17542/Injustice For All: Imma Gonna Make A Monkey Out Of You

Injustice For All: Imma Gonna Make A Monkey Out Of You
Date of Scene:	20 April 2024
Location:	Outskirts of Gorilla City -- Africa
Synopsis:	The Justice League and their allies pursue the Injustice League to Gorilla City and face down the trap that Grodd has prepared for them...
Cast of Characters:	Barry Allen, Monet St. Croix, Bishop, Diana Prince, Oliver Queen, M'gann M'orzz, Kate Kane
Tinyplot:	Injustice For All

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Barry Allen has posed:
After tracking the Injustice League back to their headquarters only to find it trapped and abandonned, the Justice League and their allies were still able to take advantage of their adversaries need to taunt them to trace their signal back to it's origin point.

Right in the dark heart of Africa -- the location of Gorilla City -- a civilization of super intelligent apes previously encountered by the League.

The potential that they are walking into another trap is pretty obvious of course. Impossible to miss really. But not seizing this opportunity is impossible to justify as well. Especially when it has the potential of leaving Solavar and the primates of Gorilla City in the hands of Grodd and his allies.

So utilizing all the various means at their disposal -- superspeed, invisible jets, teleporter technology and who knows what other tricks, the League and their allies arrive on the outskirts of where the unlikely city is to be found.

Last time the team made this approach across the open savannah towards the towering jungles nearby holographic illusions completely obscured the unlikely settlement amonst the trees. This time such illusions and protections have been stripped away, leaving the towering walls of the primate city at the heart of the continent stark, bare and imposing. Guard towers stretch even higher, menacing looking weapons of advanced design apparent there, designed to defend the city in the unlikely event of discovery and attack. But unlike last time, no gorillas man the walls, looming imposingly over those that would come before them. Instead the battlements are clear, seemingly devoid of life and the city gates that seemed so imposing stand cracked open ever so slightly.

An ominous invitation to enter.

Once again, the Flash is one of the very fist on the scene, racing across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean as if it were solid ground, racing across the great open plain with it's tall, swaying grass until pulling up just shy of those trees, of the city nestled stark and revealed amonst those towering branches and great leafy boughs, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet has taken the time to call for a bit of backup. She needs someone that won't ask questions, that's capable, and more importantly adaptable. And most of all, that if something undignified happens won't blab about it. These melees have not gone particularly well so far for M, even as pride requires her to go along with them. And thus, she's asked Bishop, soldier from a far off, possible dark future to join her.

The duo have arrived via whatever means to rendezous iwth the others and pausing and staring, "This is.." Trying to save face and dignity when the group is going to attempt to breach the walls..

Of Gorilla City. Time to magilla it up.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop comes with Monet, dressed for battle x-men uniform, his blaster are ready at his sides like a cowboy with a cigar hanging out of his lip, blowing smoke upwards with a nod at Monet. "So blaster locked, ready to rumble in the jungle." His voice is friendly, but those eyes are iced ready for combat, as his hand are go for the blaster, not drawing ready for blasting time. "So, Injustice what a name, cliche but do they live up to the cliche."

Diana Prince has posed:
There had to be more to Gorilla City than the Justice League had been lead to believe their first time here. The locals had not even allowed them to step foot inside the city, and though there could be any number of reasons for that to occur, it also hinted at a chance that they were not meant to see something specific within the city's walls.

Today, Wonder Woman had arrived via her personal transport plane. The speedy alien-tech morphing disc ship was capable of reaching any point on Earth in an outstanding amount of time. Upon arriving, Wonder Woman had made her way toward where her team signals were, at the city gate, where they had been before.

Diana emerges from the jungle foliage, her hands at her sides, with weapons mounted on her back, her armor glinting in the light from the sun above the canopy of trees.

She scans her eyes over the city's open gate, and immediately begins to move toward it with the intent to peer inside, and perhaps even simply move on within the city's perimeter.

"Be on the look out, I am sure we are far from alone here." She tells those who are within ear shot of her current position.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Given that he is lacking any sort of super travel power -- which is fine, just fine because the ability to shoot arrows at things is waaaaay cooler then any of that -- Green Arrow hitches a ride with the others in order to make that trans-Atlantic crossing considerably drier, easier and faster. Even though he could totally swim the Atlantic, no problem.

Anything Aquaman can do he can do better. He's almost sure of it.

Still, no need to get his arrows wet -- it's bad for the fletching and his bow string after all -- and while flights on invisible jets might lack comely flight attendants and peanuts to snack on, they do benefit from being rather quicker, all things consider.

He does miss those peanuts though.

So as he touches down, once more standing in front of those imposing walls, Ollie's gaze stretches up -- and up -- before he shakes his head slowly. "Ugh, they're not eventrying to hide that this is a trap," he grumps. glancing around at the others. "So... do we just spring the trap, or...?" he asks casually. And gets his answer as Wonder Woman just starts walking towards the obvious invitation. "Come into my lair said the spider to the fly," he mutters before starting after.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
M'gann may not have been here at the start of this heinous series of crimes and plots, but she's been in it for the last half, and she's not about to miss the finale. That they're going to a place called Gorilla City is ominous enough, given Grodd's abilities, but an entire city of potential Grodd's? On top of the rest of this 'Injustice League'?

They must be stopped, and she's not one to leave before the job is done. Making her way to Africa, she pilots her own shapeshifting, lightbending ship, leaving firm instructions on what the ship is to do if things go poorly for them.

Phasing through the ship's hull, she floats her way down amongst the others and nods to Wonder Woman, immediately starting to scan the city telepathically for signs of life. Between herself and Monet, they should be able to cover the city quickly enough, assuming, of course, that there hasn't been some sort of telepathy blocking going on. Which is really almost expected at this point. Grodd has been utilizing that technology more of late.

<<Checking for signs of life inside the city, it may at least let us pinpoint where they want us to go.>> The telepathic connection is shared amongst the Leaguers and, hopefully, still allows for private communication.

Kate Kane has posed:
"Far too easy, yeah." Kate's voice answers Diana on the comms, as she flew her own stealth-modified Batplane to the site in question. Since she doesn't have a way to fly on her own, she made sure to pack her motorcycle along for the trip. The nice thing about having your own ride, at least.

Though, she frowns at the lack of presence on the walls. "Be ready for anything." With that, she rides her surprisingly quiet motorcycle up towards the city.

Barry Allen has posed:
Look, it's clearly an invitation to enter.

And it would be downright rude to come all this way and not even bother to accept said invitation to visit their hosts. Sure, it will in all likelihood lead to throwing down with those same hosts, but what social gathering is ever complete without a few harsh words being exchanged. Maybe a punch or two.

Admittedly they lead slightly unusual lives compared to most people. Their associates are also sometimes of questionable character and while they might prefer not having to deal with them, they don't always get that luxury.

"So, full speed ahead then, huh?" Barry asks as they start towards the open gate and those ominous walls with the advanted looking weapon emplacements directed their way.

It might not be ideal, but the Flash certainly is not willing to leave the ape-inhabitants of this city in the hands of Grodd and the Injustice League. Still, on this occasion he doesn't immediately rush ahead, willing to wait for the right moment to leap into high gear as needed while still advancing towards the city as a group.

From within the city those with such abilities will indeed be able to sense life forms. Not just a few. Hundreds, even thousands of them. So despite the unmanned walls and the deactivated security system it is pretty clear that Gorilla City has not simply been abandonned.

Somewhat unexpectedly however there is no seeming sense of panic, of fighting, indeed, most mental activity in the city itself appears to be muted. Almost like a blanket has been tossed over the vast majority of beings within, their activities muted and supressed.

Despite the seeming threat posed by those high-powered weapons above, none of them open up on the group as they approach the gates. Nothing threatens them at all and they are able to slip past that entrance into the city beyond.

Everything about the city suggests a certain refinement, a certain amount of superior technology that one probably wouldn't expect from gorillas to be sure. The buildings, while clever and clearly advanced, still manage to somehow blending in with the natural beauty of the surrounding jungle. A part of it, instead of apart.

But that sense of harmony is swiftly put to the test by the gathering in the central square that awaits them just beyond those gates.

Row after row of apes stands, armed and expressionless, simply staring ahead. Intermixed amongst them are other familiar figures. Over there on the right flank is Deathstroke and Copperhead. There in amongst the gorillas on the left are Captain Cold and Heat Wave. Right in the center stands the grinning, leering Parasite along with Giganta.

And just behind that mass? On an elevated platform boasting some strange, advancing looking machinery, Grodd looks down upon it all.

<<WELCOME!>> that telepathic voice practically bludgeons with psionic might. <<YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW PLEASED I AM TO SEE SO MANY OF YOU, MY ENEMIES, HERE.>>

And then Grodd actually seems to smile.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop slides his blasters free as they enter with the hands of fury, moving with them slowly staying on the side watching everything eyes upwards. He is pensive, with hat smoke is blowing from his cigar moving much like a train big burst of smoke. He is trying to keep his cool, not really doing inside but his face looks chill. He than stops to look at the foes before them and than at the big metal thing, and that voice in his head blasters coming up quickly as he studies it all. Ready to open fire, like a crazy man, once the order is given. "Damn, lots of them. Whom do I shot first, who is leading this?"

Oliver Queen has posed:
Yeah, the whole situation definitely has a certain undeniable semll about it. But knowing that there is a trap waiting is half the battle right? They're in unfamiliar territory and sometimes the safest path is the most direct one. So through the gates they go.

Still, that doesn't keep Ollie from eyeing those weapon emplacement on the walls and towers above warily, an arrow already resting on that bowstring, ready to be drawn at a moments notice, even as they get closer and closer to those gates without any seeming reaction.

Then they are through, into the advanced city beyond and the impressive display laid out for them.

And of course those legions of armed gorillas standing expressionless and unmoving, waiting for them along with the scattered members of the Injustice Society as well.

"Apes," Ollie notes sardonically. "Why did it have to be apes?"

Bow still drawn, arrow still nocked, he draws a bead on the biggest, baddest ape of them all. "Ugh, use your indoor voice Titano!"

Diana Prince has posed:
Through the city gate, and in to the city itself. this is the first time Diana has bared witness to the design capabilities of the Gorilla structures. She's impressed, though she doesn't show it outright upon her facial features. there is too many questions pending dangerous answers for her to consider the beauty of the place, and the accomplishments of its creators...

"Traps are quaint at best," Diana had replied to the others. "I would rather just let them know we are here, and do our best to stop this for once, and for all..."

As they round a bend in view obstructing city elements, Diana beholds the line of Apes and their seemingly allied villains. "The InJustice League." She quietly says in her husky voice, her eyes darting from one face to the other, before landing on Grodd's specifically.

"Be ready, use your best tools at your disposal." She tells the members of her team, letting the X-Men sus her out as a leader-type if they wish to, obviously Monet knows the skinny by this stage of their history together.

"We are not here for a fight." Diana states, her leather wrapped palms held up, outward toward their 'enemies'. "We are here to discuss a peaceful resolution. You have pushed, and pushed, caused dangers of untold levels, toward countless innocent lives... It has to stop."

Diana sends her words with a booming pitch to her voice across the distance, her voice echoing off the otherwise calm corners of the city under alert.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The telepathic bludgeoning goes down hard upon Monet, even as she goes to hurriedly reinforce ehr shields. She also goes to extend them to teh others that aren't as telepathically gifted. For now, she moves to play defense while setting up so that M'Gann can be in position to play offense. A role that the two have switched off on several times in fights and that they've learned to do effectively.

<<Does he ever get bored of hearing his own thoughts?>> She moves to close her eyes and grunts, even if it's something more instinctive rather than necessary in the astral plane of existence.

She would move to fold her hands together. The Injustice League will get what they have coming for them. But M still makes herself breathe slowly a few times and keeps up her mental shields.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
While most weapons won't phase M'gann (pun intended), the sight of Heat Wave there amongst the armed apes has her a little uneasy. Still, she's not one to back down, not when they've come this far, so she keeps her place and continues to look over the crowd with a slight frown.

<<This isn't everyone... no Merlyn, no Morgan Le Fay, no Shadow Thief...>> She glances towards Diana. <<No Cheetah. We're missing some of the League.>>

The frown builds up lightly on her face when Grodd begins his telepathic shouting, wincing lightly and shaking her head at the reverberation of thought Looking back to those in the crowd, she starts to scan them for individual thoughts, trying to determine if these are willing participants or mind-controlled victims. It will certainly help to inform her apporach to the situation.

Diana tries for the peaceful response and M'gann uses that time to keep up the scan on the apes and the villains scattered throughout them.

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate grimaces at the telepathic booming voice in her head, but murmurs a quick thanks to Monet when she reinforces the shields. And then adds over comms, "How much you want to bet that device Grodd's hooked up to is boosting his powers... and the reason why Gorilla City seems unaware of the hostile takeover."

At Diana's talk about a 'peaceful solution', she frowns, instead reaching for an explosive batarang from her utility belt. Because considering the previous incident where they were willing to set a nuke off next to Gotham...

Let's just say that Batwoman doesn't think they'll have peace today.

Barry Allen has posed:
If there was any doubt of just where the Injustice League scattered to when their hidden base in the midst of Slaughter Swamp outside of Gotham City was revealled, it is quickly dispelled as other figures are plucked out of the crowd, either amidst all the seemingly brainwashed gorillas or back behind them, closer to the platform where Grodd stands.

The Reverse-Flash and all of the other Rogues that started all of this with their rash of thefts in Metropolis. There amonst the gorillas are other threats. The snarling Cheetah, with those burning eyes full of hate solidly fixed on the Amazon in the forefront. Metallo. Neutron. Black Manta. The Scarecrow and Mr. Freeze. The armored form of Prometheus and Dr. Polaris. Sonar.

There on the platform only a short distance from Grodd stand others. The diminutive Dr. Psycho. Merlyn. A rather frightened man in a bowtie who is unmistakably Professor Ivo, though lacking his formidable Amazo bodyguard. There too is the recently freed Tala along with the masked Morgan Le Fay, offering the potential for a potent mystic punch. Even the Calculator sits nearby, tapping away at a laptop while the inscrutable Ra's al Ghul looks on.

The seeming entirety of the Injustice League, all gathered together. All in one place.

But it would seem that here, on his home ground, the honor of speaking for this criminal collect has been left to Grood, those animalistic features curved into a sneer as he listens to Wonder Woman, the request to be reasonable, the attempt to avoid violence.

<<YOU ARE MORE CORRECT THEN YOU CAN KNOW, AMAZON. YOU ARE NOT HERE TO FIGHT, AT LEAST NOT FOR LONG. YOU ARE HERE TO HAVE YOUR MIND OPENED, CHANGED.>> comes Grodd's powerful thoughts. <<YOU ARE HERE TO SUBMIT,>>

With that, he motions and all of those gathered gorillas seem to move with one, bringing up their weapons -- powerful looking rifles of exotic design or various energy axes and pikes that glow with an edge might keener then any made out of simple metal. And then they start to advance, all deadeyed and blank expression towards the Justice League and their allies.

"Well, this isn't real good now is it?" Barry mutters, glancing towards the others. "Keep in mind that Solovar and his apes weren't hostile to us. I very much doubt that they are willing participants," he cautions.

On the other hand those weapons look sharp and dangerous, and as the first rifle blast lashes out with a bright glowing beam of red energy, the Flash leaps into Superspeed mode, lunging towards the advancing mode of gorillas to try and strip away what weapons he can.

Though given their foes strength, that might be easier said then done.

Back behind that advancing horde, the smirk never leaves Grodd's features as he fiddles with the machine behind him. Though the look of smug satisfaction is not just directed towards his foes, but covertly shot towards his allies in the Injustice League as well.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
A legion of gorillas armed with laser weapons. And Monet St. Croix just goes to ever so sadistically, gleefully look across them in all thier glory. And then up along the array of villains spread out amongst them. She looks ever so gleeful now, for the first time in awhile.

<<Bishop, up front. If you can please draw as much fire in your direction as possible and ensure that it hits you. Then please return the favor.>> Monet has no real way to get at enemies along the level of the superthugs that they're up against. She does however quickly spy over towards the giant glowing beam of doom. A look given to Bishop as she nods. Then she's going to charge along at high speed through the air, intent on simply bypassing the gorillas. And she goes to aim her way up and charge right towards Cheetah, the way she always does. But this time.. This time, she goes to try and nudge the feral avatar of a blood goddess with something a bit nastier.

She tries to imprint upon Cheetah metnally, if at all possible as she goes to fly.. To imprint upon Cheetah a state of primal, almost berserk bloodlust if at all possible, which from those melees that had left her gutted so many times almost seemed the woman's default state..

But at the moment when Cheetah was deepest in sync with her fellow villains. The most immediate ones if Monet's mental -push- worked for her to slake her suddenly desperate thirst on if the attempted mental smash worked.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop rushes forward with his blaster firing at them all, taking shoots screaming out things to insult them and their families their line and their banana eating habits. He is spinning around to block the rest of the group with his massive frame, his dreads spinning around his head. "Get behind me!" His voice is screams at them, with each of his blasters firing off over and over, over screaming out his war cry.

Diana Prince has posed:
"Look a bit closer..." Diana quietly says to M'gann as more of the InJustice League begin to filter out of their hiding places. Diana doesn't need to be a telepath to sense just how hard it is likely to find individual minds within this cluster of madness. "Be on your guard, and attempt to keep them from hindering us through their own mental methods." She quicly states out to her team, before she lowers her hands in to fists, and begins to raise her bracers up to absorb incoming energy weapon fire!

With the chaos breaking out now, Diana steps forward with powerfully confident steps, her armored boots thudding on the ground, as she feels the battlefield out before her. "Flash, hold back one moment... Batwoman, try to disable any of their tech that you feel is priority..."

"Flash, prepare to disarm them..." A second later, and Diana drops to one knee, her bracer covered forearms coming together in a cross-position in front of her face, resulting in the sudden blooming burst of kinetic energy from her body, outward toward the incoming mind controlled Gorilla army! The wave of kinetic energy glimmers with a golden shine, as it rushes forward like a tsunami of rolling power, soon to smash in to the gorilla soldiers, and hopefully cause many to either lose their weapons, or lose their grips upon them enough for Flash to better snatch them away!

Oliver Queen has posed:
The aid from the telepaths, giving a little boosting to their own psychic defenses keeps from Grodd's voice in his head from completely wrecking his week. But it still isn't very pleasant. All things considered he would much rather not have a megamanical gorilla shouting threats in his mind. He's just old fashioned that way though. At least buy him a drink before you psychically threaten to make him submit. Geez.

Glancing at the advancing gorillas, Green Arrow hesitates for just a moment, toying with the arrow that he already has nocked before letting it loose, sending it flying into the advacing horde. And sure enough when it trikes home arcs of blue electricty flood over one of the gorillas, sending it staggering before it collapses in a heap.

"Stupid apes. My arrows are configured for humans," he mutters, fiddling with another of those arrow as well, adjusting the settings to up the voltage enough to be sure it will take down their much more sizable, much more powerful opposition. It will definitely slow down his firing rate a little -- not ideal given the hundreds of apes -- not to mention the Injustice Society targets mixed in -- but necessary under the circumstances. It's not like he has a quiver of infinite arrows.

He should probably talk to one of the League mages about that. Maybe Dr. Fate or Zatanna can whip him something up.

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman revs her motorcycle, "On it, Diana." She suddenly takes off, steering around the crowds as she tries to flank them. The advantage of her motorcycle being that she can outrace most gorillas on foot, and she corners like a maniac to boot.

So she leads a significant fraction of brainwashed gorillas after her, and once they're committed to following her... that's when she pulls out her grappling hook. Firing it at the wall next to Grodd's New Toy, she waits for it to catch before hitting the recall, flying /off/ the motorcycle and soaring in towards the device, looking to get close enough to disable it somehow...

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
While M'gann usually goes the more cerebral route, attempting to soothe or placate or pacify mentally... sometimes that just isn't a feasible option. In this instance, there are too many targets to try and focus on them one at a time. This calls for a bit more.. drastic action.

Pulling up a telekinetic shield, the Martian flies up high, then divebombs herself towards the group of supervillains behind Grodd. She won't go after the apes, this isn't their fault, they aren't acting willingly. But the League. Oh. They are fair game.

This isn't going to be pleasant for her, and it may not go over well amongst her friends and fellow League members, but this isn't the time to pull punches. And its time to stop hiding.

Even as she flies towards them, M'gann is changing. Shifting. Not to one of her more expected forms, but into something altogether more terrifying. Sickly white in color, she becomes something else... like a mashup of a Xenomorph and a Predator, with a chitinous carapace that gleams, four strong limbs ending in four-fingered hands that are tipped with letal-looking claws. A long, semi-prehensile tail extending from the bottom of her spine and ending in a wickedly barbed tip.

The White Martian is here.

Crashing down into the midst of the villain group like she thinks she's Superman or something!

Barry Allen has posed:
Almost immediately, that strangely placid and quiet square explodes into action as chaos comes crashing down on Gorilla City like a load of bricks. Those placid, vacant groillas seem to leap to obey Grodd's mental commands with no hesitation, rading forward to close the gap on the assembled heroes who stand just inside that gate.

A few of the advancing apes drop, the taser arrows from Green Arrow picking out targets and bringing them down with those electrical arcs even as the Flash races through the crowd too quick to see, a blur of scarlet and yellow as he snatch up what weapons he can or just proves a distraction, tapping the massive bodies of thier foes, letting the sheer momentum of that speed makes the light hits knock the apes off stride.

Meanwhile Bishop and Monet stand in the forefront, each fighting in their own way. Drawing attention to himself does seem to have the desired effect as more then a few of the laser attacks are indeed directed towards Bishop, offering cover for the others to operate.

Little do the apes know that they are actually feeding the mutant with energy that will be surely returned their way soon enough.

Is it wise to poke the slumbering beast? It's a fair question, and one that they might just get an answer to as M puts that psionic might of hers to the task of enraging Cheetah. Not the safest of choices perhaps and judging by the looks of the wild woman, not really something that is necessary either. But there you are. But as the snarling cat-woman gets increasingly angry she begins to claw at the gorillas surrounding her, flailing wildly with those razor sharp claws in an effort to break through, to get closer to her targets, feral eyes shifting between Monet and Diana, talons tipped with blood as she tries to cut her way through the mass of bodies.

Then Wonder Woman is there, in the center of the formation, slamming those bracer-covered forearms together and sending that resulting bust of energy flinging outward, straight into the advancing mass of ape-flesh. It is very much like hitting a wall and the first line of apes are lifted from their feet entirely, slammed backwards into those behind them despite the size, despite their strength. The advancing is blunted, stalled and then stopped, at least for a moment, and dozens of crumpled forms lay sprawled on the ground, weapons dropped from nerveless hands.

But already those not caught in that heart of that blast begin to form up, to reassemble.

Meanwhile Batwoman revs the engine of her cycle, directs it to the fringe of that crowd to try and circle around it. That speed advantage is definitely a good thing, though far too often for comfort she is able to veer away just an instant before a big hand or gleaming axe of energy swipes through she was a moment earlier. Leaping from the bike at last, she sails towards the intricate looking machine that Grood fiddles with, seemingly the heart of his plans here.

And fortunately, at the last moment, likely notices the faint shimmer of the energy field that guards it.

Up on the platform, Grodd continues to work, though that mental acuity seems to leave him well aware of what is going on. When Miss Martian lands amidst them in her monstrous form he merely gestures and Neutron and Metallo turn, advancing on her while Giganta begins to swell to tremendous size just behind them.

He does the same as Batwoman attempts to reach his machine, though his features contort into a snarl at that. But still, in mere moments the armored forms of Mr. Freeze and Prometheus start towards the hero from Gotham, while the slippery, difficult to track form of the Shadow-Thief sneaks up on her from behind.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop rushes into the blasts now heading towards them, leaping into the fire screaming out in rage, taking all that fire his eyes locked on to the group. Rushing forward till he stands in the center of it all, laser is raining down on him. His body is taking it, aspiring it all throwing his hands upwards, his eyes glowing bright. Overloading himself, as he yells out with a pure joy. "BOOM!" His hands slamming down on the ground as that purple energy is coming out of him in a large explosion of energy, taking out a some many of them with that absorbed fire, as he rushes forward to start the process again. His breath ragged, as he tries to ready himself for more.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The point is to make a mess of the melee. The others will have to get to Grodd. The apes are being scattered amongst the work of the rest. The enemy is likely going to be focused now on reforming their ranks or to their own litle side schemes. None of them likely /want/ Grodd to win and take all the power for himself, after all. That means they'll all have their little sideplays. Now..

To see who will try to usurp whom first. Monet goes to charge in over towards Cheetah, on a seemingly familiar collission course towards her old adversary. Whatever the two have, the loathing has been mostly one way. Monet likely barely registers to the frenzied, feral catgirl. For each melee that has left Monet barely surviving for the feralina has been but another time of the week that ends with -day. Tonight's not going to change that.

Monet goes to rocket towards Cheetah at Mach 1.. Mach 2.. Mach 3.. Going to push her body along and then going to pull UP to make a subsonic BOOM towards the catgirl! Even as she goes to race along towards the platform where the masterminds stand (or sneer) upon, whether in person, astral or thautamaugical projection.. Her intent being to draw the freakish feline fatale right after her.

Time to play pinball with the nerds.

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman scowls, "And here I thought you were smarter than this, Victor." She says that directly to Mr. Freeze, rocking back on her heels a bit and seemingly unaware of the Shadow-Thief coming up behind her...

Only to roll to the side as Freeze shoots his cold ray, hitting Shadow-Thief instead as she springs into a leap, kicking at Prometheus and forcing him back. Prometheus smirks, tapping the side of his helmet. "There. I just downloaded Batman's fighting style... you don't have a chance."

With that, Batwoman just smiles back, "Really? You downloaded a person that I typically spar against? Let me show you why you should learn your /own/ moves instead of copying someone elses." And with that, she moves in, feinting as she knows Prometheus would bite onto it, then delivering a swift punch to Prometheus' jaw with a satisfying *crack*.

Oliver Queen has posed:
The Green Arrow doesn't waver, even when everything turns chaotic around them, even as wave after wave of great apes rush them with their advanced weapons, calming picking out targets and bringing them down, one by one. He'll leave taking down the masses to the others, better suited to this sort of thing, and instead starts to focus on the flanks, the outliers who might otherwise find a way to sneak through.

That group lunging in from the west? They suddenly find themselves blanketed by an electrified net.

The single ape who takes to the walls to try and drop on them from above? A glue arrow brings that effort to a sticky end, leaving the creature hanging high above them trapped.

Even while keeping an eye out for Merlyn and Deathstroke -- yeah, he might have a few issues with them specifically -- he doesn't miss the opportunity to launch an arrow towards Dr. Polaris. When the master of magnetism goes to stop it contemptuously however, the wooden ball on the end and the complete lack of metal anywhere in the design carries it right through his shields to thunk most satisfying against his forehead, drawing out a cry of pain.

"Sucker," Ollie mutters with a certain amount of satisfaction beneath his breath.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is back on her feet within a second after delivering that barrage of Aegis energy unto the wall of Apes. She pulls out her javelin, and her goldn lasso of Truth, causing the twine of divine power to burst in to a glowing display of sun-yellow hue!

With a fast pace on her armored feet, Diana rushes the line of fallen foes, but instead leaps directly over the heads of those that she had hit with her kinetic wave! She launches herself in to the air, her lasso snapping out with a woosh of rope through air, and a crack of its tip breaking through the sound barrier itself!

The lasso is aimed toward grabbing hold of the enemies attacking Batwoman, clearly intending to cover the Bat as she works to disable the technology aiding Grood and his minions here today!

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
M'gann doesn't waste time. Beset by two of the nastier combatants, she puts her training to the test. The White Martian Academy was not known for its kindness, the training brutal and geared towards learning how to combat others like herself. That she wouldn't complete the training by killing her opponent, well.. that's why she's a dropout and not a graduate. But for these two, well, she can let loose a little.

Explodinginto action (albeit not literally... yet..) she attacks her enemies relentlessly. The super strength, the super speed, the shapeshifting, the phasing, it blends together into an insane amalgamation of created limbs and weapons (bladed or bludgeoning, even Martian shapeshifting can only do so much!) that attacks at Neutron and Metallo from every angle, every direction. She kicks out at Neutron only to phase through while sending three tails lashing at Metallo while another created limb wraps around Neutron's neck from behind to flip him over and away. While she exchanges a flurry of blows, her telekinetic shield takes a beating, cracking, then finally breaking from a powerful punch by Neutron. Shrieking out a horrifying scream, M'gann turns, grabs Neutron, wrapping and coiling around him like a snake... and launches up into the air. It appears as though she's trying to fly off with him!

Moments later the illusion is dispelled as the flung Neutron crashes heavily into Metallo and M'gann attacks again from behind! The trio moving at blurred speeds that many would have trouble keeping up with (present company excluded), M'gann takes her share of hits, sizzling burnlike marks appearing on that chitinous skin from Neutron's blows. A blast from Metallo that would have gone wild into the crowd of apes and heroes taken by the Martian before she returns with a narrowed heat vision beam capable of harming even the likes of a Kyrptonian... and it's focused straight at the Kryptonite heart that powers the machine, burning through it, trying to destroy the engine that it runs on. The focus will cost her as Neutron gets a grip on her, that radiation burning even as older hits are healing. But she'll deal with that later.

First, there's some Kryptonite to destroy.

Eventually, of course, some villainous scientist will get the crazy notion to rebuild the robot with its kryptonite heart and nasty powers, but for now, this Metallo is going down. Neutron, however, seems intent on making sure M'gann goes down, too.

Barry Allen has posed:
They are holding their own. For now. But the collected might of the Injustice Leage is no small thing. More then three dozen of the most dangerous criminals in the world, gathered against them. And backed up by an not inconsiderable ape army, though fortunately the fact that they have been drained of their will and intelligence seems to make them less effective then they might otherwise be.

So just how long these odds can stay in their favor remains to be seen.

Fortunately the chaos serves their purpose perhaps even more so then the aims of the Injustice League. With so many of them packed into a relatively confined space, it is hard not to work at cross purpose, as is the case with the villains that try to surround Batwoman, the Shadow-Thief givign a cry as Freeze's sub-zero beam sweeps across the man, that two-dimensional Thangarian technology perhaps the only thing that keeps him from being incased in a block of ice.

Despite the pounding that they've taken, these are no mere human henchmen. They are powerful apes and they quickly begin to gather themselves up again, to advance towards those that Grodd has instructed must be stopped. But this time they run into a brilliant burst of their own energy turned against them as all of that gathered laser fire is instead turned into an answering burst by Bishop as he unleashes in on their unsuspecting foes, once more sending gorillas flying and breaking their advance, leaving the square covered in sprawled forms.

The counter comes quick however as Deathstroke whirls a staff in his hands with unearthly precision, directing it towards the mutant. But instead of shooting that energy burst directly at Bishop, he instead directs it towards the ground under his feet, blowing holes beneath him to upset his footing. Captain Cold follows almost at once, that freeze ray sweeping towards the man.

As Monet steaks out of the sky towards the maddened Cheetah, she snarls and attempts to sweep those talons across the flying mutant's body as she streaks fast, building up that speed, enough that it sweeps up the catwoman in her wake, dragging her along towards that platform. At least until she is casually grabbed in a telekinetic vice, the huge headed Hector Hammond drooling in his seat, looking anything but a threat, but surprisingly capable. Still, it is debatable if even his teleinetic might can divert all the momentum that M has already brought to bear.

The Flash is not the only superspeed blur on the field, his opposite in yellow and red is the Reverse-Flash, streaking towards Miss Martian, attempting to sneak up on her from behind while the others confront her head on. But the Flash's red and gold blur intercept him and in short order the two are racing across the scene, exchanging blows too fast to be seen, seeking an advante over the other.

Beneath the glass dome of the helmet he wears, Victor Fries sneers and brings up that Freezae Gun, training it on Batwoman even as Prometheus boldly steps forward to involve himself, taunting the woman -- perhaps inadvisedly and in the process revealing his plan of attack. But still he lashes out anywhere with all the capability and training of the Dark Knight himself.

Until that lasso flashes out of the heavens and twines around his wrist, bringing his attacks up short and jerking him back, away from Batwoman and sending him flying into the melee still going on.

Barry Allen has posed:
Neutron and Metallo are formidable foes to be sure, each capable of going toe to toe with Superman -- Metallo with the advantage his his krytponite powered body and Neutron with the enhanced nuclear strength and blasts. But neither one is exactly a brain surgeon and trickery is remarkably effective on them, enough to let her hold her own.

But Parasite is hurling himself at her, seeking to suck up those powers from her even as the towering form of Giganta follows close behind. It's not over yet.

Up on the platform Grodd suddenly gives a grunt of satisfaction and the humming intensity of the device in front of him grows in volumn and intensity. The air around it seems to shimmer, and then it lunches forth like the incoming tide, one wave of shimmering energy after another, rippling outward over the entirely chaotic melee.

Ironically it is those closest to Grodd, his own seeming allies who are hit first. Up on that platform it is possible to see Dr. Psycho, Morgan Le Fay and Tala, Hector Hammond and some of the others, some of the most dangerous members of the League of Criminals fall to their knees. To grip their heads.

And then they begin to shift, to change. Their bodies begin to bulge, to grow, to sprout coarse hair, their features becoming distorted, more primative, more animalistic.

And Grodd laughs. <<YES! SOON YOU WILL ALL SEE THINGS MY WAY! SOON YOU WILL RECOGNIZE YOUR PLACE AS GORILLAS, FOLLOWING MY WILL. SOON THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL BE LIBERATED INTO THIS SUPERIOR FORM, SERVING THE SUPERIOR BEING. GRODD.>>

Bishop has posed:
Goes down into the hole, shocking reaching to grasp the edge of it and at the last minute his hand is gripping it, his eyes narrowed trying to yank himself up with his bulk. It takes time, than he is standing out of breath from the blast and the work, blasting now on his knees towards Deathstroke, due to him attacking him his only focus for the moment, as he grunts trying to will himself to stand not finding the power yet to do it.

Diana Prince has posed:
From her arching jump, Diana lands once more, this time not terribly far from where Grodd's sinister plan is unfolding. She bares witness to the display of forced morphing of others seemingly in to the shape of Grodd's own narcissistic dream world. She wraps her hand around the shaft of her javelin, and whirls it up and around to point toward Grodd. "I challenge you to a fight then!" She calls to him. "If I lose, then I volunteer for your absurd whims here today. If you lose... then all of this has reached its end here, and now!"

With Wonder Woman laying her challenge out, she is backed up by a sudden beam of pure light shining down from the sky above. The beam of brilliant sunlight is aimed directly at the face of Giganta, aimed solely upon her face, her eyes, intending to blind her and keep her from interfering any further with the ongoing situation within Gorilla City.

High in the sky above, the Invisible Jet is being piloted by two Amazonian warrior women, both of whom are redirecting the sunlight from the sky down toward the massive, stomping, form of the huge woman below.

The jet shimmers through the air, as the light from the sun is sent through its alien-tech hull, and directly redirected down upon the woman's face.

Down on the ground, Wonder Woman holds her javelin out, the silver spear tip glimmering in the light from above, as it is aimed at Grodd!

Oliver Queen has posed:
Spotting his old nemesis -- and the murderer of his father -- Ollie's expression settles into a hard, grim line and he brings that bow up, drawing a bead on Deathstroke, nocking another arrow and sending it flying towards him, watching as the deadly mercenary whirls the staff in his hand and knock it from the air with disturbing, casual ease.

Taking another step forward, Ollie reaches back over his shoulder to pull another arrow from his quiver, to bring it to that bowstring and start to draw it, taking aim once more with fearsome intensity.

But while that unleashed energy might be strongest at the epicenter unleashed by that machine, those waves are radiating outwards with increasing strength, and while he might try to resist, a grimace slides over the features of the Emerald Archer. The energy reaches right inside, begins to remake him at the genetic level itself and the bow starts to shake in Oliver's hands before he lets out a cry.

The bow drops from his hands, falling to his feet and Oliver grips his head as his body begins to bulge, to swell, that transformation into a gorilla threatening to overwhelm him.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
All right, they have to keep everyone as distracted as they can. The enemies here can go toe to toe with Superman. Monet is an ant to them. Not as sneaky as Green Arrow or Batwoman, not as strong as M'Gann.. So she has to get creative. Even as Flash duels with Reverse Flash, Monet goes to let Cheetah chase her over the platform. She grunts over at Cheetah, and then goes to charge towards Hammond as best she can. Her intent is to just smash into him, then to jump out of the way with Cheetah still chasing after her. HOpefully Cheetah's still in bloodlust to think about it too much in depth. If the woman is truly feral..

Now Monet is diving away from the platform, heading on towards the ones that M'Gann is caught up in. Her intent is to charge along with a feral Cheetah in tow..

And then put mental markers upon the others that are brawling with M'Gann. Trying to tag each of them to Cheetah's mind with hatred, loathing, rending, craziness that the fallen cat-lady is in servitude by.. And hopefully simply let Cheetah rend a path through them. If her enemy will let her be played this way, of course. But this also has the downside of the mutant self-declared perfectionist being in smash range of some of teh most powerful villains on the planet that could devastate her with but a backhand.

Kate Kane has posed:
Being near the platform as well, Kate... as well as Freeze and Prometheus, start to feel the change, the mental energy gripping them, prompting the transformation as all three of them convulse from the unwarranted mental intrusion...

----------

One week ago:

"So, can you do it?"

"Probably. What makes you think it is necessary?"

"We're going to Gorilla City. Where Grodd is not popular, and he's not powerful enough to /make/ himself that popular without..."

"Mechanical assistance. Yes, that does sound likely. So, a mental trigger in case he tries to mind control you? That should be easy enough... what would you like to do?"

"Well, M'gann... this is what I'm thinking..."

----------

As Kate's thoughts are overwritten by Grodd's, the subliminal trigger kicks in, and she pulls a device from her belt, tossing it right at Grodd and his device. It flashes red for a moment, before erupting in a focused EMP burst!

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
The thing about being a shapeshifter by nature, to say nothing of being a powerful psychic... it's hard to force any one form on M'gann M'orzz against her will. Not impossible! But that first wave that bursts outward isn't going to do the trick.

But it IS going to get her attention.

Letting Metallo drop, a smoking hole in the middle of its chest, what used to be a Kryptonian heart is now little more than ash and burned electrical smell. Still, she has this monkey on her back. This radioactive, atom bomb of a monkey.

Shrieking out in anger and pain, M'gann uses her not inconsiderable strength to drag Neutron off her, whirling around and around in a spinning cyclclone and as she *forces* one very simple instruction into Neutron's mind. Detonate.

Kate's EMP grenade has a good chance against that device of Grodd's.. but that damned shield around it might prevent the EMP from working... unless maybe a mind-controlled and farflung Neutron can take out the shield first. It's going to be close. Very close.

But just maybe.. maybe they can halt this Ape-pocalypse.

Barry Allen has posed:
That gleaming machine at the heart of all of this spins, faster and faster, and with each rotation the transformational energy given off by the device seems to grow, continuing to spread outward in waves of shimmering energy that wash over everyone gathered, each one trying to overhwelm defenses, to reach deep inside and to overwrite each individual's genetic makeup. To regress them to an earlier state of being. To strip them of intelligence. To make them easier to control. Friend and foe alike.

It would seem likely that Grodd has mislead his allies about his intentions as well, his true desire. Always the likely flaw in the whole underpinning of the Injustice League. While their opposites come toghether in a quest for the common good, conflicting goals was always likely to result in the Injjustice League to turn on one another.

Grodd seems to have just gotten their first.

<<WHY WOULD I DO THAT AMAZON?>> Grodd practically crows mentally, that hammering 'voice' projected outward for all to hear. <<EVEN YOU CAN"T STAND UP TO THAT ENERGY WASHING OVER YOU INDEFINITELY. EVEN YOU WILL CHANGE, DEVOLVE, SUBMIT. EVEN YOU WILL LEAP TO OBEY THE WHIMS OF GRODD>> the powerful psychic gorilla boasts, motioning defiantly.

And as he does so those allies that have already transformed begin to hurl themselves at Dianam though swiftly showing that despite their transformation, they still very much boast the same powers at their disposal. Mystic blasts strike out at the Amazonian Princess from Tala-Ape and Morgan Le Faye-Ape. The Dr. Psycho ape growls, and intense mental agony lashes towards her as other nearby primates begin to advance with those energy axes and pikes.

For the moment some of the others get a brief reprieve from the fighting as those building waves of devolution that lash out wash over the other members of the Injustice League, bringing their fights up short. Even as Deathstroke trades fire with Bishop and Green Arrow he suddenly drops to his knees, fighting fruitlessly at the change that tries to overcome him. The Rogues start to drop, one by one, uniforms tearing as bodies begin to swell, as they are transformed into apes themselves.

Across the square, both Flash and the Reverse-Flash go sprawling, the pain of the sudden transformation rewriting their genes making it impossible to keep running, and both the speedsters too find themselves caught up in the transformation, left clawing at the ground.

Around M'gann and Batwoman, chaos still reigns, stalled only briefly by the increasing waves of transformational energy rippling over everyone. Hector Hammond spraws, deposited by Monet and Cheetah lunges, still enraged, still feral as she too starts to devolve, the psychic manipulation making her go straight for Parasite, leaping and intercepting him just before he can land on Miss Martians back and steal her formidable set of powers.

The M'gann is tossing Neutron towards that machine and the energy shield that surrounds it, the Nuclear Man slamming into it. Between that sudden surge of energy lashing through him and the forces ripping through his genes, he does indeed lose control of his powers, exploding it a brilliant burst at overwhelms the shielding.

Just in time for Batwoman's psionically triggered preparations to take effect. As she starts to succumb to Grodd's control, that EMP grenades is tossed unconsciously, flying true. And exploding in a burst of electromagnetic energy.

Barry Allen has posed:
The spinning of the device slows, stops, the shimmering in the air failing. And with it, the transformations abruptly stopping, ceasing as the other members of the Injustice League begin to return to normal and all the enslaved apes gathered close by begin to shake their heads as if suddenly awakening.

Behind the platform, a nearby building suddenly explodes outward and a trio of figures soar out, looking enraged. "You dare!" screams Circe, her glare directed towards Grodd. "You think to reduce me to a mere animal? Me?" she says, that Fury palpable in her voice.

Flanking her on one side is the dark and demented elven form of Eclipso, half that body framed in shadow like the eclipsed moon, black diamond glittering in his hand. On the other side, Felix Faust, glaring towards that platform where Grodd stands, looking increasingly shaken.

Then Darkness begins to fall.

Bishop has posed:
Bishop struggles there firing and than everything is getting wild, as he sees it feeling that change with a roar of rage and pain. He struggles upwards to his feet, dropping his blasters as he grips his head. The use of his powers combined, with all of this as he drops down to his knees, than there is that large boom and it's over grabbing his blaster now, ready to fire more but waiting now to see what will happen next.

Oliver Queen has posed:
As swiftly as that change starts to overcome him, that familiar voice of Grodd reaching out in his mind, urging him upwards, urging him to serve, it is all abruptly gone and Oliver is left gasping, on his hands and knees on the ground. A low growl sounds in his throat, perhaps making one wonder if the effect has not been entirely cancelled afterall. That he is still reverting to an animal-like state.

But then he straightens, glare on his face. "I am so damn tired of this shit," he says, snatching up his bow and rising shakily to his feet. "And I'm so damn tired of you idiots, making the world worse for everyone around you," he adds, nocking arows and firing off arrows, one after another with almost inhuman speed towards Deathstroke.

And maybe it is the sudden shock to the system, the transformation or the fact that he has been betrayed by one of his own, but as the masked mercenary tries to turn aside those arrows, knocking first one, then another aisde with his powerstaff, one finally sneaks past his defenses, embedding itself in Slade's shoulder.

Almost as soon as that one strikes home, another slams into his thigh, leaving him hobbled as Ollie glares at him with a burning intensity.

Diana Prince has posed:
Admittedly, if pressed, Diana had no idea how long it would take before that machine could change her own genetic makeup. could it at all? She wasn't sure... but she was running out of time. Her eyes had flickered to the machine, then back to Grodd, trying desperately to just keep his attention while her allies could muster up a push back that would hopefully change the tides of this fight.

"So be it..." Diana quietly said in response, "then I shall be forced to see to it that you never see your plan's finale come to fruition..."

She is about to swing her javelin outward toward the King of the Gorilla, before minions of the mind control come down upon Wonder Woman. She is forced backward, forced to engage with the axe wielding soldiers, and forced to counter their attacks upon her! Her lasso lashes out again, sending several of the Apes flying away from her, as her shield is taken from her back to be utilized in defensive postures, and offensive bashes against broad chested and burly Apes charging at her from every direction!

When all is said and done, or at least altered, the machine seems to be deactivated, and the Apes seem to be waking up. With one at the end of her sword's edge, Diana holds her swing to watch the Ape shake its head, waking itself up from the mind control...

Wonder Woman turns on her armored heels, to watch the InJustice League members begin to squabble amongst themselves. She grips her javelin in her off hand, and launches it toward the deactivated machine. With the EMP taking it down, she clearly intends to destroy it with Themysciran steel!

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman gasps a bit, feeling the beginning changes wearing off as the machine is disabled, and soon to be an Amazonian paperweight. Shaking her head, she rises up to her feet, glancing around as the apes start to regain their senses, and she points towards Grodd. "THERE! THERE'S THE VILLAIN THAT TRIED TO TAKE YOUR MINDS!"

Because dealing with the Injustice League is bad enough, but now he can deal with them plus all the denizens of Ape City who are, hopefully, really really MAD at him.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
They did it.

M'gann has to give credit where it's due. Batwoman had known, she had done the work, done the investigating, and come up with the solution.

Normally, she wouldn't go poking around in her fellow heroes' heads, implanting suggestions and the like. But Batwoman had asked it of her, and M'gann couldn't find a good reason to decline. And, as it happenes, she was right. And it worked!

Shifting back into a more normal-looking version of herself, though she keeps the white skin instead of going back to the green, at least for now. Burned, bruised, even bleeding a little, M'gann watches Diana throw the javelin to destroy the machine before flying over sedately to murmur, "I believe this would be an excellent time to withdraw. As much as I am not in favor of leaving villains loose, but I don't believe we're in any position to stop *all* of the Injustice League right now... and I don't think they will kill him. That would be over far too quickly. Perhaps the best 'justice' we can dispense right now, is to leave him to the mercy of the comrades he betrayed..."

She looks back to Grodd, eyes narrowing, "We can return to collect whatever is left of him when they have expended their fury..." Then back to Diana, "I almost hesitate to offer this but.. given the threat he's posed, I think it prudent. I can... psychically disconnect him from his higher functions. Return him to the relatively more peaceful life of a normal ape. I can't guarantee that someone else will never come along and undo the work, but at least for awhile, we'll all have some peace from Gorilla Grodd's machinations."

Barry Allen has posed:
The world is better off without some creations. A machine that turns people into gorillas is probably one of those things. No one -- outside of Grodd apparently -- wants to see that.

So outside of Grodd himself -- who is a little too busy and distracted to object -- no one is going to try and stop Wonder Woman as she sets about dismantling that device with a few strategically slashes of her javelin, that Themysciran steel slashing through the machinery with ease, quickly slicing it into an unrecognizable -- and definitely non-functional -- mess.

Oh, there is no end of those who might want a piece of Grodd right at the moment and as Solovar and his apes come too, certainly they turn grim gorilla faces to the outcast amongst them, weapons gripped tight, no longer under the command of Grodd but perhaps looking for a little revenge.

Most of the Injustice Society appears just as eager for a little bit of payback, though a few at least cast cautious, even angry gazes towards the Justice League and their allies who stand close by.

But increasingly it becomes harder to make out just what is going on in the square or on that platform. As the ambient light level continues to regress, it is very much like the sun has been turned out altogether, the last gleam coming from the black diamond that Eclipso holds up to his features, darkness seeming to radiate from it.

And in that darkness, a sudden, terrified bestial scream sounds, unmistakably Grodd's. It goes on and on, seemingly without end. That sound goes in pitch, though slowly shrinking in volumn. And at the end, it is the umistakable sound of a terrified pig instead of a mammoth gorilla.

Then the darkness abruptly lifts, the sun shining brightly over the trashed remains of the Gorilla City square. As if the darkness had never been. Gone are any of the members of the Injustice League. All except the trashed form of Metallo, laying unmoving and seeming lifeless amidst the shattered fragments of Kryptonite that made up his heart.

And on the platform where Grodd stodd? The darkly speckled form of a pig, a suittable hog to be sure, marked in a fashion very much like Grodd. And while a certain intelligence might gleam in those eyes, no telepathic voice reaches out, no displays of psionic might come from the squealing animal.

It would seem that Grodd has been expelled from the Injustice League. And left to face a new life in a very different form.