Beast Boy sends a text to Miss Martian saying that they have a possible lead on Halo. The Outsiders team continue to follow their lead, and Kid Flash asks what the lead is. Vic explains that he intercept a text from Violet to Brion, saying that the cybernetic part of his brain intercepted the text at random. He's gotten a handle on his "gift" since the infusion of Mobius Chair technology, and he projects a hologram of Building 16, a storage facility for props and costumes with no network connectivity. Vic checked again and found an Apokolips signature, and the team figure they should go in even if there's a 1% chance there's something there. Virgil is with Jeff and Beast Boy doesn't want to get Brion's hopes up, so he hasn't included them in the mission. Vic detects no heat signatures and figures that it's safe to go in.
Inside the building, Granny and Overlord sense that someone is coming.
The team Boom Tubes into Building 16 and Beast Boy tells Vic that he doesn't have to go along with them but can stay on the bioship. Vic insists on staying to help Violet, and Kid Flash superspeed checks the place twice and finds nothing unusual. Vic uses his new powers to reveal a piece of cloaked Apokolips technology, and Scarab says that it's not compatible. A portal suddenly opens, dropping the team into the X Pit.
In Metropolis, Lex looks at a report of Infinity Inc.'s popularity trending upward toward Outsiders', and makes a call.
The team screams in agony and Scarab shuts down the Blue Beetle suit. El Dorado is on the bioship, teleports in, but is unable to teleport out because he can't get his bearings. Gretchen appears, causing a cube to appear around Beast Boy, and he figures she pulled him out to watch his friends suffer. She offers him a fair fight, him against her, and Beast Boy immediately accepts.
Gretchen has Overlord merger their cubes into an arena floating in the X Pit, and Beast Boy turns into a rhino and charges at her. Gretchen slams him to the floor and warns him that he has no idea what she is.
Vic manages to access Overlord and finds himself in a virtual reality. Overlord appears in a giant form and attacks Vic.
Gretchen shrugs off Beast Boy's blows and knocks him back, and finally renders him unconscious. She continues to beat him, saying that her lesson is just getting started.
As he flies across Metropolis in his helicopter, Lex watches videos of Infinity Inc. and observes that their ratings are rising steadily.
Gretchen continues to beat Beast Boy no matter what form he takes, while Vic's mental image dodges Overlord's blows. He ducks into the virtual maze but Overlord impales him with a spear.
In the X Pit, Gretchen grows impatient with Beast Boy's arrogance and insists that he can't win. Beast Boy reverts to human form, but rises to his feet and advances on her.
Vic realizes that he's not dead and figures that he's in a virtual reality where none of it is "real". He makes the spear disappear and figures that winning is a matter of willpower, and attacks Overlord. Vic figures Overlord is the true source of Gretchen's power and dissipates Overlord's virtual form, cutting the power to Gretchen.
The X Pit environment disappears, leaving Gretchen and the Outsiders back in the building. Wonder Girl lassos Gretchen, and El Dorado checks on Vic and Jamie while Kid Flash binds Gretchen at superspeed. The Scarab recovers, generating Jamie's Blue Beetle armor, and Vic leads them away from the fight.
Beast Boy distracts Gretchen and Wonder Girl punches her across the room.
Vic and Blue Beetle blast the Apokolips machine, destroying it. Gretchen yells in shock and disappears in a burst of light along with Overlord. Vic figures she can lead him to Violet and forms a Boom Tube to go after her. The Tube closes before El Dorado and Blue Beetle can follow. Kid Flash figures that they just lost.
On the Orphanage, Vic appears as Gretchen and Granny merge. He realizes the machine kept Granny separated, and then sees the mind-controlled Violet and the Anti-Life Equation-controlled Leaguers. The non-metas collapse, and Vic fires a sonic blast at Violet. The blast knocks the shackle off of her head, freeing her from Granny's mind control. She sees Geo Force and the others, and figures that if she acts on her instincts then she'll continue to enslave everyone in the galaxy.
Granny starts recovering, and Violet floats into the air in a halo of all of her colors. She releases it, countering Anti-Life, and frees the controlled heroes. Granny attacks Violet and Violet surrounds her in a force field. Violet and Vic then combine forces to destroy Granny's machine, and the other heroes join in. The machine explodes, and the Green Lanterns contain the blast. The Orphanage collapses and Overlord lies among the wreckage, shut down.
Looking up at Violet, Granny says that it's pointless to defy her. Violet doesn't believe her and Granny frees herself with her mega rod and attacks Violet. The heroine blasts her back and says that Life has triumphed over Anti-Life. Superboy tells Granny that Vandal sent them, and Granny escapes via a Father Box.
Geo Force runs to Violet and they kiss. The Leaguers check on the meta teens, and Miss Martian asks Superboy where they are. He admits that he doesn't know.
Once the Leaguers find the captive meta teens, Miss Martian tells Forager that it's safe for him to return to New Genesis now that they've captured Mantis. He hesitates and she says that he's welcome to stay with them on Earth but they'll respect whatever decision he makes.
On Apokolips, Granny tells Darkseid that she's failed him but Vandal sabotaged her efforts.
At the Outsiders tower, Beast Boy worries that Vic and Violet are lost forever. The teams Boom Tube back into the tower and Miss Martian says that the League will soon return to Earth with hundreds of rescued meta teens. Superboy admits that Granny has escaped, but Vic has a video recording showing that Gretchen and Granny are the same. They all congratulate Vic on turning the tide, and the Outsiders unanimously vote to make him an Outsider. Superboy suggests that they ask Vic what he wants, and Vic figures that it's in service to a better cause and accepts, choosing the code name "Cyborg" to represent what he is now.
In Manhattan, Infinity Inc. sign autographs for their fans after they capture Killer Frost. They then get into Lex's limo and ask if he's happy.
Written by Gadfly on Aug 31, 2019