"We're a good core team, but we need more coverage," Valeria said, tapping her chin. She was already calculating power sets and tactical roles in her head. "We should call the Titans."
Barbara leaned back slightly, processing the logistics. The Titans were a known quantity, a reliable unit with a strong track record.
"They've handled supernatural threats before," Barbara reasoned. "And their combat diversity is excellent."
"Exactly. Robin for tactics, Cyborg for tech, Raven for mystical interference," Valeria listed, her confidence building. It was a solid, data-driven plan.
Kamala perked up, her eyes wide with fangirl excitement.
"Oh my gosh, working with the actual Titans? That's like a crossover event IRL!"
"Nuts to the bad guys and bird-themed leadership!" Doreen added with a cheerful thumbs-up. "It's a perfect combo!"
Valeria nodded, pulling out her comm badge. She scrolled to the Titans' secure channel and initiated the call. The holographic screen flickered to life above her wrist.
A moment later, Robin's stern face appeared on the display. The background showed the bustling interior of Titans Tower.
"Richards. Report."
"Robin. We have a situation in Aurawood. A legendary Electric-type Pokémon named Zapdos is active, and HYDRA is moving to capture it. We're assembling a team to secure the creature first. We request the Titans' assistance."
Valeria laid out the facts cleanly and quickly. She watched Robin's expression, expecting the usual curt agreement to mobilize.
Instead, Robin's brow tightened almost imperceptibly.
"Acknowledged. The threat is logged. However, the Titans are currently engaged in a containment operation in Jump City. A magical anomaly has opened over the downtown district. We cannot disengage."
The words landed in the room with a soft, definitive thud.
Valeria's confident posture didn't change, but behind her eyes, a cascade of recalculations began. Her primary tactical asset was now unavailable.
She had factored in their refusal of a petty mission, not an actual, city-scale crisis.
"Understood. Good luck with your operation."
The transmission cut off. The hologram vanished, leaving a faint ozone smell.
Barbara watched Valeria's shoulders slump, the girl's usual sharp confidence fraying at the edges. The situation felt like a puzzle with missing pieces, and that clearly bothered the young genius. Barbara's own mind, always running through possibilities, clicked on a new one.
"What if we asked Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn?"
Kamala's eyes went wide. Her Eevee, nestled in her lap, perked up its ears.
"Wait, what?" Kamala's voice was a squeak of pure disbelief. "Recruit super-villains? To help with a legendary Pokémon and an evil organization?"
Doreen leaned forward, her expression unusually serious. "I'm all for second chances, Babs, but that's like asking a tornado to help you tidy up your room. The chaos-to-usefulness ratio is… questionable."
Barbara waved a hand, her tone light and reassuring. "They're not that bad, honestly. Ivy knows more about ecosystems than anyone, and Harley's… well, she's adaptable. They've got Pokémon now, too. They've been living in this new world just like us."
Valeria pinched the bridge of her nose, the gears in her head visibly turning. The pragmatic part of her screamed that this was a terrible idea. The desperate part whispered that they were out of good ones. HYDRA was a structured, technological threat. Zapdos was a force of nature. They needed every advantage they could get, even the messy, unpredictable ones.
"It's a significant risk," Valeria said, her voice measured. "Their reliability is an unknown variable. But… our need is a known quantity. We're outmatched. I agree with Barbara. We need the help."
Barbara's face lit up with a determined smile. The decision was made, and that meant action. "Great! I'll head to Gotham and ask them in person. Face-to-face is best for this. Less chance of a… misinterpreted text message situation."
She was already moving toward the door, her energy infectious. "You guys start prepping. I'll be back as soon as I can with our new… unconventional allies."
Seeing Barbara leave, the trio of Valeria, Kamala, and Doreen decided to head out too. They walked through the bustling city, their conversation turning to recruitment for their legendary mission.
"We should find other people who've become Pokémon trainers," Doreen suggested brightly, her tail giving a hopeful flick.
Valeria's expression was more measured, her mind already running calculations. "We are going to face legendary Pokémon. A person without experience will find it tough."
She pointed out that while most of them were newly minted Pokémon trainers, they at least had years of hero experience to fall back on. That just meant the criteria were much stricter than they thought.
Kamala's shoulders slumped, her usual bubbly energy dimming. Doreen's tail drooped a little, mirroring the mood. The weight of their task felt suddenly heavier.
Their contemplative slump was shattered by the sudden, blaring shriek of a distant bank alarm, followed by panicked shouts from the street below.
All three snapped to attention, their hero instincts kicking in with practiced speed. A shared, unspoken signal passed between them.
Hands went to Poké Balls. Valeria's mind switched from strategic planning to tactical deployment. Kamala's fist began to stretch and expand. Doreen crouched, ready to leap.
Suddenly, a figure dressed in a makeshift Spider-Man outfit swung through the city skyline right above them.
It was May Parker. She wore blue denim overalls over a red long-sleeved shirt, with a homemade mask—crafted from red fabric with wide white lenses—covering the upper half of her freckled face. She landed on a nearby lamppost with a surprisingly graceful thump, clinging to it upside-down.
Without a moment's hesitation, May Parker leaped from the rooftop.
Her web-line shot out and caught the building across the street. The tiny Joltik clung securely to her shoulder, its fuzzy body crackling with anticipation.
They swung in a high, clean arc directly toward the bank's shattered front window.
Inside the bank, the first robber barely had time to turn toward the noise before a web-line yanked the gun from his hand.
It stuck to the ceiling with a soft thwip. The man blinked at his empty palm.
May landed in a crouch, already moving. She was a blur of red hair and determined motion.
"Joltik, String Shot on the big one!"
The tiny spider Pokémon fired a burst of sticky silk from its perch. The thread wrapped around the ankles of the largest robber, who stumbled with a grunt.
May used the distraction. She flipped over a desk, kicked a second gun from another thug's grip, and webbed it to the wall.
"Thunder Shock on the one by the door, please."
A precise, crackling jolt of electricity shot from Joltik. It hit the man reaching for the exit handle.
He yelped, his whole body seizing up for a second before he slumped against the doorframe, paralyzed.
The last robber tried to rush May from behind. She didn't even look.
Her spider-sense tingled. She dropped into a split, and the man tripped over her.
As he fell, Joltik zapped him too, a smaller jolt just to keep him down.
It was over in less than ten seconds. Four robbers were disarmed, webbed, or lightly zapped into submission.
May stood up, brushing dust from her sleeves. Joltik chirped happily on her shoulder.
Outside the window, Valeria Richards, Kamala Khan, and Doreen Green stared, their mouths slightly open.
They had seen the whole thing from the moment May launched herself into the air.
Valeria's analytical mind was trying to process the variables: age, apparent powers, the unfamiliar Pokémon. The data points didn't form a known profile.
Kamala's brain was stuck on a single, looping thought: Whoa. That was so cool. And she has a Pokémon partner!
Doreen just beamed, her smile wide and genuine. Here was a new hero, and she was already awesome.
None of them could find any words. They just watched as the young girl inside calmly checked on the frightened bank tellers, her tiny electric partner glowing softly beside her.
***
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