Justice League Paramount
Arc 1: So I Guess We're a Team
The story opens on a man presenting to a group of other men in a dark room. The man presenting starts by saying, "Legends. Gods. Supers. These people have many names but it doesn't make them any of what they are called. These 'superheroes' are tragedies waiting to happen unless they can be controlled...and that is exactly what I am proposing."
"And what exactly is your plan again Mr. Luthor?"
"Good question Mr. Secretary. My plan is to gather all of the super powered beings operating on US soil into a team that is government regulated as to prevent national incidents. "L
"Don't we already have that in the form of the Superman?"
"Yes and Superman was a blessing on the standpoint that we were able to raise him to be our weapon but what about the others."L
"What others all I know about is the Batman."
"Yes, the Batman, Bruce Wayne, publicly came out as so in 2005 under the tutelage of his older brother Thomas Wayne who seems to be the creator of Batman but the brains behind the scene as well. Since the announcement of Bruce's crime fighting ways, Waynetech has seen a significant rise in stock for it is the financier of the Batman and Batman works out of Waynetech headquarters in Gotham. Though the Wayne's have publicly stated that their mission spawns out of their untimely death at the hands of criminals in the streets of Gotham, Thomas, who was more injured than Bruce in the attack, seems to have interest in something more and we should recruit Bruce before Thomas figures out what that is. "L
"Ok. Then who's next."
"I'm glad you asked. Next is the Green Lantern of Coast City. He is one of my biggest cases on why we need this team because this guy showed up only about 6 months ago and has the ability to create any construct he can think, made of what is suspected to be pure energy. The energy is expelled out of a ring upon his finger and is alien in origin. His inclusion into the team would allow for possible testing on the device as well as possible outreach to alien species outside the little amount information gathered from the wreckage of the Kryptonians crash."
"Who els..."
"Next is the Flash. A hotshot named Barrel Allen who was a former employee of Lexcorp" "Lexcorp? Your company Mr. Luthor?"
"Yes Mr. President, my company." (Grits teeth)
"As I was saying. Mr. Allen was a former Lexcorp employee who was hit with discharged energy on the initial test of the particle accelerator that now powers Central City. Speaking of Central City, the Flash/Mr. Allen calls this place his home and uses the powers of super speed given to him via the energy expelled from the accelerator."
"You keep saying former employee. What led to his termination?"
"Following the gaining of his powers, Mr. Allen became erratic and unsteady in his mental capacity often speaking to things that weren't there and due to the liability he could be for Lexcorp he was let go. The Flash appeared within about a month of his termination and due to the erratic nature of his mental state, the Flash leaves a sizable amount of collateral damage in his heroics. His inclusion to the team would give the possibility of not only bringing liability to his actions but also the possible rehabilitation of his mental state."
"That seems like a logical approach. Who's next?"
"Our final hero is a man who some believe to be crazy and others a god but either way is a danger. He goes by the name Aquaman and he believes he is the rightful king of Atlantis. We don't know much about him aside from the fact that he has a telekinetic link with aquatic animals, the ability to breathe in water, move at top speeds in water and above all has superhuman strength. He operates along the western sea border and is a glorified marine life activist but with the right direction can do some real good."
"Ok Mr. Luthor, all these subjects you've presented have the power but none seem to be under our direct control or even command so the question we are asking here is where does Superman fit into this?"
"Oh Superman will most definitely be on the team but will not be in charge mainly because if any of you have had the pleasure or as I would say displeasure of meeting our Boy in Blue you would know that he isn't really a people person. No, no he won't be in charge but he will be on the team and hopefully he can gain some social skills along the way. The leader, as I would recommend, will be Oliver Queen, codename Green Arrow."
"The international playboy? Didn't he get lost at sea a couple years ago and die?"
"Lost at sea? Yes. Dead? No. Mr. Queen was shipwrecked in the middle of the sea and landed at a never before discovered island known as Themiscara. There Mr. Queen was captured then trained by the islands natives. The unique thing about this island is that it was only inhabited by women with no men to be seen."
(The men chuckle) "I'm sorry Mr. Luthor but your man is crazy."
"Oh I thought so to at first. But none of you asked how he returned. Mr. Queen befriended one of the natives known as Diana and with her help was trained in the rigorous battle techniques of the Olympians and he became particularly well versed with a bow. Eventually through some unknown circumstance, Mr. Queen was forced to leave the island and Diana helped him do so with a craft of superior engineering that had stealth capabilities far beyond our own. Once back on US soil, Mr. Queen found that his family's company was now owned by me and once he told me his story I was glad to include them onto the team."
"Them?"
"Why Diana of course. The woman who accompanied Mr. Queen upon his escape. Her code name is Wonder Woman and she is versed in a variety of fighting styles as well as access to an arsenal of ancient weapons of her culture and superhuman strength. She is also loyal to Mr. Queen to a tee and will do anything for him which makes her easy to control because Mr. Queen is loyal to me and I am loyal to my country of course."
"That's all fine and good Mr. Luthor but what if Mr. Queen decides not to be loyal to you?"
"Well you didn't let me finish Mr. Secretary. Our last member of the team will be Red Tornado, a synthetic android with the capability of creating Mach 2 speed winds that will truly serve as our eyes and ears. So do I have your approval Sirs?"
"Yes you do Mr. Luthor but one last question. What will you call this team of yours?"
"The working name is the Justice League. Do you approve?"
"Yes we do. Congratulations Mr. Luthor, you just created the most powerful team ever to exist."
"I know." (End of issue)
From that meeting we move to Luthor walking stridently into his office where we see Oliver standing at the ready. Luthor informs him that the meeting was more than successful and it's time for the recruitment process.
A montage follows where it is seen where Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman are met with by Green Arrow. The Flash jumps aboard immediately while Green Lantern is skeptical at first but after some deep and seneschal conversation he comes aboard. Aquaman on the other hand wants no part but Green lantern volunteers to convince him and after a heartfelt talk between the two about the importance of life beyond just sea life makes Aquaman see the world in a better light and he reluctantly agrees to be a part of the team.
Luthor himself recruits Batman but not by actually asking Bruce but rather by asking Thomas. Luthor phrases it as a good publicity stunt to increase Batman's marketability and with a little thought on the idea Thomas agrees to it and doesn't tell Bruce till almost the day of the first meeting. Luthor recruits Superman easily for he is the one in charge of the K-1 program so he just has a sit down with General Lane and they discuss how it will honestly be good for Superman to be on a team so they agreed to go forward with it. Superman is then informed of his reassignment to the team from Metropolis and he reluctantly agrees for he doesn't want to leave his friends at the Daily Planet he met through General Lanes daughter Lois who was a combat journalist.
The team then convenes for their first meeting in the Hall of Justice stationed in Washington DC. Everyone arrives punctually aside from Batman who arrives out of costume as Bruce Wayne as well as slightly drunk over the fact he didn't know he would be attending the meeting till his brother informed him earlier that morning. Luthor introduces the core concept of how the team will work as well as what they are exactly allowed to do when on missions. Everyone complies until Green Arrow is introduced as the leader of the team. The complaints come mainly from Superman for he believes in his service for the US he has gained the proper experience and skills to lead in contrary to some rich boy with a grudge. Batman in a drunken state says that he thought they were talking about Green Arrow and then kind of dozes off.
Luthor calms the tensions then leaves the team to get to know each other as well as get acquainted to how each other fights. Green Arrow believes this will be addressed best with the running of training simulations within the hall while the rest of the heroes believe that on hands work will be more effective. Superman decides to take initiative against Oliver and makes a move for the door gesturing for his fellow heroes to join him. Before he can leave he finds Oliver at the door and he tells the tiny man to move out of his way and Oliver replies with a request for Superman to "make him". Superman then goes to grab Oliver by the neck but Oliver then slashes at Superman's eyes with his bow and activates a solar suppression arrow Luthor created and places it on Superman's chest. This brings Superman to the floor for his powers are momentarily deactivated. Oliver knees Superman in the face and the rest of the heroes aside from Batman jump into action. Oliver launches an arrow at Flash who catches it easily but the arrow then electrifies and bring Flash to the floor in convulsions. Oliver then launches a cluster arrow that breaks apart into eight arrows to break Green Lanterns concentration and during that confusion launches an additional trick stun arrow which simply bounced off the ceiling directly into Green Lanterns forehead and thus doing as the arrows name implies. Aquaman then assesses the situation and seems to realize that any further attempt to take down Oliver would be futile but alas that realization never comes and Aquaman throws his trident at Oliver who merely through the use of a triple arrow shot is able to stop the attack midway and then throws aside his bow gesturing for Arthur to attack him in hand to hand. Arthur charges and Oliver simple grabs him and throws Arthur over his shoulder into a wall where quickly recovers and rushes Oliver from behind. Oliver then quickly spins and in a singular solid punch to Arthurs jaw, knocks him out cold.
Oliver then walks over to Batman who seems to be fighting the urge to join in the fight where he whispers in Batman's ear, "Sit down before I make you or maybe I can call your brother."
Bruce gives him a look of resentment and fear as he descends back into seat and produces a flask from within his suit and begins to nurse it casually. Oliver then leaves announcing that virtual training sessions will begin the following day and he expects everyone to be in attendance. (End of issue)
The scene moves to following day in the midst of training where it is an absolute mess. The only ones successfully following orders are that of Wonder Woman and Red Tornado. Flash is trying his best but keeps have getting distracted by having conversations with no one. Superman is just destroying everything in sight and relying too much on his powers and not strategy. Green Lantern and Aquaman are more worried about watching each other's backs than watching the rest of the teams and of course Batman is again inebriated due to over drinking earlier that morning. Oliver eventually has enough with the lackluster performance of the team and says that its time they each broken down their strengths as to understand what works and what doesn't.
Oliver addresses how Flash's speed is incredible but without direction he can get lost and ultimately bring himself out of the battle unintentionally. He points out how Green Lantern has spectacular skill in defensive maneuvers and shielding but the truth is that he needs to modify his technique to work with a group rather than a singular partner. He evaluates how Superman's abilities makes him the powerhouse on the team but in the case of a live scenario if he just barrels through everything the team may become vulnerable outside of Superman's cover or worse civilian life can be put at risk. Aquaman is addressed as being a skilled fighter but by keeping to close to Green Lantern limits his availability to what he is so good at which is fighting not defending.
That's when Oliver comes to Batman where he honestly says that unless Batman can get his act together and stop being a drunkard of a superhero then he has no place on the team. Batman looks Oliver directly in the eye as his body wobbles a little bit and he says that Oliver is absolutely right but alas he isn't going to stop for he will gladly resign as a member. Oliver looks at Batman suspiciously as he makes for the door for his walk suddenly becomes more strident and powerful and in that moment he picks up the mug in front on the table an pelts it at Batman's head. Batman then without a second's hesitation and grabs the mug without even turning around. Oliver then says that it was all an act to have an excuse to leave but Batman says that it wasn't for he is absolutely drunk at this given moment but he has been fighting crime while drunk for about five years now and with the amount of training he has gone through his drunken state is a better fighter than most every man on the planet. Batman then leaves.
Oliver then makes toward the door with hopes to stop him but then, of all people, Superman stops him and says that he will go talk to Batman. We then see Batman drunkenly get into the Batmobile which is then, to Batman's surprise, lifted up into the air and flown off into the distance.
The next scene is that of Superman and Batman standing in the artic where Batman is shivering and asking why Superman brought him here. Superman then shares how this is the one place that he truly sees the beauty of Earth and understands why it needs to be protected. Superman then asks Batman why he thinks Superman works for the US government. Batman replies that it is because they government found him and he is loyal to them for their raising him. Superman shoots down this explanation and clearly explains that he figured out around the age of 16 that he wanted to protect the Earth due to his friendship with Lois Lane but alas he doesn't really understand humanity nor how he can properly help humanity, not yet at least. That is why Superman works for the US government for they give him direction and that's why he is slowly starting to believe in the Justice League for Superman believes that the team, even if under Green Arrow's leadership, will one day give him new purpose.
In this explanation Superman goes from floating above the ground as he is always seen doing in to having his feet legitimately placed upon the ice beneath him. Batman then says that his speech was nice but in all actuality Bruce doesn't really want to be hero, not anymore and honestly he never did. Bruce then explains how the Batman was always Thomas' dream that he forced Bruce to live out on his behalf. Bruce asks Superman if he understands how hard it is to have your brother go from your protector and role model to nothing more than your commander and often abuser.
Superman is puzzled by Batman's statement and asks' "Abuser?'.
Batman then sighs and reveals that Thomas couldn't be Batman and forced Bruce to be and pushed him beyond his limits starting at the age of 10. When Bruce would stumble, well let's just say though Thomas couldn't fight crime he sure as hell could beat the shit out of Bruce. Superman asks why Bruce would never fight back and Bruce replied that for all the awful things Thomas would do, Bruce would tell himself that all Thomas wanted was to do good and did it because he loved Bruce. Batman begins to tear up at this and then says that his drinking started right around the time he finally realized that Thomas saw Bruce as no more than a weapon. The only comfort Bruce has in life now is that of his butler Alfred and the bottle.
Superman tells Batman that this isn't true for if Batman returns to the league and tries to be more than just his brother's weapon, then he will gain a new family that he can call his own and hopefully gain the direction that Superman hopes to gain as well. Batman looks up to Superman and agrees to come back and tells Superman that for a guy who doesn't understand humanity, he seems to make a pretty good friend. (End of issue)
The next day we see the whole team working at the training sessions where each tries to do the best they can to match Oliver's strategy of skill division. Everyone seems to be settling into their roles aside from Green Lantern and Aquaman who again have the issue of covering each other to closely compared to the others on the team.
Oliver finally confronts them about it, asking for the reasoning for this and that's when Aquaman looks Oliver dead in the eyes and says, "Because he is my boyfriend you dumbass."
Oliver's jaw drops at this realization and Batman comes up laughing and with a pat on Oliver's back announces that he knew that the second he saw them. Oliver then composes himself and addresses the reality that he and Wonder Woman are involved but they understand the importance of protecting the team as well as each other. Green Lantern thinks about it and says he understands and after some intense back and forth facial expressions between him and Arthur, Arthur agrees as well.
The team then proceeds on with training and the dynamic of the team becomes stronger and stronger. There is a montage that shows this progress and at the end of this montage, the team is introduced to Jimmy Olsen by Superman himself for Jimmy is one of Superman's friends from Metropolis and is a huge fan of the superheroes, so Superman thought it would be nice to introduce him to the team. Jimmy has a full fanboy freak-out taking picture after picture. Lois Lane then enters and addresses the fact that Jimmy needs to act professional for Superman introducing Jimmy to the League isn't the only reason for the visit. In turns out that Lois has upgraded to full on journalism at the Daily Planet and her first big piece is on the introduction of the Justice League and Jimmy is photographing the interview for her. Here we see a clash between Superman and Green Arrow over answering the questions asked for Green Arrow is the leader and thus more informed/qualified to answer though Superman wants to answer for the reasoning that both Lois and Jimmy are his friends.
The interview eventually ends and Lois goes on a walk with Superman while Jimmy continues to gawk over the team. On their walk Superman talks to Lois about how he is liking the team though he misses her and Jimmy as well as everyone else at the Daily Planet. Lois says that she misses him to and says that she has been talking to her dad and it seems that Superman is more or less been assigned to the Justice League directly which creates some nice loopholes like that he is not under any specific instruction to be in DC at all times so Superman can begin to visit if he so likes. Superman is delighted by this news and in childlike glee hugs Lois and twirls her up into the air. He then realizes what he had done and he apologizes. She says its fine and blushes and so does he. She then says that she has to go for she has a flight to catch to back to Metropolis in order to finish the article with an interview with Lex Luthor, the creator of the League.
Lois then hugs Superman and says goodbye and Superman does similarly with Jimmy. Superman watches optimistically as they leave points out that Superman really cares about them and Superman says that he really does. (End of issue)
The next we see is Lois and Jimmy in Lex's office as he monologues about the ideas of power and strength in numbers and other mumbo jumbo that he knows will show him off as a kind and brilliant man who created the most powerful team in the world. Lois scribbles away and then asks of Luthor's opinions of each member and he is polite and positive about each member and upon finishing his statements, Lois points out that he omitted Superman from his list. Luthor grits his team at this realization and tries to quickly play it off as that he didn't want to come across as biased due to his years of work with Superman and then quickly rambles off the basic praise of Superman that can be found in a children's book but Lois accepts it with only little notice at the odd sense of displeasure in Luthor's tone.
Luthor then takes the two on a tour of the Lexcorp tower and along the way Jimmy gets left behind when taking a photograph, for Lex is only interested in Lois for she is the one who determines how he is represented in the article. Jimmy then hears a large grumble that seems to be coming from the floor below and he, being the curious boy he is, decides to investigate. That's where he sees a variety of guards trying to contain a large purple creature but every time they attacked it, it would increase in size. Jimmy begins to photograph what he is witnessing and that's when the creature officially breaks out of its restraints and barrels toward the wall. It then smashes through said wall and heads toward downtown Metropolis.
The scene then cuts to the Justice League getting word of the creature and deploying immediately.
The team is then seen as it enters Metropolis square where they are confronted with a tank of a creature that is now proclaiming himself to be Parasite and that he will consume all. The team springs into action they attack with full force and it's not till Parasite gets a good hold onto Superman and drains him of his power while simultaneously growing in size that they understand Parasites power set. Green Arrow then sends the team on the defensive with the hope of containing Parasite rather than beating him directly.
Green Lantern creates a perimeter while the rest of the team tries to distract the creature. Batman then tries to advise Green Arrow on how to defeat Parasite but Oliver ignores him completely for he still doesn't really take him seriously. Green Arrow tries a faulty offensive maneuver which completely backfires and that's when he acknowledges his error and apologizes to Batman who then shares his plan. Batman then informs how they can shutdown Parasite via suffocation if Red Tornado and Flash work together to create a vacuum while Green Lantern keeps it contained. Green Arrow relays these commands and the team does just that and it works perfectly, resulting in Parasite not only passing out but also reversing back to his purple, more humanoid form.
The team celebrates their victory back at the Hall of Justice and Oliver makes a toast and then says that "So I guess we're a team", while Parasite is then apprehended by the US government and is shipped back to none other than Lexcorp for safe keeping though no one know that the creature originated from there. No one aside from Jimmy Olsen.
Jimmy had photographed the entire Justice League battle as well as Parasite inside Lexcorp and after that long day he decided to go home and rest. Jimmy, once home, starts to review his photographs and composes a file of all the Justice League shots and sends them to Perry White and Lois. From there he moves to the Lexcorp photos where he compiles all the shots, including the incriminating ones, and types -ensure these get to the right place- and addresses the email to Lois Lane. Then, to Jimmy's surprise, the email rewrites itself and every incriminating photo is deleted.
That's when Lex Luthor says, "Nifty trick right? It's a program I created. I call it Braniac."
Jimmy then says that he won't get away with this but Luthor cuts him off saying that he not only already has but will continue to do such things and never be caught. Jimmy then makes a move for his phone but Luthor pulls a gun before he can even touch it and pulls the trigger three times. Jimmy then falls to the ground and bleeds out as he watches the rewritten email send and a tear rolls down his face. (End of arc)