The metamorphosis of Conner into a gigantic, green-eyed beast created a shockwave of horror and shock among the rest of Young Justice. The being that stood before them, exuding raw chaotic power and feral rage, resembled only diffusely the conflicted young clone they had grown to accept as one of their own. The familiar "S" shield was now a mangled scar across its scaled chest, a bad memory of the corruption that had set in.
"Conner… no…" Zatanna breathed, her voice resounding with a shocked horror, the magical barrier she and Michael had formed wavering for a moment as her focus broke. The vision of such brutal magical desecration of an individual with Kryptonian DNA was unheard of and horribly disturbing.
The emerald monstrosity let out another roar, one that was almost matched by the frenzied power surging through the wreckage of the warehouse. Its look, its mind blank with fury, homed in on the glow from Zatanna's shield as the most immediate threat. With an almost inordinate speed for its enormity, it charged, its scaled body smashing through the other rubble like paper.
"Hold on!" Aqualad shouted, his water-bearers shifting into defensive shields yet again as the emerald monster crashed into Zatanna's magical barrier. The shield groaned and shuddered under the impact, the pure arcane energy chugging and straining against the brute force that was amplified by chaotic magic.
In their circle of protection, Wally and Robin stood in terror. "We must act!" Wally exclaimed, his own speed now apparently futile against this naked force. Robin, thinking frantically, looked about for any possible chink in the armor, any means of controlling the corrupted Conner without leaving him permanently damaged.
Michael's face set in a grim line, he recognized the telltale signs of mad corruption. The monster was ruled by raw instinct and enhanced fury, its bond with its former self snapped by the brutal magical metamorphosis. He knew that head-on battle with sheer force of will would be in vain, and perhaps disastrous.
"Zatanna, can you hold it in magical containment?" Michael shouted above the din of the creature as it pounded on her shield with unending ferocity.
"I'm trying!" she groaned, the words tumbling out of her gritted mouth. "But the unstable energy… it's fighting me. It's part of him now!"
As the emerald beast pressed on with its attack, a fresh, unlooked-for factor was introduced into the chaotic mix. Out of the darkness at the place where Umbra had last been visible, a figure stepped forth, shrouded in whirling shadows. It was Umbra, but the raw, uncontrolled energy which had emanated from her just seconds before had been replaced by an appallingly focused intensity. The emerald light within her eyes was now sharp and calculating, and an unnatural, almost predatory tranquility seemed to arise from her.
"So," her twisted voice sounded through the ruins, lacking its previous crazed anger, "the mayhem has a new… champion." Her eyes were locked on the green creature, an odd blend of fascination and something like… familiarity in her radiant eyes.
Before anyone could respond, Umbra raised her arms, and shadows around her materialized, coalescing into sharp, obsidian-like projectiles. With a quick, accurate motion, she fired them at the emerald creature. The projectiles hit the creature's scaled hide with a resounding clang, and to everyone's surprise, the creature pulled back, a guttural snarl of pain passing its monstrous throat.
What are you doing?" Zatanna screamed in confusion. "I thought you were attempting to bring on this destruction!
Umbra's shadowed figure moved minutely, as though weighing Zatanna's words. "Chaos is a force," she answered, her own voice glacially serene. "A tool. And like any tool, it can be. focused." Her eyes came back to rest upon the emerald beast, an unspoken understanding flickering between them, a mutual acceptance of their bond to the chaotic forces.
The emerald beast, dazed from Umbra's strike, fixed its furious glare on her. Its low growl thundered deep within its belly, a blend of fury and something very much like. curiosity? The disordered power about it seemed to thrum in response to Umbra's arrival.
Michael's mind was in a whirl. This was an unexpected turn of events, a perilous partnership born in the midst of the mayhem. Umbra, it seemed to have regained some mastery over the wild energies of the chaos, was now communicating with the tainted Conner, perhaps perceiving in him a stronger, more tractable expression of the chaos she had been seeking to unleash.
The symphony of desperation had struck an unanticipated note, a dissonant chord of potential coalition introducing a chilling new element to their situation. The unanticipated partner, hatched from the very core of their enemy's chaos, could possibly be an even more formidable danger than the unchecked fury they had originally encountered. The rubble's embrace had them bound, compelling them to bear witness to the horrific transformation of their friend and the unnerving birth of a new, possibly more cunning foe.