841 words without A/N. Not my longest, but this is just a prologue. Only two Oc's so far- M'axx M'reet/Young Manhunter, M'gann's cousin, and Margaret 'Maggie' Ariso/Mage. Some backstory: The Justice League went on an off-world mission six years ago (Story POV) intending to only be gone for a month. They ended up getting stuck in an interplanetary civil war with the planet they were visiting, Eurytia, as the epicenter of the war. Dinah Lance/Black Canary couldn't go because she was sick with strep throat. For the past six years, the Team has been acting as the heroes of the world, recruiting new heroes, and saving the world, and getting seriously hurt. Current list of Team members is:

Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Kaldur'ahm/Torrent

Wally West/Quicksilver

Conner Kent/Superboy

M'gann M'orrz/Ms. Manhunter

Artemis Crock/Artemis

Roy Harper/Red Arrow

Jade Nguyen/Cheshire

Zatanna Zatara/Zatanna

Jason Todd/Red Hood

Tim Drake/Robin

Gar Logan/Beastboy

Cassie Sandsmark/Wondergirl

Kara Zor-el/Supergirl

Bart Allen/Impulse

Maggie Ariso/Mage

Karen Beecher/Bumblebee

M'axx M'reet/Young Manhunter

Koriand'r/Starfire

Garth/Tempest

Tula/Aquagirl

Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle

Babs Gordon/Batgirl

Virgil Hawkins/Static

Donna Troy/Troia

Mal Duncan/Guardian

Victor Stone/Cyborg

Rachel Roth/Raven

Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl

Dinah Lance/Black Canary

If I owned DC, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

How did we get to this point? The thought desperately ran through the ebony-haired bird's mind. Looking to his left, he sees his sister-in-arms, the martian who just wants to be human, M'gann, standing silently beside the love of her life, Conner. To his right, he sees his best friend, his brother, Wally, next to the pair's older surrogate brother, Roy. To M'gann and Conner's left is Kaldur, the brave one who nearly gave his life for the team. Next to Roy and Wally is Roy's girlfriend, Jade, the assassin who turned to the good side for love. Just beyond her is her sister, Artemis; the bird's thought unrequited love. Just beyond her is Zatanna, the strikingly beautiful magician who had somehow managed to keep the motley group together. Just beyond her is Jason, the street kid, who had pressured the bird into letting him help. Tim was standing next to Jason, the tech-savvy orphan typing on his ever-present iPod. Just behind M'gann on the bird's left is Gar, tail twitching as Cassie laid her hand on his shoulder.

The object of their attention was the screen in front of them containing the message.

We're on our way back.

Even M'gann, the most hopeful among them, doubted that message. The Justice League had been off-world for six years, when they had said they would only be gone for a month. The ebony turned to look behind him as some more of their team trickled in. The group just entering consisted of Kara, Bart, Maggie, and Karen. From the other side entered M'axx, Kory, Garth, and Tula. The bird suspected that Jaime, Babs, Virgil, Donna, Mal, Victor, Rachel, and Courtney would be there soon.

Turning to Wally, the ebony began to speak, "Do you think that they really are coming back?"

"I don't know," Wally replied, shrugging, "Do you want them to be?"

The ebony frowned, "I'm not quite sure I do. I mean, I miss them, but… I enjoy this. I enjoy leading the Team. If they really are coming back, we'll be thrust back into their shadow."

"Yeah. That would suck. Hey, you know if Dinah will be coming? I know she's been acting just as a mentor to the Team, but we really should have her here," Wally said.

"True, she is an important person to our life," the bird looked contemplative; "I'll call her." He stepped away from the group, slipping into the shadows and pulling out a communicator.

"Hey, Dinah, did you get the message?"

"What Message?"

"There's a meeting in the main room at the Cave. You're invited if you want to come."

"What about?"

"We got a message from the League."

"I'll be there in ten."

"Okay, see you then."

The ebony closed the communicator as the red-head speedster sped over, talking, "So is she coming?"

"Yep. She'll be here soon," the ebony replied.

"Y'know, we've really come a long way," Wally pointed out. "I mean, seriously, just look at us. Our little team of six has somehow become as big as the League. Just look over at M'gann, Gar, and M'axx. Who would have known that she has siblings? And she has even more on Mars."

"True. And I've gotten close enough to Tim and Jason that we could be called brothers," the bird replied, fingering a scar just under the outer corner of his right eye.

"Hey! Dick! Get over here, you useless lump!" A voice called from the other side of the room; it was Jason.

"Well, I guess that's my cue," Dick told Wally, smiling.

"Have fun over there," the speedster replied, grinning.

As Dick and Jason talked about what the Team's reaction would be to the original League, the rest of them trickled in, and finally their entire ranks were there in the main room of the Cave.

.:Linebreak:.

Superman stood at the helm of the ship, looking down at Batman. "What do you think they did while we were gone?" The boyscout asked.

"Well, obviously the Earth is still here, so they couldn't have done that bad of a job," Batman growled.

"But how are crime rates? What's the economy like? How did-" Superman was cut off by the Dark Knight.

"Clark, stop worrying. They're perfectly capable. And I don't remember you worrying this much on Eurytia," Batman said.

"We were in the middle of an interplanetary civil war. I didn't have time to worry," Superman replied.

"I did, and I was busier than you," Wonder Woman broke into the two's conversation.

"And how you did that I will never know," Superman replied, shaking his head. "I wonder how they changed while we were gone."

"They got older," Batman muttered.

"Other than that," Superman said. "I mean, well, what are they like now?"

"We'll just have to find out when we get there," Batman growled back, steering the ship towards the coordinates of Mount Justice. They passed the Watchtower, unerringly dark, and began heading into Earth's atmosphere. The time of reckoning between first and second generations was at hand.

Next chapter we'll be back in time to right before the League left, then we'll work up to here from that. I hope none of the characters I wrote are too OoC. La'gann's not here because I don't like him, Traught is my OTP, I also like Execute, Birdflash, and Robstar. Slight crossover with Teen Titans and Justice League.