The man known as John Porter walked through the open doors of the JLA base known as The Sanctuary. He had a black bag slung over his shoulder and press credentials clipped to the pocket of his sport coat. Porter wandered among the crowd of people beginning to gather in the Main Hall. He heard the awestruck whispers and followed the pointing fingers as the visitors gawked at the marvels inherent to a home of the mighty Justice League.
A mirrored surface set into the wall reflected a bearded, bespectacled middle aged man dressed in bulky loose clothing. Porter flagged down one of the volunteer staff members providing information and direction to the public for the event. The young man checked Porter's press pass against a list of names on a hand held electronic tablet.
"The McCabe Foundation, eh?" said the volunteer. "Have you ever met Vixen?"
"Haven't had the pleasure, yet," replied Porter. "Can't wait to see her."
"There has never been open public access to a JLA operation like this," said the staffer. "It's all very exciting."
"So it is," said Porter. "It should be quite the show."
The volunteer nodded. "You're cleared for extra access, Mr. Porter." He handed the film maker a small scan pad. "Here is a map of the station. It will show you where you can, and cannot go."
"How thoughtful." said Porter, taking the device.
"A bit of advice, Mr. Porter. Stay away from Lobo's quarters. He can be...difficult to deal with."
"I will take that into consideration. Frankly, Lobo scares the crap out of me."
The staffer laughed. "Me too," he said. He opened up a small barrier to let Porter pass. "Hey, shouldn't you have a camera or something with you?"
Porter patted the bag over his shoulder. "I'm prepared," he said with a smile. He turned and walked down the lit pathway and out of sight. Once he had left the Main Hall behind, Porter went quickly to work. He had memorized the station schematics in far greater detail than the provided map. He slipped down the corridors and into the bowels of the base.
"I hope we are doing the right thing, opening this place up to the public," said Black Canary.
"It is," said Vixen. "We need to show the people that we stand with them, not above them. We are not a pantheon, untouchable, unknowable beings lording it over the normal folk. Most of us, anyway." The two heroines were in Vixen's quarters making final preparations for the day. Both women were veteran heroes and had fallen into a friendship based on experience and respect. While neither would claim leadership of the League, it was understood the others looked to them as such.
"Speaking of, is Lobo going to play nice today?"
"He has agreed to stay in his quarters while we are open to the public," said Vixen. "It cost me a box of Cuban cigars and a case of top shelf whiskey, but I got his word."
"Good," said Canary. "I can just see him hooking an old lady from Boston for commenting on the color of his eyes." She broke out in laughter.
"That's morbid," said Vixen.
"No, not that. I was just imagining Batman's reaction to all of this transparency."
"You don't think he would be okay with it?" asked Vixen. "I heard he was going to start giving tours of the Batcave." It took a couple of minutes for the two women to stop laughing, wipe the tears from their eyes, and catch their breath. "Honestly though, if he wanted a say, he shouldn't have left."
"Abruptly, at that," added Canary.
"Indeed. A strange one, our Bat. Are you sure you don't want to join me in the Main Hall?" asked Vixen.
"No, that's all you," said Canary. "You're better at it and I've got some work to do."
"You'll make the scheduled appearance, right?"
"Of course, just not a minute earlier."
Vixen's eyes flicked toward a clock on the wall. "Well, it's time."
"Knock 'em dead, Mari," said Canary as they left the room and went their separate ways.
In his rooms, The Main Man sat and smoked a cigar. He growled deep in his throat, then took a long pull from a bottle of booze in his hand. He hoped the common feebs milling around upstairs would clear out quickly and he could escape this self-imposed confinement. Lobo thought it was a damned stupid idea to let anyone just waltz into the headquarters. He had no desire to meet any of the bastiches. Doing so might trigger a murderous rage and he had promised to play goody-good with this bunch of dweebs. It wasn't easy. If he didn't have his reputation to consider, he would have fragged this place to the ground a long time ago. The Czarnian contemplated this and blew a cloud of smoke into the air.
"By Feetal, this mud ball is boring." Lobo arose to get another bottle of whiskey. If he couldn't have any fun, he might as well try to drink himself into a stupor. He felt light-headed and began to sway on his feet. "Whoa. Never had Earth booze hit me like that." He took two steps forward then collapsed forward onto his face.
John Porter checked a scanner as he ducked into a conveniently placed restroom. "One down," he said. He looked into the mirror hanging over a sink and smiled, the wide grin reflected back at him. "There is more work to be done," he said and began to tear off his face.
Dr. Caitlin Snow was tidying up her living space when someone knocked on her door. "Enter," she said.
The doors swooshed open to reveal Ryan Choi, the Atom. "Hey Frost, you ready to go and meet the adoring public?"
"We have some time before we have to be up there." She sighed and placed a book back in its proper place on the shelf where it belonged. "To be honest, no, I'm not ready. Those people out there will know my past. At least some of them will be judging me."
"That's not true. You have more than proven yourself." Ryan moved forward to touch Caitlin's arm, to reassure her. Frost leaned back to cut off the potential contact. Following recent events, she did not trust herself. There was a chance she could hurt Ryan, and she couldn't live with that. He was so nice and earnest. He obviously liked her a lot. The pain and confusion she saw cross his eyes when she pulled away was bad enough, but better than if she lost control of her powers again.
"Maybe we should head that way," said Frost. "Thanks Ryan, for agreeing to make the public appearance with me. It means a lot."
"No problem, Frost. You know I'd be happy to be seen anywhere with you. I..." His words were cut off by the sudden pulsing of his bio-belt. "What? My belt activated on its own? How?" The Atom began to contract in a chaotic manner. He seemed to be having something like a seizure. "I can't control it!" In a final burst of energy, the Atom faded away.
"Ryan? Where are you?" It had all happened so fast. Frost could just make out a faint outline of Ryan's body. He was moving, but there was no weight or sound to his dissipated form. Frost stretched out her hand and it passed right through the Atom.
"Still can't touch him, huh? Although now not by choice."
Frost whirled at the sound of the strange voice. Standing in the doorway was a figure clad in a purple suit, with pieces of armor and a long white cape. A helmet and visor obscured the upper half of his face. He carried a baton in one hand which hummed with latent power. In his other hand was a hi-tech gun. It was pointed at her.
"You did this?" Frost felt anger rising and ice began to form over her skin in spiky, geometric patterns.
"Yup. Hacked into his bio-belt. Did you know it can control his mass as well as his size? It wasn't that difficult. Now, he's a ghost."
"I know you," said Frost. "Prometheus. I heard you were dead."
"Nope. That was a clone. I have several."
"Enough," declared Frost. "Reverse what you did to Atom, and I'll let you live."
Prometheus smiled. "I don't think so. I'm more interested in you. It was smart naming yourself Killer Frost. People hear that and see your powers and they attack you with heat, which is the exact opposite of what they should do. Heat feeds you. Cold is your real weakness."
"You're so smart," snarled Frost.
"I am," said Prometheus. He wiggled his wrist to emphasize the gun. "I lifted this design from Captain Cold. Let's see how you do at absolute zero."
Frost yelled and leaped forward, but froze in mid move as the air around her solidified into ice.
Prometheus walked up to the frozen figure and tapped lightly on the ice. "Two more down," he said. The villain used the cold gun to make the room a block of ice before closing the doors as he left.
Ray Terrill was feeling pretty good. He had just talked to his significant other, who had been called away on emergency business. Something to do with legal matters relating to his asylum with the League. His lawyer was apparently being very insistent.
He sat down and glanced at a nearby clock. It was almost time for Mari to begin her public speech. Unlike some of the others, Ray was eager to mingle with the people. He was affable and charismatic, and he enjoyed the company of others.
Ray was in uniform, his helmet set off to the side. He kicked his feet up and placed them on the table in front of him. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back into his chair. The ready room was otherwise empty and Ray was grateful for a quiet moment of reflection, usually impossible with Lobo on the premises.
"Hey Ray," said a voice. "How's the boyfriend?"
Ray glanced backward and saw a smiling purple-clad man wearing a helmet. He scrambled out of his chair and faced the new arrival.
"You'd be surprised how low the price is to bribe a judge on an asylum case," said Prometheus. He clucked his tongue twice. "I lament the level of corruption in our justice system" The villain visibly brightened. "It did, however, serve to remove an x-factor from the equation. I've no beef with your boyfriend, after all."
"I don't know how you got in here," said Ray, placing his helmet over his head. "I don't know what you want, but you don't mess with my life and walk away."
"Sure, kid. Hey tell me, my files don't say if you prefer pitching or catching, but you look more like an alpha to me. Have you ever burnt the inside of your boyfriend's mouth, you know, in a moment of passion?"
"You bastard," spat Ray. "I'll beat the bigotry out of you." He instantly converted into his pure energy form. "I am going to melt that helmet to your face."
"There it is," said Prometheus. As Ray flew toward him, the villain held out a small open box. Ray halted like he had run into a wall.
"What? I can't move."
"Oh, this? I designed it myself. It took a bit of time. You were a real problem, Ray. As an energy being, you cannot be physically harmed. I had to construct this solar energy containment box and shrink the solar inverters to fit and add some tesseract tech in there to keep things balanced. It was very vexing at times, but worth it in the end." He pushed a button on the bottom of the box. "You can't destroy energy, Ray. You can only transform it."
"What is happening to me?"
"Your solar energy is being drawn into the box. It should be painless."
Ray watched in horror as his form was slowly siphoned into the box. He tried pulling away, but the pull was too strong.
"If it's any consolation, I don't care that you're gay. I just needed you to lose your cool and change into energy before thinking too much." The last of Ray disappeared into the box. Prometheus held it up to his eyes. "The box will keep you from reforming. You're basically just a big solar battery now. I could power a city for months with you."
Prometheus opened a top cabinet. "The road less traveled, I suppose." He stuck the box behind bags of coffee and boxes of snacks. "Huh," he said. "I wonder who likes Moose Munch? Gotta be Vixen."
Black Canary had changed into her uniform. She left her quarters and began the trek down to the Main Hall. It was nearly time for her to do the public meet and greet. The sooner it began, the sooner it would be over. She walked quickly. The Sanctuary had a lot of rounded hallways, not many sharp corners. The architecture intrigued her and she resolved to check the JLA archives to see who had originally designed the place. Lost in thought, Canary was taken aback as she rounded one passageway to find Prometheus waiting on her. He was standing in the middle of the hall, leaning forward on his baton.
"Ah, there you are," he said. "I was beginning to worry."
Canary hit the League communicator pinned to her jacket. "Intruder alert, Hallway 6-B."
"Not gonna help," said Prometheus. "I fried your transmatter feeds. The comms are dead. It was the first thing I did. Well, second," shrugged the villain. "The first thing I did was dump concentrated knockout gas into the ventilation system going to Lobo's rooms. He will sleep for days."
Prometheus tossed his baton to the side. "Your security sucks, Canary. Despite that, I am willing to give you a sporting chance." He held up his hands. "No weapon. Nothing up my sleeves. Do you want to dance, little bird?"
"I thought Oliver had killed you," said Canary.
"A clone. I have several. Are we doing this?"
"Sure," said Canary. "Let's fight." She took a step forward and unleashed her Canary Cry. Prometheus had seen her intake of breath and dropped to one knee. The ultrasonic attack rippled through the air and washed over the villain.
When it was over, he stood. "One, everyone knows about your sonic scream. I'd be stone stupid not to prepare for it." He tapped his helmet. "The warsuit has built-in sonic dampeners. What is not absorbed or deflected is taken care of by internal cooling units. Second, you are scared. You know you can't beat me in a fight. You went meta right at the start. So, let's get to the inevitable."
The fight in the hallway was brutal and short. Both combatants were martial arts masters, but one was a cheat. Prometheus possessed detailed programs on every hero and their fighting styles. The display in his visor told him every move Black Canary was going to make before she made it. His suit provided him with enhanced reflexes and flooded him with hyper-endorphins. Within two minutes, Prometheus had beaten Black Canary unconscious.
He reached down and grabbed her by the jacket collar. "Well, that's that," said Prometheus. "Let's stash you somewhere." He dragged her to the nearest room and placed her inside. From his belt, he took a hypo-syringe and injected the contents into Canary's neck. It was a powerful sedative. He would be long gone by the time she woke up. "Only one left ," said Prometheus as he stopped to pick up his baton.
Vixen had finished her welcome to the public in the Main Hall. It was time for Black Canary to show up and Mari took a peek at a clock. It wasn't like Dinah to be late. Pushing her worry aside, she continued to answer questions and talk with the people in the crowd.
The loud blare of an alarm made everyone stop what they were doing. The reinforced blast doors at the front of The Sanctuary slammed down. All over the base, quarantine protocols sealed off the structure from the outside world.
Vixen tapped her communicator. "What is going on? We just went into quarantine. Anyone? Hello?" Silence was the only answer. Around her, the crowd was beginning to babble. Vixen could feel panic start to rise through them. "People," she shouted. "Remain calm. It is just a glitch in the system." A hush fell over the crowd. Vixen thought maybe she had gotten through to them, but she sensed movement behind her. She turned and saw the crowd had parted, making way for a man in a purple suit and a weird baton on his shoulder.
"Prometheus," said Vixen.
"Hello, Mari. I'm afraid I am the glitch in the system."
"Whatever you are planning, let these people go."
"Not yet." Prometheus walked to the center of the Main Hall to face off against Vixen. The people surrounded them, giving the adversaries a wide berth,
"Where is my team?"
"Your joke of a League won't be joining us. I've taken them out, one by one, under your very nose. And before you ask another tiresome question, I got in here the same way as all of these other people. You opened the front doors, Mari! What did you expect to happen? Batman is going to be so very disappointed."
"What is your game, Prometheus? Why are you here?"
"You are selling these people a bill of goods. It's all a lie and I am going to expose it." Prometheus began to pace around the circle, scanning the crowd. "You want the public to believe you are one of them, that you all stand together as equals. You are not like them. You're a god pretending to be a peasant."
He turned to face Vixen again and shrugged. "Maybe I'm wrong. I will offer you a devil's bargain. Destroy your Tantu totem and truly become a normal person and I will let everyone go home. Keep the totem and they will all know you are a fraud."
"Will you still let them go?"
"Them? Sure. Not you, though. You either leave here an ordinary person, or you don't leave at all."
"Well, Prometheus, I reject your offer and your contention."
"I figured you would. Pride goeth before a fall and all that." The villain assumed a combat stance. "I am actually looking forward to this fight," he said. "Your powers make you unpredictable and difficult to kill." He smiled and power crackled across his baton. "I guess I'll have to find a way."
He saw the muscles tense in Vixen's legs and assumed she would access the powers of a big cat. Something fast and strong with claws. She rushed him, but he was ready. The enhanced reflexes kicked in and he pivoted around the attack. As Vixen flew past him, he slammed the baton across her shoulder blades. She grimaced in pain and stumbled to a stop.
"You're already beaten, Vixen, you just don't know it yet. I've fought this a million times already. I know the outcome." His helmet chimed a proximity warning and he spun to catch an old lady by the wrist. She held a taser in her hand. "Seriously?" asked Prometheus. He twisted the woman's arm and broke her wrist.
Vixen used the distraction to her advantage. She closed the space with the speed of a gazelle and switched to the power of a Brahma bull to plow into Prometheus. She had to be careful of the crowd, so she made sure to flip him backward over his head. The villain landed awkwardly, but quickly regained a knee, his baton pointing at Vixen.
"I felt that," he said. Prometheus had not been lying when he had said Vixen was unpredictable and dangerous. It was time to end this. He triggered a command to his gauntlet.
Vixen rushed him again, slower this time, wary of the baton. He guessed something heavier and armored. Rhino, maybe. He avoided the charge, although he felt her talon-like nails rake over his abdomen. The armor in his warsuit held, but it was stressed. Prometheus fired a dart from his gauntlet into Vixen's neck. She reached back and pulled it out of her flesh. Vixen looked at the needle and her knees buckled.
"Elephant tranqs mixed with neural inhibitors and some other stuff." Vixen fell forward , trying to support her weight on her arms. "It works fast," said Prometheus. Vixen collapsed onto the floor and ceased moving.
Prometheus reached into his belt and took out a device. He pushed a button and the doors to The Sanctuary opened. "Get out of here, sheep. Run back to your pathetic lives." Given the chance, the crowd rushed for the exits.
The villain stood triumphant over Vixen. He flipped her over onto her back with his foot. "I said I was going to kill you. I think it might be worse for you to live after seeing how easily I took your League apart and shook the faith of the sheep in you." He pondered a moment more. "Mercy, then. A strange feeling. I don't believe I care for it."
Prometheus put his baton on his shoulder and walked toward the open doors, whistling a tune. He fished the Cosmic Key out from under his warsuit and clicked it over. He disappeared into the Ghost Zone without a trace.