The Last Justice Lord
Capn Chryssalid
The Thanagarian delegation sat in silence as they read over the terms set out by the armistice. Before them, laid out across a grand table in the Gotham Pavilion, were the instruments of unconditional surrender. The signing was ceremonial, the war already over, the treaty already agreed to by Thanagar's representatives. Despite the occasion, Supreme Commander Hro Talak and the two notably smaller and meeker bureaucrats flanking him remained proud, hiding the shame of their defeat behind stony expressions, unbowed postures, and magnificently polished armor.
The Gordanians, present in much larger number, stood in stark contrast to their old enemies. They seemed to be constantly in motion, chattering to one another in low voices; murmuring this or that with a sense anxious tension. It was all but impossible to tell the warrior caste Gordanians from their worker brethren without their weapons, at least as far as those humans in attendance were concerned, but all the echelons of that alien society had sent observers to the signing.
For the Earth's part, as host, representatives from all around the world were in attendance, milling around or at their seats and enjoying the always fair weather of sunny Gotham City. Joining them were select metahumans and humans, dressed in their individual costumes and attire. All wore the black armband that signified their allegiance to Earth, and to the League.
The trees of Robinson Park had similarly dressed themselves in somber browns and dark reds, the mood of the occasion – the end of a war and the beginning of an occupation – suiting the beginning of autumn. Set against the Gotham skyline, the New United Nations building rose like a beacon. In the sky, a parade of military spacecraft stood at attention: four of the finest Gordanian Battle cruisers and their escorts, flanked by knife shaped Javelin IIs and larger Superjavelins.
Peace would come, as always, at the point of the spear; from the barrel of the gun.
One of the Thanagarians looked up, his expression momentarily pained. To anyone who saw it, his thoughts were as clear as day. His world had been humbled, its plans unraveled. Proud Thanagar had come to Earth, and sealed its doom. Proud Thanagar had come to Earth, gambled, and lost. There would be no hyperspace bypass. There would be no victory parades celebrating the defeat of the Gordanians, and, of course, the destruction of Earth… a price they were willing to pay in the pursuit of their war aim.
Approaching a small podium, the lone figure of General Wade Eiling could be seen. He was a man who had returned to military service after the initial Thanagarian attack, and a man well respected by the Gordanians for his subsequent actions in the Battle of Polaris. His experience with the more unconventional (see: metahuman) side of warfare had suited him well in service to his world, and in extension, his former country.
His speech was short, placing no blame on any one party for the initiation of hostilities, but firm in the belief that an enduring peace could follow the bloodshed that was in the past. He made no mention of the cities the Thanagarians had tried to bomb into oblivion from space, no mention of the metahuman and human lives lost to the cold vacuum. The future would demand attention, not the past.
"I call now, upon the delegates of the warring parties," he concluded, after only a half minute's address. "To settle with the pen what began with the sword."
The Gordanians at the table did not hesitate, nor did the three representatives chosen to sign for the Earth. The Thanagarians, however, hesitated. Finally, one of the timid bureaucrats signed the papers before him, and a second later Hro Talak and the third diplomat followed suit. The terms were harsh, but fair, and not mute to the suffering of the Thanagarian people.
They would, of course, pay reparations… primarily to the Gordanians, but also to pay for the restoration of Warsaw and Beijing, both of which had suffered bombardment. In writing, the Thanagarians would accept blame for both the opening of hostilities and its "unjust perpetuation." The Thanagarian Space Forces would surrender to the Gordanians, and their ships would be scuttled, their Army disbanded. An Occupation Authority would be set up on Thanagar by the Gordanians, while Earth would establish a Provisional Government for the two Thanagarian colonies that fell within its new Sphere of Influence. The aliens, too, would benefit from the firm and unbending rule of law that had brought such peace to the troubled and strife-ridden world of Earth.
He liked to think that perhaps it was fate.
Was not Earth, after all, "blessed" above and beyond all other worlds with metahumans and superpowered individuals? Certainly something had to be done with them all; they weren't all deviant, and couldn't all simply be lobotomized and locked up in Arkham or the Fortress of Solitude. There would always be more, and the public at large would always subconsciously both fear them and expect great things from them. The Thanagarians, like the previous invasions by Darkseid, had driven home the fact that Earth was not safe from external threats. It was there, against those dangers, that the headstrong metahuman community could put their talents to use.
And if they did not, there were contingency plans.
Always, contingency plans.
From above, he looked through the crowds packing the streets, waving flags and cheering. Even in their revelry, however, they kept order. The few guards assigned to maintain lawfulness in the hearts of the people did their duty, but the day's good cheer, and the knowledge that unlawful acts would immediately invite removal and disciplinary action, did the rest. Gotham had never been so beautiful… the center of the world, and if only for a few days, the centerpiece of three worlds. Three Empires.
He could almost see their faces in the crowd: Clark, and Diana and John and J'onn… even Wally and Shayera. Of course, they were gone now. Wally had died at the hands of then-President Luthor, Shayera was in self imposed exile after having betrayed her people (they had known of the Thanagarian plans for some time) and J'onn hadn't been able to survive the loss of his powers in that other world. John Stewart had been extradited to Oa for "abusing" his Green Lantern powers (in return for intergalactic recognition of the new Earth Regime), and Diana and Clark… now rendered powerless, the two former Justice Lords lived sheltered lives in guarded estates.
All in all, things had gone just as expected.
The Justice Lords, as an institution, were powerful but fundamentally flawed. They were disconnected and aloof, at least in the eyes of the people, and he had seen that, eventually, their presence would cause more conflict than it helped put down. A single guiding light was necessary, something and someone to rally around… to bring the people together and to give them a sense of contribution to the League that watched over them. The Thanagarians had not been repulsed solely by metahumans, by Supermen and women… they had been defeated by humans of all stripes, working as one towards a common goal.
Now he was the last, the only, Justice Lord.
Below him, a hundred Justice Leaguers stood as sentinels over the Earth. Below him, a thousand-thousand soldiers would stand watch, from Earth to the edge of Thanagar itself, mindful of threats or potential invaders. Never again would Darkseid or any other hostile alien force set foot on this world.
What the Others had not understood was that power, even the most benign, existed in a vacuum. What the Others had chosen to ignore was that every time they saved the world, the governments of that world – whose sole reason for existence was the defense of its citizenry – became more and more obsolete. No organization of vigilantes, operating above the law and unaccountable to the people it was designed to protect, could avoid infringing on people's freedoms. So the world had to change, to accommodate this new fact of life.
Below him, Gotham shone like a jewel.
"They'd love it here, don't you think?"
Batman very nearly smiled, remembering the comment his Other self had made. He still found it slightly amusing. The only difference between what that Batman did on his world, and what he did here, was one of scale – operating above the law, breaking and entering, obtaining evidence without a warrant, assault and illegal seizure… Now, instead of one man trampling the rights of those who broke the law, there were thousands.
So be it.
That was the Mission after all: to make the streets safe again. No matter what. He wasn't in the business to be loved or adored. Besides… a person could find happiness even living under the most terrible and oppressive of conditions. But in death… there was nothing. Only silence.
"They'd love it here, don't you think?"
"I think," he whispered; the answer he had truly wanted to give back then. "They would learn to live with it."
.
I wrote this little piece after getting a feel for the sort of themes most commonly associated with post-"A Better World" Justice Lords fanfiction. I always thought the Anti-Batman turned on the other Lords a little too easily to be believable, and that in true Mirror Universe fashion, he was just getting rid of the competition so that he could take over. Regardless, unlike the other fanfics I'd read, I wanted to write one where the anti-world has not truly changed. And maybe, that's a good thing? Thus, from the beginning, the fanfic presents what seems like an almost ideal world, a Better World.
Even Winston, after all, learned to love Big Brother.
Plus the idea of Earth giving a beat down to aliens, instead of always being on the receiving end of invasion after invasion, makes me smile all evil-like. Honestly, I don't get how DC Earth (like Marvel Earth) has all this super high tech stuff in the hands of just a few groups and individuals, but the government seems to be going around like its 1990 most of the time. Given Luthortech alone, the DC USA should have a goddamn space fleet that would put those arrogant aliens to shame. But they don't. Who can fathom why. But a united (semi-evil) DC Earth using all its tech and metas in a non retarded fashion… ooh. That would be fun!
But back to the serious statement: I think a lot of people around the world, the vast majority even (especially in the third world), would welcome the sort of security the Justice Lords world seemed to bring. High ideals are fine when you have a full belly, a job, an education, and a safe place to sleep. But what price do we pay for security? That price is ALWAYS freedom, and we as people are the only things that decide how much of one we trade for the other, and whether that exchange is justified by the situation we find ourselves in.
Or something along those lines…
Oh, and as for DC Earth being able to kick the asses of "older" (and apparently more stagnant) alien civilizations, I'd point to the impressive armada Wayne Enterprises seems able to secretly assemble to fight off AMAZO (and then rebuild just a few months later). Seriously. If W.E. can do that, imagine the kind of insane stuff the entire DC world would be able to produce on serious war footing. Plus, DC alien ships seem to be pretty damn weak as far as SciFi space faring vessels go.