Hello everyone, and welcome to the long awaited sequel to my original Young Justice/Avengers crossover Secret Identities. Due to other commitments I won't be updating as much as I did with my other fanficts, but I'm still going to try to upload 2-3 chapters per week.
Prologue: A New Player:
New York City
February 1, 2017
6:00 P.M. EST
"Good evening, everyone," Lex Luthor said as he greeted the five faces on the giant screens arranged in front of him. He'd called this emergency meeting of the leadership of The Light to discuss something that could be either a great benefit for them, or a thorn in their collective sides. "Thank you all for answering my call," he went on. "There's something urgent I need to discuss with you." He looked firmly at the faces of his fellow members of The Light. Vandal Savage, Ra's Al Ghul, Queen Bee, Deathstroke, and Klarion. With two of their number imprisoned, they'd spent the last six months vetting replacements. Deathstroke had taken Black Manta's seat on the council, while they were still looking for a suitable candidate to take The Brain's place.
"A few hours ago," Luthor continued, getting back on topic. "Belle Reve Warden Amanda Waller petitioned the U.N. Security Council for funding to create an international security organization called "A.R.G.U.S." that would clean up the spillover of the Justice League's battles and handle things like property damage, medical issues, insurance claims, lawsuits, that sort of thing." Normally, Lex would be trusted to handle things like this on his own, but given Waller's involvement, he felt it best to discuss the best course of action with his colleagues first.
"Such an organization could prove to be a valuable tool for our cause," Vandal Savage intoned, clearly thinking of ways that A.R.G.U.S. could be used to increase public distrust of the Justice League.
"I agree," Ra's Al Ghul chimed in. "But, with Amanda Waller in charge we must tread cautiously in how we assert our influence. If we are not careful, she could expose The Light to the world, or even aid the Justice League in their investigations." The "Great One" had nearly died as a result of the actions of the Justice League and their young protégés, and knew the value of not underestimating the damage your opponents could be capable of.
"Which is why I'm going to draft up conditions for Waller's funding," The CEO of LexCorp replied. "Just some fine print stipulations that will allow us control of A.R.G.U.S. with some other legalese to throw Waller off our scent." The proposal was met with universal agreement from the rest of the council. With the meeting concluded, Luthor terminated the call and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard of his computer, causing the screens to slide up into the ceiling before the security cameras went from the preprogrammed loop he'd set them up with back to a live feed. Once all trace of the meeting had been eliminated, he smiled. It was time to get to work.