Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. I'm just playing in the Smallville sandbox.
Spoilers: "Absolute Justice" and Season 10 up to "Icarus"
Timeline: Companion piece to the episode "Icarus."
Author's Note: I know that Victor wasn't on the VRA's most wanted list, but I think that was more likely an off camera design decision because of space than the VRA not knowing or caring about Cyborg. I've included him in this story, and I ask that you pretend his picture was there too. Martian Manhunter, however, I have not put on the VRA's watch list. But he is in the JLA, and therefore, part of this story. I've given him a role in Lois and Clark's engagement party even though he was not there in the episode. Thank you for accommodating my creative license.
Zeitgeist
Part One
Watchtower
All information touched Watchtower's infrastructure, and Chloe controlled every byte of it. Sitting in this lonely room under the amber light flickering from the dying light bulb, she watched her bots ping around the Internet, scrambling to collect tidbits from every site using keywords she had coded "of interest" and depositing them into her database.
Tess would review most of that information now and pass it along to the heroes Chloe had abandoned for their own protection. A frown marred her expression thinking of Tess Mercer sitting at her station and overseeing missions. But Chloe had made her decision to protect her friends so that one day she could say again "Watchtower online" and hear "Arrow online" in return.
Her fingers raced across the keys as she quickly scanned the retrieved documents. It was the golden hour in Metropolis – that half-lit time between night and day when heroes had rid the streets of crime and no new criminals ventured out. Tess would have logged out of Watchtower, and everyone would steal a few precious hours of sleep before assuming their cover identities in the morning.
Chloe breezed past the morning edition of the Daily Planet, but doubled back as quickly. As the editor-in-chief, Tess should have seen it already. Only today was not a normal day. Chloe's eyes widened as she took in the front page story and the VRA's list of most wanted vigilantes. With a shake of her head, and in a voice quiet as it was sad, she quoted:
"Cry havoc …"