles," his uncle interrupted, bringing every protest to silence "Don't be as stubborn as Claudia and accept someone else's help for once."

The elevator's doors opened.

Stiles sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Dude, why weren't you answering your phone last night?" Scott whispered from his desk "I called you like four times."

"Don't know if you've heard of it," Stiles replied quietly "but there's something normal people usually do at night. It's called sleep. You should try it sometime."

Scott glimpsed quickly at Coach in front of the class, making sure he didn't notice them talking.

"What if I had been murdered and you hadn't noticed?"

Stiles rose his eyebrows "Were you murdered?"

Scott hesitated "That's not the point."

"Fine." Stiles continued copying from the board "I'm sorry, next time you'll get murdered and I don't answer, leave a voice mail. I'll rescue you as soon as I can."

Out of the corner of his eye, Stiles saw Scott shake his head.

Stiles looked up at him and smiled innocently "Come on, you can't stay mad at your best friend."

Suddenly, Tiffany, the girl sitting in front of Stiles, spun around "Can the two of you please keep it quiet?"

The long-haired, purple-jacketed girl didn't wait for an answer. She turned back to face the board and continued writing.

For a couple of minutes Stiles really tried to stay quiet. However, it was just a matter of time until the bomb of curiosity exploded in his chest. Letting his pen fall on the paper, Stiles turned to look at Scott.

"What happened?" he asked "Why did you call last night?"

Scott curved his spine and came closer to Stiles "Derek found some weird symbols in the woods. The pack is meeting up tonight to see what we can find."

"McCall! Stillinski! Eyes on the board!" Coach's screamed abruptly.

Taken by surprise, Stiles flinched. Their conversation ended with a last glimpse at each other. Scott pointed with his chin at the door. The message was clear. They'd talk about it after class.

Stiles was glad he didn't have to pretend being utterly exhausted by the long walk. Usually, when the pack made some sort of physical effort, Stiles was forced to hide his condition. Since he had turned eight, his uncle and his cousins had trained with him on a daily basis. When he had turned ten, Bruce had allowed him to go out on patrol and help as Robin. After joining the team, which had already had Tim as Robin, he'd changed his alias to Mischief, honouring the memories of his mother.

Thus, Stiles could move, run and fight in a way the pack couldn't even imagine. Displaying impressive physical prowess would, however, most definitely raise questions among his group of friends. There was only one solution. Stiles just complained about incredible exhaustion whenever he saw fit.

But today, he didn't have to fake a thing. As Derek lead them through the dense forest with broken branches laying on top of each other, reaching as tall as their knees, Stiles' limbs quickly became heavy, his breathing laboured.

His body was still quite exhausted from overusing his powers. He hadn't slept much. Luckily, the pack didn't notice anything was wrong. As always, they just assumed Stiles got slower and fell behind because he wasn't a werewolf.

While Isaac, Boyd and Erica didn't bother lowering their pace, Scott stayed by his side throughout the entire time.

"Dude, how can Derek go out jogging when there's no fricking path?" Stiles wondered aloud, voicing his frustration "And why would he go jogging in the middle of the night?"

Scott smiled "Face it, we've caught Derek doing weirder things."

"What exactly did he find?" Stiles wondered.

Walking a few metres in front of them, Derek glanced over his shoulder "There are some trees further back, all of them marked with the same symbols. The marked trees form a star when connecting them. That seemed like something worth checking out."

Stiles smiled "Wise call, Sourwolf."

"Stiles, did you watch the news yesterday?" Erica suddenly asked, surprising everyone.

"Why don't werewolves understand?" Stiles complained "Normal people need sleep. They sleep at night. They aren't awake doing things. They sleep."

He didn't miss Scott's supressed laugh to his right.

"Why'd you ask?" Isaac cleared a branch from his path.

"Just 'cause." Erica shrugged "Stiles is always interested in aliens and stuff, I thought he'd heard of it."

Stiles eyes were now set as firm as stone on Erika "What happened with the aliens?"

She smiled triumphantly "This man… Gordon? The one you don't like. He said the Justice League found the way the aliens were getting to earth. Apparently, they had secret bases and stuff. Anyway, there's now something around the earth, protecting us."

Scott frowned "No more aliens?"

"I have no clue." Erica shrugged again "Anyway, I though it'd interest you, Stiles."

"Yeah, thanks, Erika." He smiled at her.

In front of them Derek joined the conversation without turning around "And what about the United Nations alien?"

"That was an alien hunting an alien." Stiles quickly explained. He knew he should've kept quiet but when it came to Derek, his mind tended to lose most of its rationality "It was a bounty hunter called Lobo hunting the alien race Krolotean. But he's long gone."

It took Stiles a moment to realize all eyes were on him with risen eyebrows, even Derek's.

"Dude, how do you know?" Scott asked surprised.

Stiles looked down at the twigs "I read it on the internet."

Isaac laughed quietly as he turned forward again "You have no time to watch the news, but reading unnecessary stuff about aliens is something you can't help yourself doing, right?"

"Correct." Stiles hoped his heart wouldn't give him away "Priorities, gentlemen, priorities."

After a few seconds of silence, Stiles thanked destiny none of them had noticed anything. It was hard to have a group of supernatural friends, especially when your uncle was a crime-fighting vigilante and you belonged to a secret operations team of teenagers.

But Stiles had managed thus far. Two years had gone by and none of the pack had noticed. He'd had time to accomplish his missions with the team and managed to survive all supernatural attacks. Just like last night. Why should things ever change? His two identities were safe, and they would stay that way.

Right?

Thank you very much for reading!

I hope you liked the chapter. If you did, please let me know! I love reviews and they motivate me vastly.

Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.

Melpomene :D