The livingroom of the Castle Badassitude on the isle of 'he forgot to name it'

"This is hard," Beast Boy complained.

Xander chuckled. "That's because you are used to focusing all your power inwards and this is outwards. Relax, you'll get it, it just takes practice."

"Booyah!" Cyborg cheered as the sock he held twitched and repaired itself. "Man, I didn't think I could do that, you know, cause of the metal and all."

"Mending cloth feels almost like healing one of my babies," Ivy said, except my babies aren't made of nylon."

"Not even a twinge here," Supergirl said with a sigh. "I'm guessing I'm not the magical type."

"But it's fixed," Harley pointed out.

Supergirl held up the sock she'd torn for the exercise. "Yeah, but I cheated and used telekinesis; it's loads easier for me."

"You can mend things with telekinesis?" Batgirl asked curiously.

"Xander's been having me practice with telekinesis a bunch and explained how to do it," Supergirl replied, "and it turns out it's super easy."

"I've had a little luck," Harley said, holding up a pair of nylons with a run in them, "but I'm only getting a couple of centimeters at a time."

"That's fine," Xander assured her, "you're just now building up your magical muscles. The important thing is you managed to cast it."

"No dice here," Speedy said, "any idea what I'm doing wrong?"

"Try again," Xander said, moving behind the archer and laying a hand on Speedy's shoulder.

"Alright," the red suited teen agreed. He held up a handkerchief with a frayed edge and slowly built up the spell, maintaining impressive focus before releasing it... to no effect. "I followed all the steps, but nada. So, any idea?"

"Yeah this one is a no brainer," Xander said. "Hand me an arrow."

"Alright," Speedy said, wondering what he wanted one for as he pulled one out of his quiver and passed it over.

Xander snapped it in two.

"Hey!" Speedy complained, dropping the handkerchief.

"Now, hold the two broken pieces together and try it again," Xander ordered.

Speedy frowned but accepted the broken arrow back and carefully aligned the pieces. The small spell was quickly rebuilt in the archer's mind and released, to far greater effect. "It's fixed? I thought we could only do cloth."

"Then why would he hand you an arrow?" Cyborg asked.

"It's magic, I wasn't expecting to understand it," Speedy replied, "I figured he wanted me to concentrate on how much a simple break could render something useless."

"No," Xander said, "I needed something you actually wanted to fix. You couldn't repair the handkerchief cause you didn't care. If you cast a spell you have to want it to work."

"And being able to fix arrows and not just cloth?" Speedy asked.

"Mend, mends things, it's just easier to start with cloth," Xander replied. "As long as it's a small break or tear and you can completely comprehend the damage you can repair it. It only works on non living things though, so it doesn't repair broken bones or skin or anything."

"So… if I snapped a transistor, as long as I could comprehend its structure and how it needed to be put back together, I could mend it?" Cyborg asked eagerly.

"It takes more magical oomph, but yes," Xander agreed.

"And this is the first spell a mage learns?" Cyborg asked with a big smile.

"Second," Xander replied. "The first is a simple candle lighting spell, but everyone here already has the focus that exercise is supposed to develop so I skipped it for something more useful."

"So I might be able to light a candle with magic even if I don't have the oomph for mending just yet?" Supergirl asked hopefully.

"You'd have to practice under a red sun field," Xander said, "your pyrokinesis is pretty much, think about the candle being lit, and the candle is lit."

"Which is why you started us on cloth, because you were designing your lesson on teaching Supes here," Harley said with a smirk.

"Partially," Xander admitted. "The candle lighting spell is used to develop focus and show the novice that magic is real, and you all have focus down and know magic is real, so mending is much more useful."

"Do you have a red sun field set up anywhere?" Supergirl asked hopefully.

"Set up a place where I can be deprived of my powers and imprisoned?" Xander asked.

"Okay, silly question," she admits with a disappointed sigh.

"I thought you'd have one setup so you could work out properly," Cyborg offered, "I mean, it'd be the best way to work out."

"I have a spell that simulates the red sun," Xander admitted. "Having a room set up is foolish, but being able to control it myself… is a lot safer."

"Seems a little paranoid," Beast Boy said.

"You've never been trapped in a red sun room with half your bones broken or cracked," Xander said. "Trust me, after that you tend to be a little more cautious."

"Geeze, what happened?!" Harley asked.

"Well… I guess I can share," Xander said, as Supergirl grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I had the night off from demon hunting, so I was escorting a bunch of kids as they trick or treated. I'd lost a bet, so I had to dress as Supergirl. Janus for some reason decided it was the perfect time to play a prank, next thing I know I'm about a dozen stories in the air on a different Earth at night with zero stored sunlight."

"Ouch," Cyborg said with a wince.

"I cratered the sidewalk," Xander said with a shudder.

"How did you survive?!" Supergirl asked in shock. "A fall like that would have killed Kal."

"I was physically kryptonian, so my tissue density is several times that of your normal human," Xander explained. "I broke a lot of bones, but I survived… barely."

"Um… kryptonian tissue density is only a little above a human's," Supergirl pointed out.

"Here yes," Xander agreed, "but the Kara Zor-El I dressed as and was turned into was from a universe where their tissue density was much greater."

"So… you're a different type of kryptonian than I am despite dressing as me?" she asked.

"The broad strokes will be the same, but there will be some slight differences," Xander said, "tissue density being one of them."

"So how did this lead to you being caged up?" Ivy asked.

"A superhero team found me, since I crashed in front of their building and realized I had the potential to be dangerously powerful, so they tended my wounds and made a room that would let nothing but the red wavelength of sunlight in," Xander explained.

"But that would cut down your healing ability to nil!" Supergirl exclaimed horrified.

"And it did," Xander agreed. "When I regained consciousness and realized what they'd done I climbed out of bed, stumbled to the window and started beating on it with my cast. They didn't have the precise frequency right so I was getting a little stronger."

"I can see why you wouldn't have a red sun room," Harley said with a shiver.

"A huge man made of rock came in and we had a talk," Xander continued. "He explained that they had no idea what I was like and they were just taking precautions until I regained consciousness and could find out if I was an insane mass murdering alien or not. I told him that all I knew was that I was being kept injured and in pain. He immediately picked me up and carried me to the roof to heal."

"So, not bad guys?" Beast Boy asked.

"Paranoid from dealing with too many end of the world events," Xander said. "The rock guy took me to their universe's sorcerer supreme and he was able to return me to male, but that left me as a were-woman because Janus found the idea amusing and to be fair... it is."

"Were-woman?" Speedy asked, looking Xander over.

Xander snickered. "Just like a were-wolf, the full moon and the night on either side of it I am forced to become female and I can spread it by bite."

"Did he give you a chance to turn human?" Harley asked, already having heard about the other thing.

"Sure," Xander agreed, "but if you're ever given the chance to become kryptonian take it. Being kryptonian rocks!"

Kara giggled.

"You got a point," Harley agreed.

"What's it like being a woman?" Speedy asked.

"We've got four women here you can ask," Batgirl pointed out.

"Yeah, but they've always been women," he said, "so they wouldn't have the view of a man becoming a woman."

"That's a good point," Xander agreed. "People are a lot nicer to you in general, balance is different but overall, not as much of a difference as you might think."

"Nicer?" Ivy asks in disbelief.

"Definitely," Xander told her. "I have to put up with some condescending pricks, but overall you get treated better. Of course the people looking to use you change, but there's always people like that no matter your sex."

"How did you find out you could transmit it through a bite?" Cyborg asked. "As a kryptonian I don't see you needing to bite a lot of people."

"Dr. Strange told me," Xander replied. "I'm allowed to transmit it to one person against their will when I bite them, after that I have to ask."

"Why would someone ask for it?" Beast Boy asked in confusion.

"I had a couple of people ask because they either didn't believe it or had a practical joke planned, but once you transform you don't have to change back," he explained.

"Yeah, there are some people who would like that," Beast Boy agreed.

"So, would you mind teaching me the candle lighting spell and putting up the temporary red sun effect in another room?" Kara asked.

"I trust the people here enough to do it," Xander agreed, getting a surprised look from Ivy and a grin from Harley.

Xander raised his hand, his fingers seeming to twist through one another and a ball of red light burst into being above them, adding a red tint to everything.

Harley dug in her purse and came out with a box of a dozen birthday candles. "Everyone grab one."

"Why-" Speedy began and then just shut up and accepted a candle.

Xander waved his hand and a three dimensional symbol appears in the air. "Memorize every curve he ordered, "and focus it in your mind. When you feel it flicker, focus on the wick."

"This one is a lot simpler than the last one," Beast Boy said with a bright smile.

"Which is why it's usually the first one," Xander said.

"It's like a letter T or J with a curved top," Beast Boy said.

Robin and Starfire walked in and blinked in surprise wondering why there was a red ball of light and everyone had a candle and were staring at them.

"What are you doing?" Starfire asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Star!" Beast Boy said in surprise, his body shifting into a green toned version of her. "Hey, I'm a chick!"

Xander shook his head. "We really need to teach you to focus your power outwardly."

After a few seconds of stunned silence Beast Boy said, "Really, that's all you're going to say?"

"Yeah," Xander replied confused, "what else did you expect?"

"I don't know," Beast Boy said with forced calm before exclaiming in a panic, "maybe something about why I'm suddenly a chick!"

"Easy Bro, we'll figure this out," Cyborg said, trying to calm down his friend. "We'll have you back to normal in no time."

"You're a shapeshifter, just will yourself back to your normal form," Xander said.

Beast Boy's form shifted and he grabbed his crotch. "Oh thank heavens, it's all still there."

"What just happened?" Robin asked while Harley burst out laughing and several of the girls snickered.

"Beast Boy was trying to light a candle, but he's too used to focusing his power inward, so while concentrating on the rune for fire and being distracted by Starfire he took her form," Xander explained.

"I thought he could only become Earth creatures," Starfire said.

"His powers are a little broader than that," Xander said as he went over what he know about Beast Boy's powers from the comics, "he can take the form of whatever animals live within the morphic field of the planet he's on, so that includes Tamaraneans, since you are here."

"More magic you studied?" Kara guessed.

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "Despite the coloration, which is a side effect of how he was empowered, Beast Boy is tapping into the Red, the domain of all animal life."

"As I tap into the Green, the domain of all plant life," Ivy said in understanding.

"Cool," Beast Boy said.

"Could he become a T'Kelth?" Starfire asked excitedly.

"What's a Tek-thingie?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not unless one was on Earth," Xander replied. He can tap into the local morphic field, not the universal one. He's not the champion of the Red."

"Am I a champion of the Green?" Ivy asked intently.

"No, that would be Swamp Thing," Xander said, "you are a guardian of the Green."

"How did you learn all of this?" Harley asked curiously.

"I was best friends with the Sorcerer Supreme of my last dimension and he gave me free range of his library," Xander replied, twisting the truth a little. "I learned all sorts of things."

"So, I could become kryptonian?" Beast Boy asked excitedly, shifting himself into a green skinned version of Superman. He leapt to his feet and then frowned. "No powers?"

Speedy rolled her eyes and pointed at the ball of red light near the ceiling.

"Oh, forgot about that," Beast Boy admitted, embarrassed.

"Also, you have no solar energy stored up," Xander pointed out.

"I have to sunbathe often to keep up my strength," Starfire offered.

"Hey," Cyborg said, "could BB take other heroes' forms and copy their powers?"

"Depends on the source of their power," Xander replied, "if it's genetic sure, but he can't copy technological powers or ones where they were powered by supernatural contract. For instance, Ivy has a contract with the Green, so they'd probably take offense if you tried to copy her form without a good reason that aligned with their goals, while Aquaman has a contract with the Blue and they'd probably allow it since there is quite a lot of crossover with the Red."

"And he'd need to train in each power-set," Robin pointed out.

"Exactly," Xander agreed. "The more powerful you are the more training you need to control it."

"I could teach you," Starfire said excitedly. "We could sunbathe together and I could show you how to use my powers!"

"That would be cool," Beast Boy said. "I've always wanted to be able to do the whole Superman thing and being you is a lot like that, except more jiggly."

"How much magic do you know?" Robin asked Xander.

"Photographic memory, access to the world's largest library of magic, and personal tutoring by that Earth's Sorcerer Supreme," Xander listed off. "I concentrated on practical skills and I learned quickly."

"And you were also focusing on learning to control your kryptonian powers," Kara said, "which you took in completely different directions."

"Powers are fun," Xander said. "I concentrated on utility rather than strength but between magic and being kryptonian I have a lot of options."

"I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand punches, but one who has practiced a single punch ten thousand times," Cyborg quoted.

"Bruce Lee," Beast Boy said instantly.

"Yeah, but I'm not interested in just punching people," Xander said. "Like I said, utility not strength."

"A jack of all trades is a master of none," Robin offered.

"True, but I have centuries to master everything, so I'm in no rush," Xander explained. "I prefer to fix things, not break them. We have more than enough people who cover that."

"You got a point there," Harley agreed.

"That's why you've branched out so much," Batgirl said, feeling like she was getting a good feel for his personality, "to find out what your choices were."

"And it turned out not even the sky was the limit," Xander agreed with a smile. "I started off just exercising my kryptonian muscles by repairing the roads in Alaska that the state was having a hard time paying for, branched out into being the warden for criminals the world had a hard time locking up, and eventually learned magic and started a colony on Mars. I did punch out my share of villains, but mostly I built things."

"Like this island which you deported us to," Ivy said with a smirk.

"Exactly," Xander agreed. "Not every criminal I locked up was unwilling. With a little work I've found I can make a place that suits them better than any other place in the world. I'm not trying to punish anyone, I'm trying to figure out where they fit in and how I can help with that."

"On an island you're going to fill with dinosaurs," Batgirl said dryly.

"Dinosaurs rock," Harley said firmly.

"Wards are used to keep them out of common areas," Xander said, "but some people have an atavistic need to hunt or to challenge themselves. In most of the world they'd be unhappy and end up spreading that unhappiness around, but here? Here, they can have their needs met."

"Killer Croc would probably love this place when it's finished," Harley said thoughtfully. "Heck, I can think of a number of villains who would find it more satisfying than knocking over banks."

"And once I have a place set up for him I'll bring him here," Xander said.

"Are you going to invite him or kidnap him?" Batgirl asked arching an eyebrow.

Xander grinned. "I prefer to think of it as protective custody."

"Which doesn't answer her question," Robin noted.

"It's no worse than Bat's does," Harley argued.

"That is true," Ivy agreed. "Batman's actions can be rather brutal and I certainly prefer here to Arkham."

"And you even provide day trips," Harley told Xander with a grin.

"Is it more or less moral than putting them in jail?" Batgirl asked thoughtfully.

"It reduces the death toll and gives them more freedom and happiness than they'd find in Gotham," Xander replied. "It's probably illegal, but I rarely get any complaints from my 'victims."

"Yeah," Harley agreed, "if you set up one of the small islands as an arctic zone and kept Freeze supplied with the tech he needs he'd never say a word. Heck, you'd have room for Orca and Pengy as well, though I doubt Pengy would be happy."

"Cobblepot is pretty happy where he is," Xander agreed, "I can't see him really fitting in outside Gotham, but Freeze would be easy to keep supplied so he could continue his work in peace and I'd have to talk to Orca. I don't know much about her."

"So you built this place planning on kidnapping supervillains and imprisoning them here?" Robin asked.

"Well when you put it that way it just sounds wrong," Xander said rolling his eyes.

Typing by: fyrewolf5

AN: Character development, not always exciting or all that funny. Still better than filler!