10 Justice League Front Lines
Disclaimer: I do not own the DCAU or the DCU it was based upon. Such rights respectfully belong to both DC Comics and Warner Bros Animation. Which in turn are owned by the parent corporation Time Warner. The universe is theirs as are any profits derived from it.
This story is being beta read by animeluverqueen. As has every story in the series since Part 6. Yes, you got that right. Part 6. This is Part 16 of an ongoing series. Just in case there seems to be any confusion, a lot has happened on the way here. If items seem to confuse you and you seem a little lost along the way and you just can't figure out why "so and so" is dating or married to "such and such", try reading previous installments. Worlds of enlightenment can be found there.
Also, if you are one of those gifted souls who only read the first and last chapters, do not PM me and ask what happened in between. The answers already lie between Chapter One and Chapter Whatever. Look and ye shall find your answers.
"Dela, you can't be serious," Fatality remarked.
Dela Pheron glared back at her, "I am perfectly serious."
"But he's unstable," Fatality pointed out.
Miss Bloss, Miri Raim, Maewen, Arven and Race all nodded their agreement. Dela saw this and snorted in derision, "He is a Green Lantern. Perhaps the greatest of them all. It is the destiny of the Sapphire Queen to be married to a Green Lantern and I choose him."
"And what if he doesn't choose you?" Miri asked.
"And why wouldn't he?" Dela growled.
Race rolled her eyes, "Actually I think they're perfect for each other."
"Thank you," Dela was surprised by this unexpected support.
"But what's good for you isn't necessarily best for the Star Sapphires Corps," Race continued.
Energy danced off of the star sapphire affixed to Dela's mask, "What did you just say?"
"You're the Sapphire Queen now," Miss Bloss tried to explain it, "That means the Corps' needs come before your own…or at least they should."
"Nonsense. My needs are the Corps' needs," Dela asserted.
The Star Sapphires exchanged a there's going to be trouble look. Arven attempted to break it down even further, "While some of our sisters now have lovers and consorts, many others do not. To bring that letch to a virtual harem world of women is idiotic."
"Did you just call me an 'idiot'?" Dela thundered.
"If I had to," Arven said in steely tones.
"That's it! This discussion is over. I am getting my man and I am getting him now!" Dela declared, "You could have gone on this adventure of the heart with me but now I, your Queen, command you to remain here on Zamaron in my absence."
"Dela, he's only human," Fatality pointed out.
"Don't tell me anything about humans," Dela retorted, "I can see what's in your heart, Fatality."
"But Carol also lives on Earth," Fatality tried again while her cheeks burned.
"Don't speak to me about Carol Ferris. She doesn't exist to me," Dela warned, "Now do as your told, like good children."
Dela rose into space. Maewen asked the obvious question, "So are we just going to sit here?"
"No," Fatality declared, "Race, Miss Bloss, you'll stay. The rest of you are with me."
The appointed Star Sapphires lifted off into space. Meanwhile, in the deserts surrounding the Lost Kingdom, Slushh used his ring to communicate with the Fear Lodge. After Lyssa Drak had acknowledged his signal, she summoned Slushh back to the antimatter universe and the world of Qward that the Fear Lodge was built upon. Slushh was grateful for the chance to finally leave Zamaron.
At the JLU compound west of Albany, New York, the Justice League members who lived, and or trained there, were up and about and greeting a new day. Most of those that dwelt at the compound were former members of the Justice Society of America. Some had been members of the League who'd been relegated to the JSA and then brought back to the fold. While there had been some initial resentment over that chain of events, most had gotten over it.
The majority of those that lived on the compound were younger heroes that spent a great deal of time training in the use of their powers and in teamwork exercises. Those included Cyclone, King Chimera, Judomaster, Anna Fortune, Ri, Mary Marvel, Stargirl, Mr. America, and Red Beetle.
Others lived there as well. Fire and Ice lived in the women's quarters as well. Hawkman, Booster Gold, the Shining Knight, the Ray, Sand, Guy Gardner, Commander Steel, Mr. Terrific, Dr. Mid-Nite, Mike Dugan, who was the STRIPE operator and official League mechanic, also bunked in the male quarters. Of course, Booster was leaving as of this weekend owing to his getting married to Claire Connelly. Sir Justin was expected to be the next to leave for a similar reason.
Galatea and Blackhawk shared quarters in the Pilot's Bunkhouse near the airstrip. Lady Blackhawk, Jake, and Smiley also dwelt there. Lady Blackhawk was still restricted from duty so the other members of the Blackhawk Squadron flew the Department of Extranormal Operation's Blackhawk Express missions. No one outside the squadron knew exactly what those missions were besides Galatea. And she wasn't talking.
Black Adam and Isis shared quarters in the married couple's villa. There, Osiris spent his time with his parents when they weren't on missions. Fortunately, his parents hadn't been called away since the JSA had merged into the Justice League Unlimited a week ago. Black Adam and Isis were delighted to have the time to spend with their infant son.
Hourman and Jesse Quick were the other married couple in the hut. It was actually large enough to accommodate four couples so unless the families met in the Commons, they rarely saw one another. As it was, Hourman and Jesse spent a great deal of time beside the original Flash, Sentinel, and Wildcat as they trained the younger heroes.
Donna Troy was among these trainees and she also lived in the woman's hut. Learning of an Earth-1 teen calling herself Wonder Girl, Donna had changed her code name to Troia. Donna's Earth-1 doppelganger had briefly used the name before becoming a Darkstar and leaving Earth altogether. Donna felt the name was then up for grabs. So the Wonder Girl of Earth-52 was now Troia and the second Wonder Girl of Earth-1 was no longer confused with her.
But training had been called off for Booster and Claire's wedding. Plastic Man and Penny had been married last weekend, just days after the dimensional cross rip that had nearly swallowed the Earth. Not only had the Shadow Realms been brought to Earth, but the hell dimension Ragnarok had unloaded its masters upon this world as had the Subtle Realms when the King of Tears had been freed at long last.
But the wedding had gone without a single hitch. There hadn't been a single crisis until the following day. Plas and Penny had taken off on their honeymoon so they avoided the whole mess. Meanwhile the newly integrated JSA team members got their first taste of action next to their newfound JLU teammates in an official capacity. What had transpired had justified the faith put in the JSA.
While twelve of the former JLU members were backing with the team, fourteen members of the former Justice Society were League members for the first time. The League's newest member had been in the DEO's pipeline for the JSA and he suddenly found himself under the JLU's auspices.
Jakeem Thunder was the inheritor of the Thunderbolt after Johnny Thunder's death. That death had resurrected the King of Tears. Jakeem was a bit of a surprise in that he was a streetwise fifteen year old. It had taken Wildcat, Jay Garrick, and Sentinel arguing on Jakeem's behalf to persuade the Founders to accept him. The fact that they had brought a fourteen year old Stargirl into the team killed the protests. Stargirl was eighteen now and had flourished during her four years with the JLU, four months with the JSA, and was back under the Justice League's graces.
Jakeem had discovered his power to summon and control the Thunderbolt jinn when a Sufi had found him in Harlem and revealed his ability. By saying the invocation, "Cei yu", which was pronounced, "Say you", the Thunderbolt was summoned. The Thunderbolt was a mystic power to rival any mage in the Justice League's rolls. But he could only act upon verbal instructions from his master, this being Jakeem.
Booster had invited the entire Justice League. About half showed up. Since Michael Jon Carter was well known to Claire's friends as Booster Gold, the JLU group had been requested to come in costume. The recent JSA additions to the team were especially encouraged to come. In the end, most of Booster's guests were the JLU's most recent additions.
The Founders came as well. This meant a lot to Booster. Jay Garrick, the original Flash, Wildcat, and Sentinel joined the Founders as well. Superman and Wonder Woman were overjoyed, even if Superman couldn't quite make out how to approach some of Claire's guests. John Stewart and Shayera Hol were happy to see Booster settle down. J'onn Jonzz took a day off from his busy schedule to attend. The current Flash was excited for the couple but there was also an air of distraction about him. It had been there since he'd been captured by Amazing Grace.
Claire's guests cut a wide swath across the LBGT community. Cross dressers and transvestites sat near or next to M2F and F2M transsexuals. The pre-, post-, and non-op crowd was fully embraced. Claire's co-workers from STAR Labs arrived fully expecting such a turn out. Claire had never hidden her transition from anyone, except Booster for a time, so they fully endorsed every aspect of her life. These friends included straights, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. Claire literally embraced all aspects and orientations of the world.
Claire had been surprised, and then wonderfully delighted, that Booster did to. When asked why, he merely shrugged and said, "I'm from the future."
Leaving it at that, he'd helped fund Claire's final physical transitional step. Now came the final lifestyle transition. She'd dreamt of marrying and settling down with the man of her dreams since she'd been a small boy.
Fortunately, Plastic Man and Penny's fortune rubbed off on them and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Although, Galatea and Blackhawk's reception had proven that you still had one last hurdle before you were in the clear. But that too went by without incident.
It was evening back at the JLU compound. Roxy was delighted have company again. She'd redirected a spy satellite to witness the comings and goings at the outdoor venue. She'd actually giggled when she admitted the National Security Agency was still going ballistic trying to find out who hacked and retasked one of their satellites.
"Roxy!" Mary Batson scolded her, "You shouldn't have done that."
Roxy looked wounded, "I know. But I was stuck here."
Roxy's holographic avatar was realistic enough to make one forget she was actually the compound's Artificial Intelligence entity. At times, though, it seemed she was a little too alive. She was impish, playful, and generally helpful but Roxy could also be willful, stubborn, and prone to take illegal actions without endorsement.
"Lighten up, Mare," Courtney Whitmore cajoled her friend, "Why ruin a good day?"
"But she…" Mary protested.
"Did she nuke Tehran? No. Did she topple any governments? No. Did she take nudie pics of Kim Kardashian and Kayne West having sex? No, and thank God for it," Courtney listed off, "So tell me, who did she harm?"
"But…" Mary tried one more time before being cut off again.
"Stow it!" Courtney commanded, "Now c'mon. Everyone's getting together in the Commons."
"Too bad Ray went to Los Angeles," Mary sighed.
"Yeah, I know how you feel. Billy went back to Fawcett City and I'm still feeling all gushy inside and want to cuddle. But I can't, dammit, so buck up and suffer with me," Courtney said sternly.
Mary smirked, "You know, graduating from high school seems to have done you a world of good."
"Well, at least I'm not going on to college like you and Maxine," Courtney grinned.
"Maxine got a full ride to Harvard," Mary said wistfully, "She'll be living in the dorms this fall."
"And you got the same deal at Georgetown," Courtney reminded her, "Which isn't anything to sneeze at. Besides, you like Catholic schools."
"Yeah," Mary said dreamily, "It's actually a Jesuit school."
"Aren't Jesuits an order of Catholic priests?" Courtney struggled to recall.
"Yes," Mary confirmed it.
"You just proved my point," Courtney said dryly.
"So what's going on in the Commons right now?" Mary asked Roxy. She knew the AI was fully capable of monitoring the entire compound all at once.
"Guy Gardner just arrived and is trying to recruit drinking buddies," Roxy answered.
"Ugh!" Courtney's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Maybe we should wait."
"Well, he didn't get any takers so he's off to NYC to bar hop alone," Roxy revealed.
"He does that a lot," Mary observed, "I think he's a very lonely man."
"He's a sexist pig," Courtney retorted, "That's why he's lonely. No woman in her right mind would put up with his bullshit."
"That's harsh," Mary accused.
"But am I wrong?" Courtney shot back.
Mary fumbled about, "Well…not exactly."
"Ha!" Courtney celebrated her victory.
Mary rolled her eyes, "Let's just join the others."
"See ya there!" Roxy vanished.
"Ever wish you could do that?" Courtney mused.
"All the time," Mary confessed, "But in my Marvel form I can fly. So that's just as good."
"Yeah," Courtney agreed. As Stargirl her tools allowed her the power of flight too, "I can fly using either the Cosmic Rod or the Cosmic Convertor Belt."
"How do you choose between them?" Mary asked as they headed down the corridor to the Commons building.
"I don't think I do, actually," Courtney shared, "Even though the staff and the belt were made for different people, they seemed to have come together with me. And not just `cause I'm using both. Their functioning together has become…"
Courtney faltered so Mary offered up a word, "Seamless?"
"That pretty much covers it," Courtney confirmed it.
There was a moment of comfortable silence and then as they reached the door to the Commons, Mary expressed a wish; "I hope the rest of the day is as perfect as the first part has been."
Courtney grinned, "One can always hope."
Fortunately, Mary's wish came true.
Two days later, Aquaman approached the podium in the General Assembly chamber of the United Nations. Since a harpoon was mounted off of his wrist where his left hand used to be, he'd had trouble getting cleared by security. Which just put him in a fouler mood.
A week ago, he'd transmitted a request to speak at the General Assembly. He'd also reiterated the terms and conditions of his treaty with the surface world body. And still more radioactive waste had been dumped inside of Atlantis' borders.
The Atlanteans had captured the offending ship. It was owned by a waste control company registered out of Norfolk, Virginia. They processed nuclear waste from ships and submarines for the US Navy. They ostensibly transferred them to a facility they had built in Arizona.
Only no such facility existed. They'd been paid to build one but the exorbitant costs attached to construction, and the hazardous materials surcharges on the rail system, had convinced them it was cheaper and easier to dump out at sea. After all, it was all about the profit margin. And since the company currently maintained a 165% profitability margin, why change what worked?
Aquaman's raiders had attacked the company's docks and sunk every vessel they owned. Some had been laden with nuclear waste, therefore contaminating the harbor. Aquaman had dispatched a message to the Naval Command that such an act was a fair exchange for what amounted to an act of genocidal warfare.
Neither the Admiralty nor the Commander-in-Chief saw it that way. Fleets had steamed through the night to arrive at Atlantis' borders. Submarines had been rerouted off their patrol lanes to interdict any and all Atlantean forces. In essence, a blockade had been formed.
Thanks to the nuclear waste, Atlantis had to send hunters and gatherers far afield outside of Atlantis' designated border to collect food. The US Navy in turn, fired on them. Casualties had resulted. And that brought all concerned to today.
Aquaman tapped the microphone. A resounding thud thud echoed through the chamber. This irked many of the diplomats. Aquaman though it petty of them. Most of them were relying on a translator's interpretation of his words and not the actual speech.
"My opening remarks are for the world of surface dwellers in general. Do not dump your trash in the oceans," Aquaman almost snarled, "Besides the ecological implications you fools seem ignorant of, there are people down there. Atlantis is only one kingdom. We have colonies and settlements across the majority of this planet."
His voice hardened as his eyes narrowed, "The bulk of planet Earth is underwater. It is a realm you know frighteningly little about. Don't give my people cause to educate you in its ways."
Aquaman saw the effect his words were having. He thought it was good they had something to think about. It seemed thinking was a rarity amongst them.
"For the United States I can only say this: your people dropped several tons of radioactive waste upon our farms," Aquaman began to explain, "And yes, it has been argued that the bulk of such waste is liquid water. But such waste is also known as heavy water for a reason. And then there are the damned fuel rods which were deliberately scattered across our primary source of food."
Aquaman allowed his anger to come through, "But more than this, you have blocked my people from getting the food they require to live. Ostensibly this is revenge for our attacking the polluters who destroyed our food chain. Since you would not stop them, and instead hired them to provoke us, we dealt with them."
"The United States government declared this an unprovoked act of aggression," Aquaman continued, "Aggressive? Yes! Unprovoked? Not a chance in whatever hell you believe in. You have surrounded our borders and are keeping us from gathering food. In essence, you are attempting to starve us to death."
Aquaman got to the point of his message, "My nation, or any conceivable nation, will not sit idly by and let you kill us all. So my response is simple. You have twelve hours to withdraw. If you do not, you will face the full might of Atlantis that you have speculated about for so long."
Aquaman stepped away and off the platform and marched out of the assembly hall. The United States Ambassador was immediately recognized. She played out the official song and dance that while the essential facts portrayed had been accurate there a matter of interpretation of said facts. The US' version was correct and all other viewpoints were inherently wrong. She boasted that the United States was ready to meet Atlantis' attack. The only request her government had was for her allies and enemies to stay clear of the conflict.
The General Assembly took a vote of all members. Many of America's allies abstained rather than vote. Those that did vote, voted to remain neutral. All except one: the nation state of the Justice League Unlimited.
Max Lord was the first to speak after the vote, "Honored delegates, as the representative of the Justice League to this body, I have to ask: what implications will this vote have upon my constituents?"
Many proposals were brought forth. A few dared to leave it up to the JLU's discretion. The same abstainers did so again. In the end, the neutral vote carried the day. The Justice League was ordered by majority vote of the UN to stay out of the conflict.
Max merely shook his head and muttered, "It'll never happen."
Luthor squinted at the sunlight as the Legion of Doom led the Submen out of the caverns of Subera. Subera had been carved into the Rocky Mountains just as the Submen's ancient home had been located under the Urals. After their defeat ten thousand years ago by mankind, the Submen had travelled to the New World and settled in another underground kingdom. The Native Americans never knew of their existence just as the settlers from the rest of the world never knew of the Submen as they populated the frontier so North America.
King Kull's decision to venture into the wider world had changed all that. Recruited by Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind, King Kull had fought Captain Marvel nearly to a standstill on dozens of occasions. Luthor had reached out to Kull, thinking he was an aberration of some kind, and had been delighted to discover that he literally was a king.
The Submen had been busy during their long exile. Their technology rivaled that of Atlantis or Gorilla City. And now Luthor had access to this tech. The Submen had once dominated the surface world of man. They desperately wanted to again.
It had taken Luthor mere seconds to convince King Kull to wage war against humanity again. Luthor was dimly aware of Atlantis' threats again America. War brought chaos. Chaos bred confusion. And confusion frequently yielded opportunity.
Atlantis would ravage the East Coast and the Legion of Doom and the Submen would swoop in as saviors. Only after the fact would the beleaguered population realize that their rescuers intended to not only stay in place but rule them with an iron fist. It was so easy to predict it was like it had already happened.
But what Aquaman and Luthor didn't realize was that Dela Pheron was on her way. Pursued by a band of her own Star Sapphires, Dela was coming to find love. And unbeknownst to Dela was the fact Sinestro knew of her mission and had an old score he intended to settle.