Episode 2: Update
Clark sat in the center metal chair of the bridge inside the Kryptonian starship. His thick black beard hiding his entire jaw. The dome screen in front of him was operating, but instead of showing the space before him, it was at the moment divided into two dozen smaller, rectangular screens, each a different channel covering different events happening across the globe.
The noises from the different channels in unison came out as gibberish. Despite that, Clark could hear each one perfectly through his super hearing. And yet that wasn't what Clark was hearing in his head. He heard the screams of people- silenced by the rumbling roar of earth, and the echoes of fire burning.
Since he and the others self exiled he hadn't stepped foot into the people's lives, but he couldn't abandon them entirely. Instead he took on the role that all gods do. Despite worries of the world ending if he and the others disappeared, better news started to come out . Mutants, criminal organizations, and lone wolf villains were but memories of the past now. Maybe this is what Clark needed to do in the first place after all? He needn't be a hero when the world didn't need one nor ask for one.
"Breaking news ladies and gentlemen, a wormhole of sorts appeared over a boardwalk area of Santa Cruz appeared moments ago.."
Clark turned his head immediately in the direction of the breaking news and soon began to see half of his screens turn to the same footage of a white wormhole appearing then closing after shooting something out of it. He had never seen a portal like that one before, and nothing of that nature had come to Earth like that since his ship crashed some thirty years ago. Clark looked back to his old comm earpiece that sat on a small tray. Clark stepped out of his seat, stroked the beard he had grown and walked out of the room.
Katar could tell he was laying on his back, his body aching, and his vision blurry with only obsure shapes and colors appearing before him, "Wh-what?"
"Relax Katar, you're safe here." said J'onn.
"J'onn...good to hear your voice." Katar closed his eyes and looked in the direction he heard his friend's voice, "How did you find me?"
"When you came through the portal, you happen to be where I was."
"Fate. Has anything else come through?" Katar asked.
"Anything else? No. It was just you. Along with this device that was on your belt, though it seems upon exiting that portal it was destroyed." J'onn raised the device in his hand up to the light nearby his desk. Katar opened his eyes wide and looked to the mother box.
"Good, that will buy us valuable time," Katar gasped.
"Why would it?" J'onn show Katar the device and let it fall apart as he dropped beside Katar on the bed. Katar let out a heavy sigh of breath and collapsed against the soft bed.
"Where are we?" Katar looked around the dim room, "Where are the others?"
"My home. It is outside the city, deep in the forest. You will be able to recover here in peace."
"Where are the others? Why aren't we at Justice League headquarters?" Katar asked. J'onn looked to Katar with an indifferent face from his seat, "The league disbanded not long after you left for Thanagar."
"What?" Katar's eyes widen and his muscled tensed.
"Careful, the bandages," J'onn came closer to Katar's aide.
"How can it be disbanded? Don't tell me it was because of me that it happened." Katar settled himself on his bed.
"No, it wasn't because of you. It was because of multiple factors, some of which had been boiling over since we first united ourselves." J'onn looked out the window, the moon was illuminating through the half closed blinds.
"Tell me then J'onn, what happened?"
Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Cyborg, and The Flash step into the UN General Assembly room as ambassadors from each member watch them walk in and approach the podium where the Secretary General Gregory Bolin awaits them.
"The UN welcomes the Justice League here today. It is noted that Batman is not present, nor is King Orin of Atlanis."
Superman took a step forward to speak, "They disagreed with our decision. While we do not speak for Batman, he said that we are not held accountable for his actions. King Orin asks that if you wish to discuss anything truly meaningful with him then you must speak with him and not through someone else."
Bolin nodded, "Understood. The UN has passed Resolution I-53 which bans costumed vigilantism, of which every nation has accepted as their own as well. You are to either cease your activities or continue them under the name of a nation. What will it be for you?"
Superman looked to his comrades, then back to the Secretary General, "We've agreed to disband and no longer involve ourselves with issues across the globe. I will exile myself to an undisclosed location, Wonder Woman will return to Themyscira, Green Lantern will return to Oa, J'onn and Flash will blend into society as well as Cyborg. We will no longer step in and supercede anyone's authority."
Hushed murmurings and whispers echoed in the great hall until Bolin restored order, "Understood. In regards to Green Lantern's return to Oa, the security council has asked that this messaged be delivered." Bolin stepped aside from the podium and presented a hard drive to Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern before returning to the podium, "Do any of your fellow members wish to make a statement?"
Wonder Woman stepped forward, "I do."
"You have the floor ma'am," Bolin said. Wonder Woman came to the podium and looked to all the members of the UN that sat at their seats before her, "We only meant to make the world a better place not just for ourselves, but for all of us. What started with one man's mission to save his city from the grips of corruption, crime, and injustice soon started a movement that we took upon ourselves. I hope that our example inspired more people to be part of the greater good, instead of the greater evil."
"Just like that?" Katar asked.
"Yes. Governments soon began to crack down heavily on those who were once were our enemies. Captain Cold, Bane, and others alike were rounded up and sent off to an undisclosed security prison. Even the low threat of mutants began to disappear as well." J'onn stayed in his seat.
"Just like that you all surrendered to them?"
"There was more that led to the disbandment of the league, weeks prior to nations adopting anti-vigilante legislation there were massive protests on the streets, mainly by law enforcement who feared for their work. At one such event, there was a protester against them who was killed, a young girl. Superman felt he was responsible as he was there but didn't catch in time."
"What of Batman and Orin?"
"Batman retired years after, I suspect because of the falling crime rate in Gotham, and since he's human, he's reached old age as well. As for Orin, he hasn't been heard or seen since before that day at the UN, though he does have an ambassador there. Occasionally a ship will disappear, the crew will be found and unharmed, but the ship and cargo lost. Atlantis claims many ships are doing illegal dumping of waste into the oceans."
"We must reach out to them. All of them, we need to prepare for what is coming." Katar tried to raise himself out of the bed, but couldn't.
"First you need to rest, I have never seen you so badly wounded like this. You mentioned a name before you passed out before. Tell me, who is Darkseid?"
Tony plugged in the helmet of his latest suit into his computer and began to read off the analysis, "Everything is reading right as it should be. JARVIS are you picking up anything I'm not seeing here?"
"The scanners aren't translating the readings to the HUD components. Seems that they are faulty. They will need replacing." chimed JARVIS.
"Well that's wonderful. I much rather just build an entirely new helmet, besides I can afford it." Tony clapped his hands together then rubbed them before unplugging the piece from the computer. "Oh and hows my 'wormhole search' coming along?"
"Nearly completed sir. I have scoured both media reports as well as SHIELD and AIM records."
"AIM? Since when does a think tank get on the action floor with SHIELD?" Tony went back to his computer to see for himself. Then an image of Nick Fury appeared on screen with the word "calling" flashing next to it.
"Sir, Nick Fury is on the line." JARVIS stated.
Tony rolled his eyes, "I see that JARVIS, go ahead patch him through, but keep digging." Tony turned around and a hologram of Nick Fury appeared, "Hey Christmas came early this year! What did you get me Saint Nick?"
"I thought we had a deal Tony?" Nick asked.
"We still have a deal, you give me homework, and then the next day I turn it in and get an A+ by Uncle Sam." Tony wasn't making eye contact with Nick.
"And you aren't suppose to go off finding extra unassigned work either."
"Oh come on teacher! Don't punish me for doing extra credit!"
"I know you want to find this Mandarin character, but we don't need you going off on missions that do more harm to the names of SHIELD and the US government. If you're going to be doing that, than do so on the bandwagon of the Avengers Initiative."
"I don't mind working with others, but I don't like it when someone else is bossing me around, especially since I can run pretty much anything without a fuss. Is this why you're calling me? Giving me a lecture?"
Nick shook his head, "I just wanted to remind you on it. I'm reaching out to you because of the incident that happened hours ago up in Santa Cruz."
"Yeah saw that, space anomaly happening planetside, very unusual, and very rare if not impossible to occur naturally without the proper ingredients."
"I see you've been doing your research."
"Was curious about it as I'm sure everyone in the world is about it too," Tony turned back to Nick's hologram.
"Fair point. How about you come down to AIM Labs? They are leading the investigation under SHIELD's guide."
"How soon?" Tony asked.
"How about now?" Nick posed.
Magneto was studying the pictures that were all over the room he was waiting in while Charles and his two students were looking over the folder that he handed them in the next room. That's when he heard the front door open and close, when Eric turned to see who it was, he smiled.
"Professor! Profess-," Logan stopped himself when he saw Eric, "What are you doing here Magneto?"
"Oh come now Logan, you can call me Eric. I see you've actually began to age like the rest of us." The old mutant approached Logan.
"All right Eric, what are you doing here?" he asked again, his fists ready.
"I came to see Charles, much how you like to do from time to time. He's actually reading what I've uncovered these past few years."
"Reading?" Logan released his fists. Eric turned around and went back to the sofa to sit down with Logan following him but standing opposite from him.
"Yes, you see, I've learned that the humans have been repressing our mutant abilities and I was hoping that maybe Charles and others would come and help me stop it from continuing."
"Mutant Repression?"
"Gene Repression to be exact. Just another way humans have been messing with our kind since the beginning of time. Abusing and using us for their own personal means. You understand this better than most I would think so." Just as he said that, the doors to Xavier's study opened and Aurora, Scott, and Charles came out.
"Logan, good to see you." said Charles.
"Professor," Logan nodded, "Didn't know you had other guests at this time."
"It's all right. He was just sharing his notes on why our kind has, in essence, faded away." Charles placed the folder on the coffee table next to him.
"So? What did you think Charles?"
"Compelling Eric, very compelling. Though if you think immediate action must be taken that resort to violence, that is something I nor anyone here will participate in."
"So instead you will be taking this to the public square start demanding answers from the very people who put this in place."
"You underestimate humanity Eric, things are different from what they were some fifteen years ago when all this happened. We had other beings of extraordinary ability being crucified. But now with a change in public perception of those kinds of beings, perhaps it will be easier to reveal these things than they were before."
Eric stands from his seat and fixes his shirt, "Try all you like, but I rather not be under their thumb in the last years I have." Eric walked out of the room and headed towards the front door with Charles following him.
"Your file Eric?"
"You keep it. I'm sure you'll need it if you are going after them the 'legitimate' way. If you need me, you can find me at the Motel 7 back in town." Eric stepped into his car and drove off.
Charles closed the door and turned his wheelchair around to his three former students.
"Is he right?" Logan asked, "Are they repressing our abilities without our knowledge?"
"The evidence he gathered seems to point in that direction, but I am hesitate to start poking my nose around this subject matter especially to the government. Nonetheless I will do my own research with his in hand and see what I can find, and should it match up then I'll start asking the questions." Charles turned his wheelchair and left the three mutants in the living room. Scott made his way up the stairs while Aurora went towards the backyard.
"What do you think about it?" Logan looked to the manila folder on the coffee table.
Scott turned back to Logan, "While it would be nice to have our powers return, but if that means giving Magneto his powers back, then I rather leave things as they are." Scott continued up the stairs.
"Storm?" Logan tilted his view to see her.
She stopped in her tracks, "I would have to agree with Scott. We've battled Magneto long enough, and this is the only way unfortunately that can stop him."
As the two former mutants went their ways about the mansion, Logan looked back to the folder, sat himself on the sofa couch, flipped it open and began to scan the pages and pictures in it.
TO BE CONTINUED...