Disclaimer: I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

Acknowledgments: Thanks to ChineseIsGreekToMe for beta-reading this episode.

Pyschotic

Information

The tension around the table was thick. Cut-with-a-knife thick. Everyone was showing some sign of stress. The founding seven were spaced evenly around the circular table, each in their own chair. Jay was leaning against the wall, back from the rest, not entirely sure why she was in on this. The news Batman had just given them…

To say it's not good is…

Inadequate.

"There are outposts on every continent, each manned with powered beings unknown to us. They've been recruited and trained in complete secrecy, and they're so highly disciplined that running operations on this scale is child's play.

"Each outpost is armed, with more ammunition than most countries. Even if they didn't have the powered agents they would still be forces to be reckoned with.

"Their resources are extensive. Space technology is fully available to them. They have an outpost on the moon, small but with the highest level of technology- it may be better than ours. It's impossible to tell how many of the satellites orbiting Earth are under their control, or providing them information. It's highly likely that they have a twenty-four hour surveillance of us already.

"Their agents are professionals. Dedicated, loyal- they're paid well and they believe in the cause. Whether it is brain washing or just very careful recruitment, they are impossible to bribe or distract. The organization is flawless- infiltration is not an option. Those that have tried, for whatever reason, failed.

"It is impossible to track down their headquarters. There is evidence that the continental outposts exist but not where they are. It's impossible to identify which satellites are theirs and who their agents are. It is highly likely that they have infiltrated all levels of government and power in the world.

"It took the Question only hours to piece all of this together once he had the key to it- hours. After months of trying to find even the most insignificant information, one ring with its insignia led him to all this detail in a matter of hours. But it's nothing we can actually use. All we know is that this organization exists, that it is extensive, and that it is poised to destroy us. Despite the relative smallness of the moon we can't even find that outpost – our most advanced scans and our best efforts have yielded nothing. It is either a false lead or their technology is so advanced that they are able to hide their base even from us. I support the second theory.

"The ring was a decoy. It is a lead only to information that they want us to have, information that they want to scare us with. There is nothing we can use against them.

"Their objective is simple. They want to destroy the Justice League."

Batman stopped talking. Silence reigned in the meeting room, everyone around the circular table digesting the information to various degrees of success. The scope of it was appalling. The ring Flash had taken off a mercenary back at Old Maggie Lawrence's house and given to Batman had led to a trail of information that according to Batman was entirely planted. How much of it was true was impossible to tell, how much more there was to find out –

Tsh. It could be worse.

"Yeah?" Jay murmured the word, not even caring that she was speaking out loud into a room of total silence. Eyes snapped to look at her, but she ignored them, lost in thought. There was something tickling the back of her minds. All three of them were getting this feeling of knowing something but not being able to pin it down. Something Batman had been saying about 'recruiting'.

Superman cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention back to him. "How are they planning to destroy the League?"

"This must be linked to Corack." Wonder Woman leaned forward, frowning across at Batman, looking for his agreement. "He has a large corporation with numerous military links, he wants the same thing as this organization, and he has the resources to create it all. The information we pulled from that ring and what we got from researching Corack- there are too many similarities. It's got to be the same thing."

Batman nodded. "Especially since the company that bought up the block with Lawrence's house was a subset of GC Enterprises."

That's right. Flash mentioned something about some company buying up that area, which is why it was so deserted when we trashed it.

"We didn't trash it." Jay barely whispered the words, although this still got her a look from Superman, what with his super hearing.

"But there is no conclusive evidence linking Gered Corack with this mysterious organization?" J'onn J'onzz clarified. "The information trails are entirely separate?"

Batman looked vaguely uneasy, as if hating to admit that he couldn't find something out. Everyone took it to mean J'onn was right.

"We can't even properly link Corack to any of the previous attacks." Batman grumbled. "It's all purely coincidental evidence. For all we know someone is framing him."

Hawkgirl quirked an eyebrow at Batman. "That sounds suspiciously like a Question conspiracy theory." Batman shrugged, unable to confirm or deny it.

"Assuming it is him, or whoever engineered the previous two attacks, then they'll likely follow the pattern." Green Lantern pointed out. "Pan-global disasters distracting us from the main area of attack, and then a strike against our weakest point." He glanced uneasily towards Jay when he said this, quickly looking away again.

Yay. We're now the weakest point.

I find this difficult to believe. We have previously beat Superman!

Psych, I'm not sure you could say we beat him… they didn't really have time to properly warm up.

Nevertheless, we held our own.

Jay smiled bitterly to herself. Regardless of how powerful they were in theory, in practice she always seemed to need saving. She didn't think Green Lantern was too far off, calling her the weakest point. What's more, the little stunt she and Flash had pulled at her previous address in Central City meant that whoever was after them knew she was back in the picture. Since their last attack, they would have been under the impression that she was dead having last been sent floating in the near vicinity of Venus with little hope of rescue.

The fight at her old home in Central City hadn't gone so well. The attackers had got away, not before destroying any evidence of their having been there and leaving no clues as to what they had been doing there in the first place. The debrief had been really brief- they had no idea what was going on. Then Batman had dropped the bomb shell information that he'd unearthed from following the trail of clues around the insignia on the ring Flash had boosted off a mercenary ransacking the house. There was something important about that house. The thought was on the edge of Jay's consciousness. Something about Old Maggie Lawrence that she'd remembered when she'd gone back, but that wasn't coming to her now. Going back was useless- the house was completely destroyed after the fireworks display that had taken place down there.

Chill out. You know you never remember these things until you stop trying to.

Silence had once again descended on the room. Everyone was trying to think of a way out of this, to no avail. Even Batman, genius that he was, appeared to be coming up blank, to his apparent frustration.

Superman gave a hefty sigh and pushed back from the table, standing abruptly. "Worrying about this isn't going to help. Batman, you keep working with the Question and see what else you can dig up. The rest of us will keep our eyes out. It's not perfect being able to only react to what this organization does, but if we're all prepared then our reaction will be fast enough to stop whatever they try."

Nods around the table showed everyone's agreement. Even Batman reluctantly agreed to this less-than-ideal plan. There was nothing better to do.

Everyone rose stiffly from the table. The meeting had dragged on, although there had been little in the way of disagreement. There was just so much information to have to take in all at once. The strain was showing on everyone's face.

Although what was so straining for us I have no idea. We just stood here.

Indeed. I fail to understand the necessity of our presence.

Psych has a point. They could have sent us out after the debrief.

"Yeah, but we've been involved in this all the way." Jay murmured her part of the conversation, barely audible even to super-hearing. She was normally a lot more careful about talking out loud to the voices in her head, but it had been a while since she'd last rested and anyway the sound of the others leaving would cover what little noise she made.

Nothing to do with feeling a little more comfortable here, huh?

Jay shook her head, although the smugness in her other self's voice was hard to not be irritated at. She always thought she knew everything.

I do know everything. Admit it – you are way more relaxed here. Maybe something to do with a certain speedy red-suited someone?

"Hah. As if." Jay growled, still leaning against the wall and staring into the middle distance.

I do not see the connection between Flash and Jay feeling more comfortable here.

Psych, how can you not see a connection? Do I have to spell everything out for you every time?

But we are settling down here as our home. We have never been anywhere this long before. In fact, from my observations Flash makes Jay less comfortable, not more so.

Psych, that's exactly my point.

I beg your pardon? That makes no sense at all!

Neither does calculus! I don't see you complaining about that!

Calculus? Calculus is irrelevant to this conversation!

Jay smiled softly to herself, listening to the nonsensical bickering in her head. She could always count on those two to lighten any mood. Stretching away from the wall, she made her way out of the now empty meeting room, a thoughtful expression still on her face.