Deep in the Atlantic Ocean, the lights on a wrecked Reach battle cruiser come on.
On the Watchtower, Beast Boy calls a meeting of the Justice League: Aquaman, Superboy, Tigress, and Miss Martian. He talks about how they're making a difference but something is missing: a public version of the team feature young heroes rebelling against the system. Aquaman refuses, saying that they don't put targets on their underage heroes. Beast Boy points out the public fear of metas and how they've lost the hearts and minds of the people they try to protect. He says that his new team will connect with people in ways that the older heroes can't, by inspiring the younger generation.
Miss Martian wonders how that's different than what the League is doing, and Beast Boy says that he and his team have already gone public and met with public recognition. They'll be mobile and accessible, starting a small revolution. Beast Boy's teammates side with him and note that their identities are already out in the public eye. Halo, Thirteen, Forager, and Terra will remain on the cover team while Kid Flash, Static, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, Geo Force, and Wonder Girl go public but still answer covertly to the League through Miss Martian.
Beast Boy takes the heroes to the Premiere Building in Hollywood, which will serve as the squad's new base of operations. Tigress asks who is paying for all of it, and Beast Boy says that Gretchen is because she's contractually obliged to pay him. Miss Martian says that teenagers can't live their unsupervised, and Helga offers to move in and act as "den mother". They all agree, and Helga tells Geo Force, Terra, and Halo that it will be like they're a family.
In Brooklyn, Maine, Gaby Gabrielle is walking home. Sheriff Patrick Maguire stops by to offer her a ride home. She says that she's going to study with her friend Antonia, and Maguire jumps out of his car and pulls Gaby to cover as an alien war bug opens fire, destroying the car. Gaby takes video of the war bug attacking Brooklyn.
At Premiere Tower, Miss Martian sees the video on the news and notifies Beast Boy. They realize that it's a Reach spacecraft and Beast Boy hits the Trouble-alert. Aquaman arrives and attacks the war bug, but two others blast him off of the first one. Gaby reports from the scene and notes the arrival of Beast Boy's team. Blue Beetle tells Beast Boy that he can deactivate them on contact so can only do one at a time, and the others distract the war bugs so Blue Beetle can go to work.
Wonder Girl gets blasted into the library and knocks over Antonia, recovers, and flies back out. Geo Force downs one war bug and Blue Beetle shuts it down, as Brooklyn resident Tommi Thompson looks on.
Aquaman takes Gabi and Maguire to cover, and Wonder Girl brings the second war bug down. As the world watches via Gabi's video feed, Beast Boy distracts the third war bug so Blue Beetle can deactivate it. It goes down in mid-air, and Blue Beetle grabs it and lifts to keep it from crashing into Brooklyn. Wonder Girl flies up and assists him. Gabi, Antonia, and Tommi cover the incident from their phones, happy that they can act like real reporters.
In Star City, Artemis tells Violet and Tara that she'll have to get used to not having them around, and says that she'll miss them both. She invites them to have one last sleepover with ice cream.
Beast Boy poses for the cameras and tells the three "reporters" that his squad deserves much of the credit. Blue Beetle removes one pilot's helmet and confirms that she's human: Whisper A'Daire, who works for Intergang. The other two pilots are Cairo Defrey and Scorpia A'Daire, who also work for Intergang. Behind them, a panel activates, sending an alert to the battle cruiser.
Tommi's father Thomas arrives and objects to the presence of the "Justice League", and Aquaman says that the squad aren't Justice Leaguers. Thomas figures that they're vigilantes and points out the destruction to Brooklyn. He says that the town has passed laws against vigilante justice. When Maguire objects, Thomas tells him to arrest the criminals and the sheriff has no choice but to do so. Beast Boy orders his people to surrender.
The battle cruiser leaves the Atlantic and flies to Brooklyn. Blue Beetle spots it first and tells everyone to take cover behind the Reach war bugs. The cruiser opens fire on the town and Blue Beetle says that it won't fire on its fellow Reach ships. Thomas insists that they don't need metas because he called in the Air Force. The fighters open fire but their missiles have no effect and the cruiser easily destroys them. The heroes point out that even if the Air Force brings down the cruiser, it will crash and flatten the town.
Thomas refuses to call on the League and Aquaman says that his hands are tied. Beast Boy orders his squad to break their handcuffs, and Blue Beetle reports that he can only shut down the cruiser from the inside.
When it thunders outside, Lian runs to Artemis. Tara remembers her own parents comforting her. Violet panics from the lightning and Artemis gives Lian to Tara to comfort while she cuddles Violet. Touched, Tara comforts the girl.
The squad enter the cruiser bridge and as Blue Beetle shuts down the controls, the others spot Air Force fighters approaching. Blue Beetle says that he can shut down the weapons but it will also shut down the engines and they'll crash on Brooklyn. Beast Boy has Blue Beetle fly the cruiser clear of the town so they can crash it somewhere safe. It crashes in the nearby park lake and the squad emerge unharmed.
Beast Boy turns himself over to the sheriff, and Maguire says that the town's Good Samaritan Law allows minor harm to the town to be overlooked for the greater good. Gabi asks who they are, and Beast Boy says that they don't answer to authority and that they're "Outsiders". The young reporter sends Beast Boy's message out onto the Internet. Artemis sees it and figures that Beast Boy is onto something.
Tara puts the sleeping Lian to bed and texts asking for orders. The response is that her time will come and she should wait.
In the Batcave, Aquaman reports to the inner circle that he and L'Gan got a tip about the Reach cruiser and Intergang's attempts to salvage its weaponry. Whisper slipped away and planned to have the war bugs attack Brooklyn to demonstrate their capacity. Aquaman went there and engaged the war bugs, but threw the fight so the squad would come in and Blue Beetle would shut them down. Aquaman wonders if Beast Boy should be included among them, and Miss Martian warns that he's not ready, and his mission will help their mission.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 13, 2019