Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.
Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, Rivals or Friends, Public Enemy Number One, Double Date, Mind Games, Solar Complications, Mentors and Pupils, Brother Against Brother, and Calm Before the Storm.
Opening Moves, chapter 1
Location: DEO headquarters
"Our system's gone crazy!" the DEO technician shouted. "It's locked us out!"
Mr. Bones stared at his screen. "What are they after? This intrusion isn't trying to destroy us; what's the purpose?"
Amanda Waller thought about it. "Check the protected files."
The technician went to that section, and his eyes widened. "The Alpha Class files are gone!"
Location: the JLA Watchtower
The JLA, JSA, Titans, and Outsiders were assembled, along with their most trusted associates. Batman addressed the heroes.
"The DEO has contacted us and reported their Alpha Class files to be missing," he stated. "They have been vague on the content of the files, but said we should warn everyone. Oracle is looking into what they are."
Match paled at this and stood. "I'm aware of the purpose of the files. They contain detailed exploits and analyses of those heroes the DEO consider to be the worst possible threats if taken over by an external influence. They are the basis for their plans to neutralize them."
"How do you know this?" Batman demanded. "Why didn't you tell us of their existence before?"
"I heard about them when working for the Groups. I assumed that you already knew about them."
"Who's in this category?" Superman asked. "Who needs to be the most cautious?"
"The files are heavily encrypted, so it will take time to decode them. As for the people on the file, I've only seen a dated list. At the time, the list consisted of Firestorm, Geo-Force, all the Green Lanterns, Jade, the Martian Manhunter, the three Marvels, Superman, Tempest, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna."
"That's an odd list," Nightwing commented. "It mixes the very powerful with the very adaptable."
"Are there other lists?" Batman asked.
"There are two other categories, Beta and Gamma, that exist," Match reported. "The amount of information on them is considerably less. The DEO probably doesn't think it needs individual strategies for them."
"Those mentioned should either be extraordinarily careful or stay in the Watchtower," Batman said. "We'll begin figuring out who took the files. It's possible that we'll retrieve them before they're decrypted."
Location: the Kent's farm
Match made sure that Conner and the Kents were busy before sneaking off to the barn. Once there, he took out a secured mobile phone and dialed a number.
"Yes?" an accented voice asked.
"One, two, eight, six, three, two, two, seven, five, nine, three, seven," he replied, rattling off the recognition number.
"How can I help you?" Mrs. Chen asked.
"The Alpha Class files have been stolen from the DEO. If there's an attempt to sell them, I would like you to inform me of it."
"I'll keep an eye out for them."
Location: DEO headquarters
Robin, Match, and Natasha Irons met at the DEO headquarters, at the request of Batman. Superboy accompanied them, and a digital representation of Oracle's mask was visible on a handheld computer that Robin carried. They were going to attempt to trace the electronic theft while the other heroes looked for the files. Kon was there to provide protection if they were attacked during the search.
As the tech brigade was working on the system, Robin asked, "So, where's Batman on that list? I'm surprised he didn't make the cut for Alpha."
Match continued typing as he replied, "He was on the Beta list. The idea is that he's not a metahuman and therefore doesn't require as much planning. It may be short-sighted."
"So, where-"
"You're Gamma," Match interrupted. "I don't make these decisions, don't blame me."
Robin sulked. "That's kind of insulting."
"Where do I end up?" Kon asked.
"You and I are both Beta," Match said.
"Sorry, Rob. I guess I'm deadlier than you."
Robin bristled. "I'm going to get you so bad-"
"Can we concentrate on the task on hand?" Natasha said, crossly. "All this testosterone sloshing around is making it hard to breathe!"
"Come on, Nat," Superboy said. "You've got to be curious where you end up. It's just curiosity."
"I probably don't even make the lists. I wasn't in armor for that long."
"You're classified as Beta," Match told her. "Your uncle is, as well. Can you take a second look at the sixth cluster? I believe that I've restored it."
Kon went back to looking around now that the conversation had returned to the task at hand. He saw someone advancing on the main entrance and went to check it out.
Location: in front of DEO headquarters
Sledge advanced on the building. He had been paid a lot of money to trash the place while the system was down. It should be easy, since he couldn't be hurt by guns.
Superboy landed in front of him. "It's been a while. I still owe you for that sucker punch in Hawaii."
"Get out of my way, kid," the man growled. "I'll thrash you if you don't."
"If you're here for an innocent reason, I can let you continue. Somehow, I don't think you are. I get the feeling that you're here to cause trouble."
"I've got a building to destroy. Since you're in my way, I'll take you down too!"
Sledge threw a tremendous punch.
Location: DEO headquarters, the computer center
Match sensed the shockwave a moment before it hit. He put up a telekinetic shield to make sure that everyone and everything in the room was unaffected.
"Looks like there's trouble," Robin said. "Let's-"
"Superboy's taking care of it," Match said. "I'd suggest we let him handle it."
"Aren't you worried? We don't know what's out there!"
"If he needs help, I'll hear him ask for it. Until then, we should continue our work on the system. Once they're back up, it will make our tracing the intrusion easier."
Location: in front of DEO headquarters
Kon arched an eyebrow. "Is that it? I remember you being stronger."
Sledge was amazed. His strongest punch had only driven the teen hero back a few feet. He was more powerful than he was when they first met.
Sledge lashed out again, but Superboy caught his fist.
"Nuh, uh," the teen said, shaking his head. "It's my turn now."
Location: DEO headquarters, the computer center
A much larger shockwave hit against Match's telekinetic shield. Match looked away from his keyboard for a moment and cocked his head to the side, as if he was trying to determine something. Then, he smiled and turned back to his work.
"Are you sure we shouldn't do something?" Robin asked. "I've got knockout gas and explosives; we can help Superboy take care of things."
"Everything's fine," Match said, still smiling. "Big brother just let off some steam. We should get back to work on the next cluster. Wait...there, it's done."
Location: in front of the DEO headquarters
Kon looked at Sledge, impressed with himself. He had laid the villain out. A few DEO agents were going up to him to put a power inhibitor on him. One agent approached him.
"That was amazing!" the agent said. "You took him down with one punch!"
A smile played across Kon's lips. "It was a good punch."
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For continuity fans, Sledge is a pre-existing character in the DC Universe. As far as I know, his first and only appearance is in Superboy issue 37.
Any and all comments welcome!