Author's Note:

So, I started writing this several months ago, pretty much as a way to vent my frustrations at the direction the DC universe had taken some of my favorite characters (while it can stand alone, it's actually intended to be the opening of a series of Super Buddies stories that I may or may not complete). As a huge fan of the late 1980s JLI and the more recent I Can't Believe it's Not the Justice League and Formerly Know as the Justice League series, I was just hearbroken to see it all turn to shambles due to the new dark direction the DC universe had decided to take.

But, from heartache comes inspiration and from inspiration comes stories. Thus, I started writing this fanfic, which takes the Super Buddies and their characterizations and throws them into the whirlwind that was the aftermath to Countdown and the plot of 52. Now, let me warn you before you begin - this story takes a lot of literary license (I only use certain elements from 52, ignore others, and make up some of my own), and it does poke fun at a lot of what has happened recently with DC comics, so don't read it if you think you'll be offended or you're nitpicky about the details. However, if you think you'll enjoy satirical reading featuring Maxwell Lord, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ralph, Sue, Mary Marvel, L-Ron, J'onn and the others as they had been, then I think this is the story for you.

I tried really hard to do justice to the characters, focused a lot on crafting the dialogue (one of my favorite thing about Giffen/DeMaitteis's work was the strength of its dialogue, particularly the witty banter between the characters), and of course, create something that was amusing and entertaining. In the end, I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope you like it too! Thanks for reading!

I Can't Believe It IS The Justice League! (Part 1 of 3)

Maxwell Lord awoke abruptly – if one could describe it as "waking" at all; he had just found himself in his dark office all of a sudden, having no recollection of how he got there. Did I blackout? he wondered when he heard something moving around in the adjacent main office of the Super Buddies. Curious, he poked his head out to see the headquarters of his latest superhero team in complete shambles as his loyal friend, L-Ron, whizzed around in quite a bit of a hurry. "L-Ron," Maxwell immediately demanded, clearly beside himself, "What is going on here?"

"Oh, sir, I was just cleaning up the final paperwork – " L-Ron began to explain before he stopped instantly. At once, he directed his entire attention onto Maxwell. "It's you!" he exclaimed. "But how...?"

"What are you talking about L-Ron?" Maxwell asked, "And why does this place look like a tornado has been through it?"

"You don't know, sir?"

"Know what, L-Ron?" Maxwell shot back, growing impatient.

"You better come with me m' lord," L-Ron advised. "This is just one those things you have to see for yourself to believe." With this, L-Ron headed for the exit of the Super Buddies' Headquarters, and Maxwell frowned.

Reluctantly, he agreed, "All right..."

Moments later, L-Ron had led Maxwell to a storefront window of a corner electronics shop. There, a television set that was for sale was broadcasting the graphic footage of Wonder Woman breaking the neck of another Maxwell Lord, this recording being provided by Brother I. Maxwell grimaced, growing white, and uncomfortably clutched his neck with his right hand. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"It's not that bad, sir," L-Ron tried to comfort him.

"Wonder Woman snapped my neck," Maxwell stated, "How is that not bad?"

"There are a lot of things worse than ceasing to exist. After all, it happens to us all eventually."

"L-Ron, you're reasoning with the wrong guy. I'm the one who went through all the trouble of becoming a cyborg just so I could escape dying, remember?"

"If you don't mind me saying so," L-Ron remarked, "That was a bit extreme, even for you. Could it be that you have an unhealthy fear of death?"

Maxwell shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't look too deeply into these things."

"Ah, of course, your simplemindedness. Still, logically speaking, if you are a cyborg, then Wonder Woman snapping your neck shouldn't have killed you, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

"I suppose that's true," Maxwell admitted, adding, "But I'm guessing it would hurt a lot, anyway."

"You feel pain?"

"Well, I'm not all cyborg. I feel pain, I sleep, I eat, I have urges – "

"No need to get so personal, sir," L-Ron interrupted.

"Right," Maxwell said, "Anyhow, if Wonder Woman did snap my neck, I assume I would feel like I was dying without actually dying – or something."

'That's a tad morbid, m' lord."

"Sorry," Maxwell apologized. "It's this place, I suppose – all the grim and grittiness starts to get to a man – er, cyborg."

"Understandable."

Maxwell sighed. "Let's just go back to my place and seen if we can – "

"Ahem."

"Yes, L-Ron?"

"I believe you mean my place," L-Ron corrected.

"What?!"

"You left everything – your entire fortune – to me in your will," L-Ron informed him.

"I did what?!" Maxwell questioned incredulously.

"It's all in writing," L-Ron went on, holing up a legal document for Maxwell to view. "See?"

"But I'm not dead!"

"Well, you'll just have to have your lawyer take it up with my lawyer, which I suppose technically is your lawyer – "

Maxwell, however, was no longer paying attention; a sharp pain struck his head, giving him a throbbing migraine. He cried out, hunching over as images – vivid images – came to him in sporadic flashes. He saw himself, although there was something evidently different and quite frightening about him; it appeared that he had been secretly working for an anti-meta human organization called "Checkmate" for a very long time as a spy. Images of his good friend Blue Beetle also came to him, the Super Buddy kneeling on the floor in obvious trouble. And he saw himself smiling cruelly as he held a gun to Blue Beetle – Ted Kord – and shoot him in the head, his brains splattering grotesquely all over. "I think I'm going to be sick!" Maxwell managed to say, falling to the pavement as he was overcome with nausea.

"You already said that, sir," L-Ron pointed out.

"No, I really mean I'm going to be sick!" Maxwell exclaimed while he doubled over.

"Can a cyborg get sick?"

"Well, not that I know of, but – " Maxwell attempted to answer through his terrible migraine, but never finished; he threw up instead.

L-Ron, watching the millionaire finish vomiting, concluded, "Then I guess you're not a cyborg, sir."

"But how can this be?"

"Superboy Prime punched a wall?"

"What was that?"

"Never mind, sir."

Maxwell shook his head as his body relaxed, the headache at last disappearing. "What was that I just – " he started to ask with a shaky voice before he turned to L-Ron and questioned urgently, "L-Ron, where is Blue Beetle?"

"Dead, m' lord."

"No, he's not!" Maxwell immediately shot back stubbornly.

"Yes, he is," L-Ron insisted. "You killed him yourself. From what I hear, it was quite a messy incident."

"No, I didn't," Maxwell argued, growing angry as he rose to his feet.

"Are you in denial, sir?"

"Shut up, L-Ron," Maxwell snapped, "I didn't kill him!"

"Yes, you did," L-Ron repeated. "You shot him in the head – hence, Wonder Woman snapping your neck. She doesn't just kill anyone, you know."

Becoming more desperate, Maxwell said, "L-Ron, I didn't – I wouldn't!"

"So you say, but truthfully, after all you've done, it's hard to believe you, especially considering what a pathological liar you turned out to be this whole time. To be honest, I'm hurt by this blatant betrayal of our friendship."

"L-Ron, I did not betray you – or Ted!" Maxwell persisted. "And I'm not a pathological liar." Frowning, Maxwell clarified, "Okay, so sometimes I lie, but it is usually always for a good reason. You of all people – um, life forms – have got to believe me. Do you actually think that I would be secretly working for an evil anti-meta human organization for all these years as a spy?"

"Maybe..."

"Or that I would kill one of my closest friends?"

"Well..."

"Or that I'd leave my entire fortune to you?"

""Oh, I knew it was too good to be true!" L-Ron cried out in defeat.

"So you believe me then?"

"Yes, m' lord, I believe you," L-Ron told him bitterly.

"Good," Maxwell said with satisfaction. "Now, where are the others?"

"They're...around, sir," L-Ron answered reluctantly and then offered, "I recommend starting with Booster Gold."

"Okay," Maxwell grew resolute, "Then take me to wherever the heck Booster Gold is in this hell hole."

L-Ron and Maxwell Lord walked down the dark streets of Queens, New York. "It sure has gotten rundown," Maxwell commented as he looked around the beat up neighborhood, "Dark, too."

"It's always dark, sir," L-Ron said.

"Well, surely during the day – "

"It's always night, sir."

"Okay..." Maxwell trailed off, not bothering to address the absurdity of such a statement. "So, where exactly is it that we're going to find Booster again?"

"I presume where his arch nemesis, super villain Lightning Bug, is," L-Ron answered.

"'Lightning Bug?' What kind of name is 'Lightning Bug' for a super villain?"

"I do not know, m' lord," L-Ron replied.

"Well, just who is this Lightning Bug?" Maxwell further questioned. "I've never heard of him."

"He's relatively new around here," L-Ron explained, "Truth be told, word on the street is that Booster has just been paying some guy to pretend he's a super villain so as to make himself into the new hero of Metropolis."

"How am I not surprised," Maxwell remarked with a sigh. Then, he asked with incredulous surprise, "Wait – we're walking from Queens to Metropolis?"

"It's not that far, m' lord," L-Ron assured him.

"Don't be stupid, L-Ron. To get to Metropolis from Queens, it'll take at least – " Maxwell stopped mid-sentence as he glanced to his right. "A cemetery? I don't remember a cemetery being here."

"It's a pretty recent development, Master Lord," L-Ron told him.

"A recent – " Maxwell began before he was hit with another severe migraine. This time the focus of the accompanying visions were his friends Ralph and Sue Dibny. He saw Sue at some time in the past with Dr. Light and the following lobotomy of the longtime criminal. He saw Ralph – no, it was just a shadow of Ralph, the remains of a broken man. And he saw a lifeless Sue, her body covered in burns; she had been murdered by Jean Loring. Maxwell let out a short cry as the images left him, stumbling forward as he did.

"Are you all right, m' lord?"

"Sue..." Maxwell said softly to himself, his gaze returning to his right, where the cemetery still stood. "Is she – is she in there?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," L-Ron replied. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

"No," Maxwell answered, "I never want to see that." Swallowing hard, he asked. "L-Ron, what is this place?"

"I don't understand what you mean, sir," L-Ron responded.

"Nothing," Maxwell abruptly said. "Just take me to Booster Gold."

Booster Gold stood arrogantly in the center of the Metropolis Bank opposite the Daily Planet building. Across from him was a super villain costumed in black from head to toe and holding a bag of money he was obviously attempting to steal. Around them, the bank costumers watched with worry and much interest simultaneously. "Don't worry, good citizens of Metropolis," Booster assured them, "I'll take care of Lightning Bug!"

Lightning Bug let out an artificial, villainous cackle. "Oh really? I'd like to see you try, Booster Gold!" He then charged forward, moving to his right as Booster went to stop him. However, the two ended up colliding with one another, falling back on their rear-ends with a thud.

"What are you doing?" Booster whispered harshly. "You were supposed to bear right!"

"I did," Lightning Bug shot back, also in an angry whisper.

"I meant my right – pay attention!" Booster clarified with much annoyance as he scrambled to his feet. "Never fear," he addressed his audience. "I meant to do that. As you can see, I have knocked this very clumsy super villain off his feet!"

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Lightning Bug kicked his right foot out, tripping a very surprised Booster Gold. Laughing more convincingly, Lightning Bug sneered, "Booster will have to do much better than that if he expects to beat anyone."

'This isn't part of the plan," Booster desperately tried to remind his enemy, who now appeared to be a much more formidable opponent who was invested in the outcome of the fight. Seeing that his reasoning wasn't working – Lighting Bug was trying to follow through with a right hook – Booster activated his force field and pleaded, "Now calm down!" Unconvinced, Lightning Bug simply scowled. "Fine, I'm sorry," Booster semi-sincerely apologized as quickly as he could, "Maybe I should have been more specific earlier..."

"What was that, Booster?" Lightning Bug inquired. "I have a terrible tendency not to pay attention."

"I said I was – "

Before Booster could finish, however, both he and Lightning Bug heard someone clear his throat very loudly to Booster's right. "Huh?"

There stood a very cross Maxwell Lord, who eyed them with much annoyance. "Just what the heck are you two idiots doing?"

"M-Max?" Lightning Bug stuttered as Booster stood there wide-eyed in shock.

"I would expect this sort of thing from Booster, but you, Ted – I thought you had 'matured,'" Maxwell reprimanded.

"How – how are you –" Booster stammered.

Max sighed. "I think we need to have a long talk..."

"...And somehow – after you killed me – I woke up in my bed," Beetle finished explaining. "Then, I tracked down Booster and well, I guess I got bored hanging out in Booster's apartment, and thus, Lightning Bug was born."

"So that's what happened while I was wherever it was I was," Maxwell said rather thoughtfully, trying his best to digest what Booster and Beetle had just told him in Booster's apartment. "But why Lightning Bug of all names?"

Booster and Beetle exchanged embarrassed frowns. "We kind of had a few drinks in us when we came up with the whole idea..." Booster sheepishly admitted.

"That's beside the point," Beetle interjected with suspicion, "How can we know if we can trust you?"

"Of course you can trust me!" Maxwell defended himself, but soon added as an afterthought, "Most of the time, anyway"

"You shot me in the head," Beetle pointedly reminded him.

"First of all," Maxwell at once grew indignant, "How can either of you even think that was me?"

"Well, he looked like you and he acted like you...um, sort of," Booster said, "Although, I seem to remember a time when you were a lot more of a sissy."

"You know," Beetle chimed in reflectively, "Now that you mention it, it did seem a little out of character."

"A little?" Maxwell questioned in disbelief.

"Okay, so maybe it was completely out of character," Beetle reluctantly gave in.

"Exactly!" Maxwell stated, obviously still offended, "To think that I would ever try to kill – "

"Didn't you try to kill your boss or something?" Booster then asked.

"Good point, Booster," Beetle said with an enthusiastic nod, "He did."

Maxwell grimaced. "Okay, maybe I did, but that was a long time ago. I've changed since then. I've grown a lot. You know, redemption and all that."

"Sure..." Beetle rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Will you stop that?" Maxwell demanded heatedly.

"Well, you did put a bullet in my head," Beetle snapped.

"That you miraculously recovered from?" Maxwell countered.

Beetle frowned at this glaring hole in his argument against his former friend and leader. "I'm still working on figuring that out..."

"And what about you?" Maxwell now sharply interrogated Booster Gold. "Are you still on the everyone-hates-and-doesn't-trust-Maxwell-Lord bandwagon, too?"

"Well, I never trusted you," Booster informed him, "But the fact that you sabotaged the League for so long just to make us ineffectual - "

"That's my second point!" Maxwell exclaimed, more furious than before. "Who the heck says my league was ineffectual? We had a pretty good run, if I do say so myself. Or do you forget that we beat the likes of Doomsday and Despero? Not to mention all the money I was able to pull in. We had international status!"

"You know, he has a point, Beetle," Booster agreed.

"I guess he does," Beetle admitted. "I mean, now that I actually think about it, we weren't that ineffectual."

"That's right," Maxwell reasoned, "So either I was some pretty dumb evil criminal mastermind – which I wasn't – or some sort of imposter is – was – pretending to be me."

"Okay, saying it wasn't you," Booster said, "then who was it that made the League so ineffectual?"

"The League was not ineffectual!" Maxwell shouted.

"Oh, right," Booster frowned, looking confused. "I forgot we established that point."

"You know," Maxwell continued, still irritated, "considering that my mind was controlled by an evil computer, I was shot twice, my body was possessed, burning out what little super abilities I had, I had brain cancer, almost died, and my consciousness was placed inside a cyborg, making me more machine than man, I'd say I managed to be a pretty good leader of a decent league that maybe had a few, ineffective members, but I won't mention any names."

"Wow, Max," Booster commented, "You have been through a lot."

"Tell me about it," Maxwell said.

"Wait a minute – " Beetle interrupted, questioning with surprise, "You're a cyborg?"

"Yes," Maxwell answered, "Well, I was – now I'm not sure what I am. Don't you remember, though?" Beetle and Booster had blank expressions on their faces. "Come on," Maxwell pressed, "I had a funeral!"

"You did?" Booster asked.

"Of course I did – I practically died, or did you forget?"

"Not, it's just that, well, I guess I just assumed that after Wonder Woman broke your neck, you'd just lie there for a bit, and then they'd just dump your body somewhere," Booster explained.

"I'm not talking about that!" Maxwell snapped with a shudder. "I'm talking about when I had a brain tumor – "
"You had a brain tumor?" Booster cut in.

"Yes!" Maxwell impatiently replied, "And that's why the aliens took my human conscience and put it in - oh, never mind. Just forget it."

"Wait," Beetle stated, trying his best to put the pieces of his shattered memories together, "I think – I think I sort of remember?"

"You do?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes," Blue Beetle answered, "I do. There's something about this place. It's like a dream almost."

"More like a nightmare," Booster muttered.

"Yes! A terrible nightmare," Maxwell enthusiastically concurred.

"Whatever you call it," Beetle went on, "the way things happen here is almost nonsensical. It's hard for me to wrap my head around it, but there were times when I knew I was in a dream. And now that I'm confronted with it, I'm starting to see more clearly – the way J'onn and the others had acted, your bizarre explanation about being involved with Checkmate, the fact that parts of our lives seem to be missing, forgotten, rewritten. I mean, why wouldn't Superman care that one hundred pounds of Kryponite were stolen, and why can't any of us remember that Maxwell was a cyborg except this Maxwell? In fact, why did I even have one hundred pounds of Kryponite stored in my warehouse for anyway? Everything is playing out like it would in a dream."

"So, then how do we wake up?" Booster inquired.

"I don't know," Beetle replied. "To be honest, I thought I had woken up."

Maxwell glanced at Beetle curiously. "Hmm?"

"Well, like I said, I woke up in bed after you – I mean the other you – shot me. However, there was something else. I heard a voice before waking up," Beetle explained. Then, with hesitation, he said, "It was Sue."

"Sue," Maxwell looked surprised, "You don't mean – "

"I can't say," Beetle interjected. "But it's been bugging me ever since."

Booster frowned and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Okay, you both know I don't believe in angels or anything like that, but do you think she might be the one who saved your life?"

"I'm not sure," Beetle sighed with frustration. "After I heard her, I just woke up in my bed. At first I thought I had awaken from what must have been a strange nightmare, but unfortunately, I soon found out that I was wrong and that I had been shot and killed. But now I think I just had a dream within a dream - or something."

"But what about Sue?" Maxwell pressed, "What did she say?"

"That's just it," Beetle answered, "She said 'Please, stay with us, Ted.'"

"'Stay with us, Ted?'" Booster repeated with perplexity.

"It's weird, right?" Beetle said, "But now I'm thinking that maybe she is alive and what happened to Sue in this world wasn't real at all. It's all just a bad dream."

"It could just be wishful thinking," Maxwell bitterly pointed out. "Still, we should find Ralph and talk to him about it. I can't even imagine how he must be handling all this."

Beetle frowned. "Uh, Booster's not talking to Ralph these days."

"Don't remind me..." Booster groaned, hanging his head.

"What do you mean, he's not talking to you?" Maxwell questioned. "This is the time when he needs you two the most."

Beetle glanced over at his ashamed friend and asked, "Should I show him or do you want to?"

"You do it," Booster responded in self-pity, "I don't want to think about it." Then, he added sharply, "I don't know why you had to tape it, though."

Shrugging, Beetle responded, "I found your public lambasting amusing," as he grabbed a VHS tape from the shelf and popped it in Booster's VCR. On the television, a recording of a press conference came on; it was the one of Ralph Dibny – also know as Elongated Man – speaking very harshly about his one time friend Booster Gold, who he blamed for both the death of his beloved wife, Sue Dibny, as well as Blue Beetle's.

As the press conference drew to an end, Beetle flipped off the television, and Maxwell grimaced. "Ouch."

"I know," Booster agreed. "The things I'll do to protect Ted's well-being. Do you know he insists that I act this standoffish just so I alienate everyone?"

"That's because I can't have people poking around here," Beetle informed him, "I need to say hidden for awhile until I can figure out what the heck is going on. After all, I'm supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, yeah," Booster muttered begrudgingly. "It still stinks that Ralph hates me so much. It stinks that everyone hates me so much."

"It can't be that bad," Maxwell offered sympathetically.

"Oh, it is," Booster assured him. "They all think I'm a fraud and an ass. But it's hard to pretend I'm sad about Beetle's death when I know he's alive."

"But at least nobody thinks you're an evil psychopath," Maxwell reminded him. "I can't imagine what everyone must think of me here."

"Actually, no one really cares about that," Booster told him with a shrug.

"What?"

"He's right," Beetle confirmed. "It's strange, but nobody seems to be that troubled by the fact that you were a spy for so long or that you killed me, even though I was supposed to be one of your closest friends. Actually, the real reason why Wonder Woman killed you was because you had some sort of control on Superman."

"But surely everyone was upset, right?" Maxwell questioned desperately.

"I suppose they were kind of upset," Beetle said, "But that was only Booster and a few other JLI members, and they were actually upset about me being dead and not about you being evil."

"Is this true, Booster?" Maxwell interrogated.

"I'm sorry, Max," Booster apologized. "I guess I should have cared, but for whatever reason I just wasn't really moved by it."

"What do you mean, you weren't 'moved' by it? How could you not be?"

"I just wasn't surprised, I guess."

"How were you not surprised?" Maxwell fiercely questioned.

"Uh...it's the dream thing! That's it! It's completely messing with our minds, you know," Booster rationalized.

"He's probably right," Beetle stood up for his best friend. "Our behaviors and actions shouldn't make sense. After all, in a dream, you don't act as you normally would."

"But – " Maxwell attempted to protest.

"Unless, of course, you want us to consider you shooting me 'normal' behavior on your part," Beetle spoke over him.

"Fine," Maxwell conceded.

"I'm still sorry, Max," Booster repeated. "And now that I think about it, I'm actually really happy and relieved to find out that you're not a psychopath, after all."

"Thanks," Maxwell snidely mumbled.

"You're welcome," Booster replied, not recognizing the sarcasm in Maxwell's tone. "Hey, by the way, what happened to L-Ron?"

"Yeah," Beetle added, "didn't you say that he's the one who took you to us?"

"He did," Maxwell answered, pausing thoughtfully. "But now I can't remember where he went. Did either of you see him at the bank?"

"No," Booster replied, "although, I can't even remember us leaving the bank. How did we even get here?"

"I'm not sure," Maxwell said. "L-Ron was walking me to the bank, and then I was at the bank and L-Ron wasn't. But I guess I was so distracted at seeing you both act so ridiculously, I just forgot about him completely."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you two are over analyzing this too much," Beetle interjected. "It's a dream, remember? There doesn't need to be an explanation. I mean, don't you think it was odd that nobody even seemed to react to seeing Maxwell Lord – who was just recently killed on international television – waltz right in and completely stop our fight?"

"Oh, yeah," Booster remembered, "I keep forgetting."

"But how can you be so certain it is a dream?" Maxwell then asked Beetle. "I mean, I'm not saying it isn't a plausible explanation, but we can't know for sure, can we?"

"It's just this feeling I have suddenly – as I said, it had been lingering in my mind for awhile, but with you now here, I just know," Beetle replied.

"Excuse me," a sudden voice came from the entrance to Booster Gold's apartment. There, at the doorway, was L-Ron sticking his head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt – "

"L-Ron!" Booster heartily greeted L-Ron. "It's been so long! How have you been?"

"I am well, thank you," L-Ron curtly responded. "I just need our beloved leader for a moment." He then addressed Maxwell; "If you could just come with me, sir."

"Sure..." Maxwell agreed, telling Booster and Beetle, "I'll just be a moment," before disappearing out into the hallway behind L-Ron.

Beetle looked on with a suspicious eye. "You do realize, Booster, that L-Ron just randomly showed up here, don't you?"

"He did?" Booster appeared confused. "Oh, right, dream thing – got it."

"Listen, Booster, I don't know if we can trust him," Beetle continued, "L-Ron could easily just be a figment of our imaginations. Heck, this new Maxwell Lord could be a figment of our imaginations."

"All right..." Booster trailed off with uncertainty. Then he asked, "But, Beetle, how do you know that I'm not a figment of your imagination?"

Beetle seemed thrown off by this question. "I don't know," he honestly answered. "Maybe you are just a figment of my imagination. It's possible. Both you and Max could easily just be part of my freaky dream."

"Or you could be part of my dream," Booster pointed out, "Neither of us can really know for sure." With this, the two longtime friends exchanged quizzical stares, each skeptical now of whether the other one was actually truly himself or merely existed in his mind.

Meanwhile, L-Ron had led Maxwell to the elevator of Booster's apartment building, which was taking them down to the first floor. "Just what is this all about, L-Ron?" Maxwell questioned.

"You will see, m' lord. Try to relax," L-Ron advised.

"I am relaxed," Maxwell said in a strained voice, tapping his foot anxiously.

"Of course you are, sir," L-Ron remarked, clearly not convinced.

"I just don't see why you couldn't just tell me what you needed to tell me in the hall. Why do we have to go all the way outside for?"

"As I said, you will see, m' lord," L-Ron repeated.

"See what?" Maxwell demanded. "You're acting strangely suspicious, L-Ron. First you disappear and now you - "

"I thought you were relaxed, sir?" L-Ron cut in.

"I am relaxed!" Maxwell exclaimed tensely. He then narrowed his eyes and stared at L-Ron warily. "Is there any reason I shouldn't be relaxed?"

"No, no reason," L-Ron quickly answered, turning away from Maxwell's glare. The two stood silently on the elevator for a few moments before the cybernetic life form began to whistle in an attempt to feign innocence.

Growing edgy, Maxwell stated, "Now, listen here, L-Ron, I want you to tell me exactly what is going on or – "

The elevator jolted to an abrupt stop and the doors opened. "Come, your impatientness, and you'll have the answers you're looking for."

Maxwell watched as L-Ron made his way out of the elevator and frowned. Eyebrows furrowing in doubt and a knot forming in his stomach, he thought, Why do I have such a bad feeling about this…? Yet, despite his urge to go back upstairs to Beetle and Booster, Maxwell complied with his robot assistant and stepped out of the elevator. He proceeded across the lobby and to the exit, where L-Ron had slipped out to the sunny streets of Metropolis. Wasn't it just night time? Maxwell wondered as he reluctantly pushed through the revolving door, finding himself on the city block. To his dismay, however, the street was completely swarming with police vehicles, their lights flashing and their sirens wailing. Civilians, as well as various members of the media, gathered around, curious to see what was occurring.

"Maxwell Lord, you're under arrest," one police officer said into a megaphone. "Please, put your hands on your head."

"Uh, I think there's been a mistake..." Maxwell nervously said as he fretfully gazed at the spectacle before him.

"I said 'put your hands on your head!'" the officer repeated as the other police officers raised their guns defensively, all pointed directly at the billionaire.

"All right, all right," Maxwell obeyed, raising his hands up. At this, two officers approached him, each one grabbing a hold of one of his arms and ushering him forward toward one of the police cars. "Hey, wait a minute!" Maxwell tried to protest, "What are you doing?"

"We're arresting you for the murder of Blue Beetle and for the heinous crime of mind controlling Superman," one of the officers explained to him.

"But that wasn't me!" Maxwell started to say as the officers slammed him against a police vehicle and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

"Sure it wasn't," the second one sneered. "So it was just some other Maxwell Lord then?"

"I'm telling you the truth," Maxwell continued to argue when L-Ron, smugly watching some distance away, caught his attention. "L-Ron, you did this, didn't you? You set me up!" he shouted to his former loyal assistant.

"Just doing my civic duty, m' lord," L-Ron said simply.

"Like hell!" Maxwell countered fiercely as the officers finished handcuffing him and pulled him from the car, "You only care about keeping my fortune to yourself!"

"I cannot tell a lie," L-Ron admitted his guilt without a hint of remorse. "What you say is true."

"You traitor!" Maxwell declared, irate, as the policemen now tried to put him in the back of their vehicle. "Disgusting, sneaky, selfish, treacherous - thing!" The second officer slammed the car door close on Maxwell as he continued to rant, giving way to more vulgar obscenities.

L-Ron, however, was unmoved. "Sticks and stones, sir..."

To Be Continued...