A/N: Big thanks to Jouaint, edboy4926, and Eien Samsar for the reviews. Such a great start to this story.
Justice
The Master Chief held back his surprise, seeing a different Earth. He knew it wasn't the one he had protected his entire life. The members of Crimson weren't as good at hiding their emotions, one of them gasping and the other talking to his pal about women. Yet all he noticed about Earth was that it was a ting darker. He remembered from basic human history of the usage of hydrocarbons up to the mid 21st century. However, something seemed off, as if the history he knew was a lie.
"Curious," the Didact said. "There appears to be an orbital station. Massive, and carved from a meteorite." He waved his hand across a console and an image appeared of a massive rock with windows.
"How fast could the pelican be prepped?" Chief asked. "I'd like to meet whoever is onboard. That structure never existed." He looked away from the satellite and back to the planet. He could see the Atlantic seaboard of North America from where he stood. It was bright, not at the levels of the 26th Century, but still was very bright. A flash appeared around Rhode Island, sending shockwaves out.
"What just happened," Crimson Two asked, taking a step forward.
"A Reach explosive just eliminated a mountain. Scans before the incident reveal that not only was it hollow, but contained multiple Grade-II transporters. It appears this Earth is more advanced than yours, Reclaimer." The Didact laughed to himself. "At least, in one property."
Master Chief looked between the Earth and the satellite for a few moments before heading to a door. "Get me into a position above that explosion. I'm heading to the surface. It'd be…useful, if you'd visit that satellite, Didact. Take Crimson; you're more likely to meet resistance and humans will throw them off." John didn't wait for an answer, continuing through the door. The ship shifted, extending his path to the keel hangars so that it could get into position. The Didact listened to me. He stopped for a second, ordering a slab of solar flare metal, meant for Forerunner crafts that approach stars, to be ready for him. As much as he found enjoyment in falling from orbit in just armor, using the metal would prevent his armor from locking up during the descent.
"All hangar crews prepare for depressurization." Chief listened as it was repeated over and over by the computer. The slab he had ordered dropped from the ceiling, placed next to one of the fighter ports. The computer had gone through the effort to add handles on for his convenience. He picked up the shield and deactivated a console. The shield closest to him disappeared, air rushing out.
The Master Chief held his shield out in front as he was dragged to the opening. Right when he reached the edge, he jumped. Gravity pulled on him, bringing the SPARTAN into orbit. The thrusters on his back fired, pushing him into the upper atmosphere. Gravity continued to pull, increasing his speed. Flames leapt from his shield, hiding him from plain view. The edges began bending back, the edges glowing with a light red. Inferior metal. After a minute of falling, the flames went away. Chief held onto the metal, waiting for when he'd only have a kilometer left before the ground.
It took another three minutes to hit the waypoint. John tossed the shield away to find that it was the ocean beneath him, few clouds beneath. The explosion had driven them off, replaced with traces of radioactive ash. The edge of the explosion was fifty meters from where he'd land, within the debris field. As he raced for the water, he spotted a large, burgundy object floating. Switching to infrared, he found three heat signatures. Only one read as human while another read as an animal that had undergone augmentations of some kind. The third one had no classification, even with the trace of human inside.
He crashed hard against the waves, scaring the human on shore. Malcolm watched a metal man grab the Supercycle and drag it to shore, keeping the passengers aboard. Superboy appeared to be already awake, now lying in wait for when they reached the shore. It took three minutes for the robot to reach shore. He dragged it up the beach until the waves couldn't reach the back tires. And that was when Superboy attacked.
Mal was shocked to watch the robot catch Conner's fist and throw him down over his shoulder. The half-Kryptonian remained still for a moment before standing up.
"Superboy, stop," Nightwing said, pushing away from Sphere. Wolf was deposited to the side as the New Genisphere rolled up to heal. He turned to the Master Chief. "Thank you for the assistance, but I have people to report to. Also, sorry about Superboy's actions. We just dealt with a traitor, one who had been a close friend." John turned to the ruins, walking up to the edge of the burning rocks.
"This is the work of the Reach. I recognize this from the attacks on the rebuilt New Mombasa."
"Never heard of the place," Nightwing said. "And what is 'the Reach'? We're trying to figure out who the Light's Partner is, not deal with some new…no, it can't be."
"Then I figured it out for you." Master Chief turned to face Nightwing. "The Reach is a race of cybernetic insectoid aliens that tried to conquer my Earth through the use of super soldier like creatures we call 'Beetles'. I destroyed the Blue and Green Beetles, but Black escaped with the armada here."
"Blue Beetle? He's our friend!" Superboy yelled. He took a couple steps towards John, but Mal held a hand out.
"How sure are you?"
"Do you want to see the video of my fight against them? It's not my best combat, even against an unknown enemy."
"No, but you're coming with us to the Hall of Justice in DC. We'll need to brief you on what's going on here and you'll need to tell us everything you know about the Reach."
The Master Chief looked back at the destroyed mountain. "I'll do it. My, ally, the Didact, is visiting the massive asteroid-building orbiting the planet." He wasn't sure who said it, but he did hear "watchtower".
John was going over the data from a flash drive Nightwing had given him after the briefings. The League already knew about him and had decided he'd remain a secret. The Chief was suspicious of the data his helmet was processing, but tried to hold it back. They didn't need to know that the Didact could find every Reach ship on world.
Maybe he should do just that. A computer announcing the arrival of a 'Kid Flash' disrupted him. A young man walked through a doorway, angry looking.
"This has gone to far, Dick." He then glanced at the Chief. "Who is this?"
"The Master Chief," Nightwing, or Dick as Kid Flash called him, said. "He knows who the Light's Partner is. Fought against them. He'll be valuable."
"Oh, so he knows the aliens that Kaldur has been working to discover, especially with Artemis at his side! I just got done contacting her through one of the secret channels connected to Black Manta's ship." He noticed Nightwing's panic. "We've hidden it as talks with a previous mentor. Rather easy, actually."
"That's not what you're angry about. It's not about Artemis. Not right now."
"It's that you let him capture Impulse, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle! What were you thinking?"
"We'll rescue them when we rescue Lagoon Boy," Nightwing said.
"And after that? What becomes of Artemis? This is what I was worried about before we sent her in. And what about Kal?" Kid Flash took a couple steps towards Dick. "He found out his father was Black Manta and lost the girl he loved in a matter of months. That does things to a guy. Not all of us can be Bats like you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nightwing asked.
"It means when we go down into the Atlantic, I'm going to have a talk with this 'Kaldur'," the Master Chief said, approaching them. "I'll determine whose side he's on."
"Fine," Kid Flash said. He walked away and left through the zeta tube.
The Didact watched the Reclaimer fall through orbit, a burning blaze racing for the ground zero of a Reach attack. The humans were preparing their craft to depart for the large satellite in orbit. The Forerunner was having his ship try and hack into their transportation system.
"I have the codes, Didact," an ancilla said. "It appears they have a shield around the planet that prevents jumps from outside; that's why I wasn't able to gain access until we moved in to drop off the Package."
"Transport us. Crimson and myself. Their pilot can remain; we'll go hunting soon enough." The ancilla's holographic form bowed and disappeared. There was a quick glow of gold energy and then an announcement.
"Recognized Didact A-00. Recognized Crimson 1 A-10. Recognized Crimson 2 A-11. Recognized Crimson 3 A-12. Recognized Crimson 4 A-13. Authorization Librarian 00." The five appeared in a large chamber within the structure. A woman in fishnets, an upper body suit, and a top hat stared at them.
"How did you…" she began. The Didact's helmet opened up and she stiffened. He held back a sneer.
"I am Forerunner. Your simple technology is easy enough to hack into, especially when it is of design similar to my own."
"So, Forerunner," she began, still on edge, "what are you doing here in the Watchtower? And who are they?" She looked at the soldiers.
"An ally of mine asked me to investigate this instillation; he sent them with me as a precaution. So this Watchtower, what does it do?"
"Don't answer that, Zatanna," another woman said. She had darker skin that blended with her clothes. "He could be with the Light. You remember New Year's Eve five years ago." They both frowned, remembering having to save the League from the Light.
"If you can tell me whose part of this 'Light', I can find their partner…who I believe is the same race I've declared war against. As impressive as the scanners on my ship are, the Reach are smart enough to avoid me."
"Ship?" the girl in fishnets asked. "What are you talking about?" The Didact laughed, raising his hands above his head. He knew that there was an ebb and flow outside the window as his ship appeared. The SPARTANs huddled up, discussing something. Parts of the side drifted over to the Watchtower, latching onto a window. Sentinels pulled apart the outer casing so the window could be removed. There was no change in air pressure from the passage.
"As much as I'd like to interrogate you right now," a commanding voice said from the left, "I'm on my way to the Hall of Justice to plan out a rescue op. He told me they met a man in armor that fell from the sky." A silver man with a red star on his chest stood before the Didact. "Name's Captain Atom. I was wondering if I could borrow your soldiers. I'm sure Zatanna and Rocket here can find someone for you to talk to. Maybe Flash, or Aquaman. Too bad Batman isn't here."
The 'Captain Atom' waved the soldiers to follow him and they disappeared into a zeta tube.
Damn humans.
A/N: eh on the end, but I wanted to get to the next chapter before Mongul. Upcoming is 'Before the Dawn', our favorite episode featuring a Beetle on Beetle fight (which is going to change) and M'gann mind raping Kaldur into a veggie.