The Universe's Mixer

The crone had found the conference very interesting, but that reporter had asked questions later in her paper she didn't care for. The fact that the City was now...normal hadn't been missed either. How could she not know that her spell had been broken by someone with a good deal of power? She didn't have to think long or hard on who that someone was either. The god was a being she'd have to handle; she'd noticed the woman with him, but for the moment, she'd decided to take up a bit of distraction.

Baba Yaga'd sent a woman dressed in the crone's clothes to the Tower, given the woman instructions, and set her loose. The woman would definitely smell like the crone as she stood waiting for the beast to come out and play. She was built much like the crone, or Red, was, and she held a small basket with pieces of tasty meat inside. On the basket was a small envelope, inside, a note:

You may enjoy this one, or you may come play in the park. Bring the food. We could have so much fun, my darling.

It was unsigned, but the scent alone should be enough to tell the blue furred genius who sent him his little present.

The crone sat on a park bench and watched the world move around her. She had picked a spot that seemed more wooded than normal. Quite possibly her cabin was close by. Perhaps Eric would feel the strong hint of mischief, anticipation, and lust from the small woman. She was certainly in the mood for a distraction with so much possibility.

Warning: Slightly adult content.

Frustration was not the word for it. Anger wasn’t either. Sadness, loss, so many other emotions warred within the little body. There was a definite need for satisfaction; the meeting with the girl had not gone at all how she had hoped or expected, and she still didn't know what that was. That she felt anything at all would set off the emotions once more, and she’d feel lost. This was not how she should feel; this was not what her path dictated, even when she was the one choosing the way.

Rather than go back to her cabin, which had showed but could feel its mistress’ anger, the crone started off across the park. She didn’t run; she didn’t fly. She walked. Rather determinedly. She knew where she wanted to go, and while it took longer than she liked, still, she found the damn tower where the heroes liked to stay. She didn’t need the City to know this.

She didn’t pay attention to any security measures, cameras or otherwise. A little bit of magic could short circuit much, and she had no problem doing so. It helped matters that this was not her first time to here. ( She wanted to see her bouncing blue beauty of a boy. )

After talking with Ollie about taking time away from the League, Dinah had asked him to give her a few day to tell everyone else. She really did owe each of them a personal explanation. Hank was perhaps the conversation she dreaded the most because she'd been the one to bring him into the League. She would miss working with him-with all of them, really. But she didn't think she had any business holding lives in her hands when she couldn't save herself. And when she couldn't have saved Jake either.

Giving up the League and her role as Black Canary meant that she had precious little left these days. She had again moved out of the Manor because she didn't want to intrude on Bruce's space any longer than necessary. At Alfred's urging, she was still there for dinner most nights, but she was back to sleeping in the eerie silence of her townhouse.

There were times when the emptiness would hit her as soon as she walked in the door. Worse still were the times when she would forget and expect Jake to come running out from his room when it was time for dinner, or if he needed help with his homework.

She hadn't reopened the shop to the public yet because she didn't think she could guarantee the safety of her employees or her customers. She had taken to filling her days in the garage attached to the shop, upgrading her bike and doing any repairs that she could think of. She wondered if she shouldn't seek out the parts to build a bike from scratch, but there was a part of her that remembered the words of the man who'd claimed to be the City. Remembered that he might have taken Jake away because she wasn't happy with what she'd been given, whatever that meant. She even wondered if perhaps it was angry that she hadn't stayed in the apartment she'd been granted upon arriving here. Not that she would ask Dean to move out just so she could move back in and appease the City. All the same, it was hard to keep the doubts and worries away.

It was an empty existence, though she knew that she did have friends. She appreciated knowing that they were there and there were times when she tried to find the words so she could better explain what she was going through, or better explain why she had utterly fallen apart.

Failing that, she'd just taken to mostly avoiding contact with anyone.

Save for today. She owed Hank a personal explanation, and she wanted to see how he was as well.

Which was why she stood outside the door to his lab and knocked.

If nothing else came out of the fiasco that had been the League meeting he had gotten pseudo permission to start lacing video cameras all throughout the City. Sort of. He was supposed to be monitoring some big bad vampire dude's movements, ostensibly at his club Fangtasia, a silly name in Jensen's opinion. No one said JUST around Fangtasia, and Jensen felt that this guy was probably cocky and moved around a lot of places so why not have a lot of coverage?

He got Zatanna to put up the cameras near the club since she had mystical teleporting abilities and he didn't. (No sense tempting fate, right?) Everywhere else he was putting up himself. The new search and GPS program was already geared up to take in feed from the cameras once they were activated and triangulate movement. Even if the City started switching around again, Jensen would have his location. Take THAT vampire bitches!

He had put up the last camera for the day and decided he could eat something. He spotted a Chinese restaurant across the street and thought it looked familiar. He couldn't quite place why he knew it, but figured if it stuck out in his mind chances were he liked the place so after checking traffic he jogged across the street, his bag bouncing against the back of his hip.

Once Dinah had had the chance to talk to Zee about everything, she called the Justice League together for a meeting. They needed the chance to pull together as a team now because they had all been going in opposite directions since that first fight with King Kong, and that was her fault more than anyone's as well. A good leader brought people together and didn't get bogged down in her own personal issues, letting the team possibly fall apart as she did.

She didn't know if the rest of them would still want her as a leader, but she knew that they would want to discuss what could be done about the vampire that could walk in the daylight. They could also take the meeting to discuss whether or not Dinah should remain as leader.

Fred was specifically left out of the meeting because of her sympathies for Eric. It was safer that way. Jen was left out as well, but that was simply because Dinah knew that she needed to talk to Jen privately about whether or not the CBI agent wanted to continue to risk her career by associating with the League. She had told everyone that she'd been able to talk to about the meeting that Dean would be there. It was a courtesy, since he wasn't officially a part of the team. But he had information that could help them and he had as much a right as anyone to help take down the vampire.

Not to mention that Dinah trusted him as much as she did any of her teammates.

She waited outside the Clocktower for Dean. She would let him in rather than give him his own code. Because while she trusted him, it wasn't fair to everyone else to give him access without the team clearing it. She was also waiting because she wanted to have the chance to make sure that he would be able to work with Zatanna. She thought that he was capable of it, but she didn't want there to be any personality clashes once they got into the meeting.

She was in her full costume with fishnets, leotard, jacket and all. She paced outside the tower in an attempt to keep warm because the weather was still a little bit too chilly to be comfortable.

Hank trudged into his lab in the JLC headquarters slowly, looking around and feeling a shiver go down his spine. He hadn't been here in weeks, hadn't even contacted anybody. He knew it wasn't the most responsible way to handle things, but after realizing there was no way to reverse what his serum had done to him he'd retreated to his apartment and not even noticed that so much time had passed.

Once he had, though, and had also run out of food, he realized that it was ridiculous to stay cooped up for so long. He needed to return to his work; he'd promised to care for a team of superheroes and there was a vampire on the loose. He also wouldn't be able to study how to reverse what he'd done to himself unless he was back in his lab.

So he was back, using his newfound senses and increased agility to avoid running into anybody until he got to his lab.

He was now in a clean pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless undershirt, which still was less than comfortable packing all of his fur in but it was all he could come up with to remain decent and covered.

Once he got into the lab he naturally picked up his white coat and put it on, though he realized quickly that it was too small. Another little jab at his self image. He put the coat down and then went to his coffee maker, turning it on before sitting to write an email to the team.

Apologies for the unexpected absense. I've returned.

- Hank

It took him nearly twenty moments to work out, but finally he hit send and then went to pour himself a cup of coffee. He'd need to get himself a bit more centered before the inevitable encounter with his teammates. Might not be today, if his past time in the lab was any indicator, or it might be very quickly if somebody needed him or was upset by his absense. Either way, he wasn't looking forward to it.

Backdated: Happens right after this

They'd called him down into the clinic today because the hospital was being overrun. People were coming in with all kinds of complaints and much panic. All of the staff was present unless they had a very pressing matter to attend to, and even then they were told to return as soon as they got finished.

Hannibal was currently standing in front of a woman, the bridge of his nose pinched in his fingers, eyes closed. Trying to not get angry.

"No, I assure you. You are not dying." He said. It sounded like it might have been easily the fiftieth time he'd said it. "The streets not moving has nothing to do with the numbness in your arm. Which has nothing to do with a heart attack. You've told me yourself you spent a good deal of time today watching the news for any updates. You told me that you were using your arm as a pillow. Now what that does is cut off circulation... no, the news does not do it, the weight of your head does it. Since you did not rise at the first sign of numbness, this matter has had a while to form. The feeling will return to your arm shortly, and it isn't going to feel very good. But that will end soon as well, and then everything will be back to normal. Until then, if you like, you may sit in the waiting room. We have no place for you to sit in an exam room. No. If you don't wish for me to kick you out of the hospital entirely, you will wait where I tell you. Thank you."

Hannibal turned away from the woman, shaking his head. He'd known that the people born of this place weren't exactly the smartest creatures ever, but this was a new low. Stubbed toes and lightly bumped heads, and all of them nutjobs.

He could only be thankful that the people the City had brought in were not this dense.

He stepped into a supply closet to get a moment of peace.

Beast woke up in the a quiet, lightly wooded part of the park. It was comfortable here, but something was wrong. His head lifted, emerging from beneath the blanket he'd curled under over the night. It was a good smelling blanket, but the little female it smelled like was no longer next to him like she had been when he'd passed out.

He scowled deeply, testing the air. She'd been gone for a while, and that was unsettling.

Climbing off the wooden pallet that had been his bed the creature-like man stayed on all fours, stretching out and letting a grunting snarl out as new muscles were called to duty. He felt immensely better, the pain from the night before was almost gone and he was rejuvinated. Now the only thing wrong was his stomach, and the lack of his companion from the night before.

He dropped the blanket, it smelled good and of her so he'd return here to sleep, but he had no use of it if he was going hunting. He followed where his nose hinted she might have gone, leaving the small canopy of trees and heading across the park, still on all fours. He followed her scent until a much stronger one caught his attention, and more importantly, his appetite. A delicious smell coming out of a box with wheels where a few people were gathered. Beast changed his course almost immediately, and was pleased when he didn't have to do anything to scare them off except snarl a bit. The people, one a mother with a small child, took off running, leaving him to stick his fist through the side of the flimsy glass box and get at the lovely pieces of meat roasting inside, stuffing himself full of hotdogs without worry or care about where he was or who was around him.

( Don't go into the alley. )

( Transformation. )

Hank looked over his electronic message once more before he hit send from one of the computers in his new laboratory. It was a simple request for the team members to contact him to make appointments for physicals and blood samples, so Hank wouldn't have to deal with the varied people blindly in case of emergency. There was medical data he needed to know before medical treatment was required, blood samples to take and keep, abilities and medical histories to discuss. He was a professional, after all, and this was the main reason Dinah had reached out to him. Attached to the end of the notice was also a quite offering of assistance in the creation of tactical uniforms (he didn't like the word 'costumes') to conceal identity and control or amplify any natural abilities they used in the feild. Some members (at least, the ones who had been heroes in their past lives) already had protective outfits, but after the Mayor's condemnation of the Justice League's actions Hank had become uncomfortably aware that it might be something all world-venturing team members might want for matters of personal safety.

He hadn't done anything about his own possiblity except a rudimentary yellow and black outfit that was built to let him move unhindered, with an attachable pack on the back to carry medical supplies in case he was needed. It was hung on one wall at the moment, a simple example of his ability to manufacture an outfit that hopefully didn't look too campy.

His brow furrowed at the last part of the message and he grunted, hitting 'send' before he could overthink the matter. It was his job to look after the health of the team, and in his mind the uniform offer of help went along with that, now that he had the lab fully equiped to handle the team's medical needs. And who knew, parthaps even the already outfitted members of the group would like enhancements. Everyone except the Batman fellow, who just unnerved Hank. The full body suit was hiding something, the boy could tell, though he couldn't put his finger on what, yet.

Finished with the message he pushed back from the computer station, his wheeled chair moving swiftly and easily over to one of the broad, oversized tables that didn't have designated hardware on them. Climbing out of the chair he sat in the middle of the table, which otherwise was ammassed with bits and pieces of electronics, tools, wires, and spare bits of metal. He picked up a small device he'd been working on and strapped it onto his wrist, turning towards a full length mirror he'd put on the wall temporarily, clicking a button on the wristband.

"Ouch," he winced, the electric shock that came from the band taking him somewhat by surprise. It stopped, though, and as he watched his reflection it started to become fuzzy, then slowly dissintegrate into a patchy, unfocused set of sparkling colors, flickering in and out. Hank's lip twitched and he turned off the device, his physical image in the mirror reverting back to the normal picture of a gangly, skinny boy in doctor's clothing. This image inducer technology was exciting, but so far he couldn't even get close to a human-like image to lay over whoever wore the wristband. As a method of protection it didn't seem like it would be a readily available disguise.

Hank picked up some tools and opened the device, starting to fiddle with the contents, loosing himself in the innovation and trying to push out thoughts of his cure out of his mind. He was still waiting for things to settle, still waiting to see what his place in the team might be. He hadn't really interacted with any of them since their initial mission, but he trusted that soon they'd come to an understanding and he'd be able to better guage the best time for him to try the solution out. In the meantime he'd do his best to contribute to the team by working on his technology, a task which he lost himself in easily for hours and even days without noting a change in his surroundings.

Takes place immediately following this thread

Hank was there awfully quickly. Dinah was grateful for that. She was still holding onto her wrist, her breathing shallow now that the adrenaline had worn off. Without it, the pain was definitely distracting.

She heard the suggestion to sit and did so, squatting down on the curb.

"Just got swatted into a wall. Good thing the canary cry worked," she said with a weak smile. "I think it's just my wrist. Everything else is sore, but nothing else feels broken or out of place."

It was done. It had taken a few days, but Hank had gotten the lab at the hospital cleared out and his employee pass turned in. He was officially no longer employed by the City.

Not that his new lab was set up yet, and he had a lot of his things at home where he was making a few adjustments before deciding if he'd try to reinstall them in his new location. To celebrate he'd invited Hannibal out to a late lunch, his last hurrah as the older man's colleague in the workspace.

Besides, between the JLC, Red, and Eric, Hank's world had literally been turned on its head recently and he was staggering a bit from all the revelations, questions, and conflicts he'd experienced internally. Especially regarding the incident with the vampire, and then Red's subsequent visit. The two of them had succeeded in getting into Hank's mind and stirring things up that he'd spent the last few days trying to forget. Nothing had much triggered the instincts again since then, and he'd carefully avoided any stimulants that might, including caffeine and sugar. The lack of Twinkies was making him very unhappy, but the caffeine was nice to leave behind for a little while.


Hannibal, at the least, more or less thought along the same lines Hank did, and when all else failed understood the world Hank came from, even if he was unhindered by the morality of it like Hank sometimes found himself. And with Hannibal Hank didn't have to be the focus of the conversation. They could talk about work, sciences, anything, really. And that was a relief.

He sat in a small, warmly lit bistro, full enough that conversations were fairly private but not too busy as to be distracting. It was a warm atmosphere, and as the scientist stirred his tea and read the paper he felt like he was in control for the first time in over a week.

Hank was exhausted, but for once he wasn't showing it. Dressed in track pants and a fitted T-shirt he emerged from the coffee shop nearest the library, arms full of books and a cup. He hadn't slept since his interaction with Eric, and he was determined not to again if he could help it. Not until he'd gotten a few things worked out.

Hank took a place on a bench in the sun, curling up around his psychology books, sipping his coffee and pushing his glasses up his nose. Books from different planets, different times, different species.... he knew the psychology of his era, but it wasn't working, it didn't fit this world. It didn't fit what he'd been having to deal with here.

The youth opened the books, starting to skim through the pages. His reading speed was always getting faster, it was almost hard to turn the pages now. That's why he didn't leave the vicinity of the library. He'd spend a couple hours out here, then go back for one more armload before heading home.

Hank took a running leap off of one of the taller buildings in the City, eyes closed as he fell, cold wind swirling around his limbs and through his hair. Better and more dynamic than having a convertible going at top speed.

He fell until he hit the rooftop of a much shorter building, tumbling and winding up on his feet, letting out a grunt and a breath as he hit a crouching position. Then he grinned, looking up at the height before slowly standing up. He was getting much better at landings, something that had recently come to his attention as needing work. Since joining the Justice League he'd resolved to get himself more fit, in case he was needed by the group to be on scene again. If they were going to be a task force every member should attempt to be their best, and Hank knew that he had never even attempted to seriously reach his true potential.

Besides, he hadn't been able to sleep lately. Ever since that last meeting with Red Hank hadn't been able to let go of her during his inactive hours. It was like she was hanging onto his thoughts, and even though he could avoid the thoughts through mental discipline during the daytime, at night his dreams had become consumed by her presence. They weren't exactly… nice, either. The one last night had been downright bestial, though to Hank's waking horror the ferociousness and animalistic attributes had been his own. Red had been as she was in more dreams, a beautiful, inviting figure of warm and permission for him to do as he liked.

The dreams unsettled the boy when he was awake, and wore on his nerves. To combat it he'd been working himself to his dropping points, setting up his new laboratory in the JLC headquarters, moving out, and exercising and training at night.

He'd made himself the start of a new suit for the workouts, a skintight, breathable shirt and the loosest pair of sweatpants he could find to leave all movement unhindered. He was discovering that with stretching he had incredible range of motion with his limbs.

Turning he looked out across the rooftops and then down at his watch, setting the timer. If he really pushed himself he could attempt to break his four-block sprint across the City. He readied himself, then clicked the button before exploding forward, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, hands and feet moving fluidly to carry him forward faster than any human could sprint on a simple road.

It had been a slow news week for Lois. No, who was she kidding? She had been scooped on all of the big stories ever since she'd arrived here. She'd had a handful of interviews with some fascinating people, but where were the stories? Where was the human interest?

She was either losing her nose for news or the City was conspiring against her, as some might speculate. Either way, Lois was just waiting for the day when she got the axe.

That was, of course, assuming her editor even knew her from all of the other people in the bullpen.

She wasn't going to give up though. That was why she was currently hanging out at one of the trendier restaurants in the City, rumored to be a favorite eatery of the mayor. Despite it being late December, the restaurant, located on the patio in front of one of the City's skyscrapers, was perfectly comfortable. The warm weather normally would have unsettled Lois for the time of the year, but she was too focused on finding that next cover page story.

She supposed that some people might say that you should be careful what you wished for.

There was a rumbling and Lois heard the slight chink of dishes rattling together. She felt the ground shaking, though it didn't exactly feel like an Earthquake. It was too much of a rhythmic pattern for that.

Lois turned as the shaking began to get more intense and she heard the sounds of something very heavy smacking against the pavement.

"You have got to be kidding me," was about all she had time for as a gigantic face turned its attention towards her and then a furry hand swept downward and scooped her up as if she was nothing more than a rag doll.

As the gigantic gorilla-yes, gorilla-started off toward the Wayne Enterprises tower, Lois looked up at it, still in shock.

"No, no no. This is not happening!" she shouted. The shout gave way to a scream as the gorilla reached the tower and grabbed hold of it, beginning to climb upwards.


OOC: open to reactions from all. The JLC will be doing the actual defeating the giant ape but others are welcome to join in with the rescue if you'd like :)

The preparations for the official formation of the City chapter of the Justice League were set. At least, as set as they could be. Dinah still had her reservations about the person manning the Tower, but the Justice League was needed in the City. She was sure of that. And she thought the City might accept that too. After all, it could very easily have taken away the Clocktower or sent some of them home or done any number of things to get in their way.

She didn't like the idea of the City handpicking their staff either, but Jensen deserved a chance. Dinah would be watching him like a hawk until he proved himself, but for now it was time to at least see how it worked out.

The Clocktower seemed to have grown to accommodate the new team. There was now a second apartment for Jensen and there was an entire subbasement that Dinah either hadn't been aware of or hadn't existed until they'd started planning to get the band back together. The basement had more than enough room for a lab for Hank and a training facility for the rest of them.

Dinah waited in the computer room for everyone to arrive. It shouldn't take Jensen too long since he just lived downstairs at least. And she could only hope that the City allowed everyone else to make it there without much trouble.

Hank slowly extracted the tiny tube from the analyzer, biting his lip as he gazed at the blueish liquid. It seemed like the solution, or at least, the computer told him it seemed like the solution. It was moments like this that Hank wished mice could be granted the X Gene just so he could double check his results before performing random experiments on himself.

Of course, giving mice mutations with unknown powers associated might not be the best idea, and super powered rodents aside animal testing wasn't something Hank entirely enjoyed. Probably because they were innocent critters with adorable ears, and their squeaking could be quite amusing, and it wasn't a good idea to think fondly of creatures you mutated, gave experimental medicine, then killed and dissected.

Still, Hank trusted his own research and the computer's readouts. And so, in his hand, he quite possibly had the solution to his life's main focus. His breathing hitched slightly and he hesitated, eyes wandering from the precious vial to the needle drawer sitting at the ready. Did he do it now? Why shouldn't he? Yet at the same time, was it something he wanted to rush?

He walked over to his cot and sat, looking at the container. He was about to start working for a superhero group, and there was no true guarentee that the solution would act immediately. Perhaps it would be a few days, an adjustment period, and he still had much to do before he left the hospital. Only half of his lab was packed, and he still had to dismantle the machines he'd built here.

But then, once he was the doctor responsible for the care of crime fighters, was that really a better time to be out of commission? The young man sighed and fell onto his back, holding the vial up to the light, head swimming. Too many variables, too many unknown factors, and under it all the drive to just go ahead and cure himself in an instant, like he'd been dreaming of doing since he was a child.

Rufio had finally finished compiling a new outfit for himself, and just in time. While tying up a new trapeze to get across the warehouse faster in case of emergency he'd ripped his pants up the sides. All of his clothes had started to get tighter, and seeing as he'd built them to be tight in the first place, it wasn't comfortable to be wearing them anymore. Of course, he hadn't ever planned on growing anymore, so he hadn't needed to worry about seeing his ankles under his pant hem, but if he had to get bigger he'd still make sure he looked good.

It was night when he finished and pulled on his new clothes in the warehouse's bathroom. A pair of tighter blue jeans with a heavy studded belt he'd stolen from a store, a new, bigger leather jacket which he'd attached spiked studs to the shoulderpads. He'd also found some new shirts at a small shop that had a bunch of them in large bins, but the little old lady who was running the store had been nice, so he'd given her money for the shirts instead of stealing them like he did his pants. He liked the shirts, he'd picked out ones with cartoons and characters on them, and one that the woman told him read "RAWR". He wore that one now, and that and some new black combat boots and a spiked metal collar made him feel a bit better, and fingerless leather gloves and an arm band completed the look. He was certainly more comfortable, and when he looked at himself in the mirror of the warehouse bathroom he thought he cut a rather impressive image. He taller, anyway. And willing to let some of the hair on his chin continue to grow in. It really wasn't growing on the sides of his face, which was fine by him.

He touched his hair, wondering if he shouldn't change it too. He'd let go of most of his homemade jewelry, after all, and the red and black stuck out in this city and been laughed at. Rufio shook his head, it was still too cool to change. Attaching his sword's sheath to his belt he grabbed his skateboard and headed out into the City, not bothered that it was late into sunset and getting dark quickly. Dark was fun.

( Skating through the streets he turned to go find the hospital. )

Putting together a new Justice League for the City was an exciting prospect. Dinah had missed working as part of a team and she truly believed that the City needed a more organized effort to protect people against the strange threats that lurked in the shadows.

She was running down the list of people that she trusted and that she thought might want to be involved. And when it came down to it, the team needed a doctor. The bank account with funds set aside for the Birds of Prey that had appeared or possibly been pre-existing on her arrival to the City seemed to have tripled in size, which Dinah took to mean that the City was okay with their plan to form a group of heroes to protect the City. It also meant that there were funds enough to pay a doctor to be on-call, and to upgrade the tech as needed.

There was only one doctor in the City that Dinah trusted, and so she'd called Hank to meet her for lunch.

When it came down to it, she'd been wanting to see Hank for awhile anyway. Things had been so busy that she hadn't seen him since Jake had attacked him. She'd left a few messages to give him updates, but getting that face-to-face time had been difficult with everything that had happened since they'd rescued Jake.

She perused the menu of the small cafe while she waited for the young doctor to join her.