Maybe Tet was being a little overprotective, but he decided to watch the Ares kids take on the horrors of Dying Light: The Beast alongside several other participants. In the past, he would not have given potentially traumatizing a group of teenagers a second thought. Now however he had several adopted daughters and his paternal instincts were slowly but surely waking up.
"How did we let this one slip past us? It should have been ranked S," Chiron said, his expression tight with worry as he watched the unfolding scenes.
"I have no idea," Sam replied, frowning as he double-checked the paperwork, flipping through it with growing unease.
"It doesn't matter how it happened. We just need to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future," Freya said firmly, her tone sharp and authoritative.
She folded her arms and fixed her gaze on the viewing screen. "For now, let's just watch and see how they handle themselves. They've been trained and educated for situations like this. At worst, this will show us how effective our current teaching methods really are," Freya finished calmly, though there was an unmistakable edge of concern beneath her composure.
-----
Clarisse and her siblings had formed a defensive perimeter on the outskirts of town, their shields locked and weapons ready, as skilled construction workers and stonemasons labored behind them, steadily building a strong, durable wall.
"Incoming wave! Form up!" Clarisse shouted, her voice cutting cleanly through the chaos.
Her siblings responded instantly, locking their shields together in a solid wall and thrusting their spears into anything that tried to force its way through. Within minutes, the latest wave of undead lay motionless at their feet, broken and lifeless.
"Nice job, guys. It'll be dark soon. Let's start heading back to the town hall. Form defensive ranks around the builders," Clarisse ordered.
Just like that, the Ares cabin escorted the workers back toward the safe zone. Once inside, everyone finally took a breather, sitting down to clean, repair, and maintain their gear.
"You're all back. How's progress going?" asked an older woman with black hair, wearing a police officer's uniform.
"I'll be frank, Sheriff. It's going damn slow," Clarisse said with a weary sigh.
"That bad, huh?" the sheriff replied, concern creasing her face.
"We have too few workers, and the hours we can work are limited," Clarisse said, disappointment clear in her tone.
In truth, if she wanted to, she could have used her earthbending to surround the entire city with a stone wall in a matter of moments. But she didn't know how these people would react to something like that. They might turn hostile immediately. She also couldn't use the cover of night, because that was when the strong infected came out to play. She had already tangled with them one on one. Individually, they weren't an issue. The problem was that they hunted in packs.
Clarisse glanced at her siblings and spoke quietly but firmly. "It's time to speed things up. I'm gonna use the… you know what."
Her siblings nodded in understanding as Clarisse turned and headed upstairs, entering a secluded room. She snapped the ticket Tet had given her in half.
In an instant, a bright light flashed, and five figures appeared.
The first was a bald boy in a red sweater, gray shorts, brown combat boots, and sunglasses.
The second was a round boy wearing a light blue button-down shirt, brown pants, black sneakers, and an aviator's helmet.
The third was a young girl with long black hair, dressed in an oversized green sweater and black sneakers.
The fourth was a boy with short blonde hair that hid his eyes, wearing an orange hoodie, jeans, and white sneakers.
The fifth was a girl with long black hair pulled back into a braided ponytail, wearing a blue T-shirt with white stripes, white tennis shoes, and a red cap.
"Before we begin introductions, I need to know why I should work for a teenager that's clearly in league with adults," said the boy in sunglasses, his tone skeptical.
Clarisse remembered the instructions Tet had given her with the ticket.
"Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, I won't sugarcoat it. This world is in a level three apocalypse scenario," Clarisse said grimly.
All five of them gasped, murmuring among themselves in shock.
"In that case, me and my team are at your disposal until we return to our world. You can call me Number One," Number One said professionally.
"You can call me Number Two. If you need something built, blown up, or fixed, I'm your guy," Number Two said, flashing a friendly thumbs-up.
"Oh, oh, you can call me Number Three," Number Three added cheerfully.
"I'm Number Four. Let me know when you need someone to bust heads," Number Four said, slamming his fist into his palm.
"I'm Number Five. Call me when you need basically anything else. There's nothing I can't handle," Number Five said confidently.
"With introductions out of the way, please inform us of the direness of the situation," Number One said respectfully.
"Troops, I won't lie to you. Me and my team hold off waves of undead daily while builders do their best to build up fortifications, but progress is slow. The undead are many, and we are few. Worst part is the stronger undead come out at night. They're called volatiles. They're strong, fast, intelligent, can scale walls, and can rip a grown man to shreds in seconds," Clarisse explained.
"Why do they only come out at night, Commander?" Number Two asked curiously.
"They burn in the sun or under ultraviolet light," Clarisse explained.
"They burn under UV light, huh? Okay, I think I can whip something up for that if you give me a couple days," Number Two said excitedly.
"Great. Number One, Number Five, I need you two to head to the power plant first thing in the morning. I don't trust the guy in charge of keeping it running. Members of a hostile force have been seen moving in and out of the area, and he's never put out a distress call over it. So I suspect he's either dead or working with the enemy," Clarisse ordered.
"Understood, Commander," Numbers One and Five said in unison.
"Numbers Three and Four, I want you two to assist Number Two. Gather any parts he might need from the local shops and houses, but be careful of any undead. And all of you, remember, the mission isn't worth your life. If it's too dangerous, pull back. Return here or to any immediate safe house you can find. Their locations are marked on the map in the main hall. Memorize it, and pick yourselves up some equipment from my people. Any questions?" Clarisse finished commandingly.
"No, Commander," all five of them said in unison as they left to begin their assignments.
Ordinarily, Clarisse wouldn't let a bunch of kids out of her sight in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But she had watched Codename: Kids Next Door when she was little, and she knew exactly what the five of them could do.
The majority of the zombies out there would be a cakewalk for them.
--------
A few days later, Clarisse was gearing up and ready to head back out on patrol when she was stopped by Number Two, who eagerly stepped in front of her and presented what looked like a toy gun fused with a heavy-duty flashlight.
"I present to you the Ultra Violet Death Ray, or U.D.V.R. for short. As the name suggests, anything you shoot with this baby is doomed for sure," Number Two said proudly, practically vibrating with excitement.
He guided Clarisse outside. "Observe," he said, raising the device and aiming it at a nearby zombie.
He pulled the trigger, and immediately a concentrated blast of vivid purple light slammed into the undead. The zombie shrieked as it was instantly fried to a crisp, collapsing into a smoking heap.
"Holy shit, Number Two. You did it. How many of those things can you make?" Clarisse said, eyes wide and voice filled with genuine awe.
"I've got about eight of them right now. The biggest problem is getting UV lights, which are the main component. I was able to make the few guns we have using broken UV lights and some flashlights, but as you can imagine, eight isn't enough to outfit an entire camp of survivors," Number Two explained.
"Got it. I'll look around and see what I can scrounge up. In the meantime, shift gears from offensive production to defensive. Relying on a power plant that sits outside city limits to keep us all safe isn't the best idea," Clarisse said decisively.
"Agreed. Any number of things could happen. I'll get to work on a solar array for the roof, but I'll need a few things," Number Two replied with a nod.
"Give the list to Numbers Three and Four, or my siblings," Clarisse said as Number Two turned and left to begin his new assignment.
"Number One to Command. Come in, Command," Clarisse heard crackle through her radio.
"This is Command. What do you got for me, Number One?" Clarisse replied, lifting her own radio.
"Your suspicions were indeed correct, Commander. The man in charge of power plant maintenance is in the enemy's pocket. Number Five and I witnessed him making a deal with someone called the Baron. Shall we move to neutralize?" Number One reported.
"Negative, Number One. Return to base before dark. Number Two is working on our power issues as we speak. I just needed to know if that man could be trusted," Clarisse responded calmly.
"Understood, Commander. Returning to base," Number One said, the transmission ending with a brief crackle.
---------
"Well, it seems Clarisse is making smart decisions. Her and her siblings make a great fighting force, while the K.N.D. are a fantastic covert ops team. I'd say they'll complete their assignment in a month, maybe two," Tet said thoughtfully, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips as he observed the scene.
"You guys can keep watching if you want, but I'm gonna go do something else now that I know they'll be fine," he added casually.
With that final remark, Tet snapped his fingers, and in a blink of light and shifting space, he teleported out, leaving the others behind to continue watching.
-------
Tet arrived in the dark, gloomy streets of Gotham City, shadows clinging to every alley as neon reflections bled across rain-slick pavement. He strolled forward without hesitation, heading straight for Wayne Manor. Yes, he hated the Injustice timeline, but at the moment, he couldn't think of a better place to stir a little chaos. The heroes here needed help, whether they realized it or not, and Superman, Wonder Woman, and a few others were long overdue for a well-earned ass kicking.
As he walked, hands casually tucked away, he felt a sudden surge of divine power bloom beside him. Space shimmered, and someone appeared at his side in a flash of energy.
"Ares? Aren't you supposed to be back in Babylon?" Tet asked, turning his head in surprise, one eyebrow lifting.
Ares grinned broadly, his eyes alight with excitement. "Hey, ever since the power boost you gave me, I can go back to the exact point in time I left. Besides, when I heard you were coming here, I got excited," he said with a low chuckle. "I get a chance to kick my other self's ass," Ares added, laughing openly at the thought.
Tet let out an amused breath and smirked. "Okay, fair enough. But Superman is mine to mess with."
"You got it, boss man," Ares replied eagerly.
Side by side, the two gods continued their walk toward their destination.
(Authors Note:You Didn't really think I was done with injustice did you😁)