20
Grodd caught Luthor out in the corridor leading to the main conference chamber within the Hall of Doom, "Lex, Brainiac informs me you're headed off to brief more new recruits to the Legion."
"And Brainiac would be correct," Luthor confirmed it.
"Why wasn't I ever alerted to this latest effort?" Grodd was growing suspicious.
"You've been taking your duties of coordinating with the expanded Crime Syndicate since they've discovered this First Lantern character is headed towards us," Luthor breezed the question aside.
"His name is Volthoom," Grodd supplied the unasked for information. He was more concerned with discovering whether or not Luthor suspected him of the very treachery he was planning.
"I know there have been quite a few new faces around. And I know you terribly despise the nature of the Kings of Catastrophe project," Luthor admitted, "I'll warn everyone to stay out of your way."
"Just give me a roster so I can research these people," Grodd requested.
"I thought you might," Luthor said smugly as he handed over a tablet computer.
Grodd looked over the names and scowled, "Roxy Rocket is a menace not only to herself but to those around her."
"Roxy has agreed to limit her sexual gratification stunts to solo projects. She intends to see if cooperating in larger, profit producing projects will give her the same orgasmic experiences," Luthor explained.
"How did you track down the Council of Spiders?" Grodd had to ask.
"Talia al Ghul gave me their location in exchange for a promise to deliver her sister's head to her," Luthor answered.
"And Talia wouldn't personally confront Nyssa Raatko because Nyssa would put Talia in a body bag in return," Grodd surmised, "And Nyssa controls the only working Lazarus Pits."
"I believe that was the unspoken agreement," Luthor chuckled.
Grodd delayed his meeting with the Crime Syndicate in order to research Luthor's latest roster. Inside the library, Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind were researching potential methods for killing the Marvels and Shazam and taking over the Rock of Eternity once and for all. Grodd left them to their folly.
Grodd decided to begin with the loathsome Kings of Catastrophe just to see if any of them had any redeemable value. Cluemaster was the designated leader so he began there. Arthur Brown had been a successful game show host who had designed the very show he hosted as well as a half dozen others spread across network lines. But when reality programming was surging, Cluemaster's shows all failed in quick succession. Morgan Edge, the owner and CEO of Galaxy Broadcasting Systems blacklisted Arthur Brown as an embezzler. Despite an utter lack of evidence, Arthur Brown was forever labeled a crook that'd been caught.
Seeing as how something in Gotham City's water bred costumed villains, Arthur Brown became Cluemaster. Modestly successful heists were his forte. And his trademark was leaving behind clues that fingered who had committed the crimes. Batman never bothered with him and the GCPD under Commissioner Maggie Sawyer, and then Barbara Gordon, caught up with him. A police report filed by Lt. Harvey Bullock labeled Cluemaster as a second-rate Riddler.
But Cluemaster had attracted the attention of one teenage vigilante in Gotham. The so-called Spoiler specialized in thwarting Cluemaster. No one knew exactly why Spoiler had a death wish for Cluemaster's criminal career. Some said she was even his daughter. Others said she'd briefly been a part of Batman, Inc. before its demise with the Wayne-Powers merger. And now she'd shown up in Monaco to harass Cluemaster alongside known and suspected members of the Justice League of America.
It seemed Spoiler bore more watching than Cluemaster.
Tiger Shark had begun as a smuggler who created a distribution network throughout Gotham utilizing the sewer tunnels as a highway system. Tiger Shark did it all, guns, alcohol, cigarettes, human trafficking, narcotics and any illicit product you wanted brought in while avoiding customs. But the GCPD got wise and set up checkpoints within the sewer system.
In deep to Roman Falcone and Black Mask, Tiger Shark fled Gotham for greener shores. And while he tried to make arrangements to settle his debts to Falcone and Black Mask, Luthor had found him.
Kite Man was a hang gliding enthusiast so his shtick was an obvious choice. He was also a thrill seeker in the vein of Roxy Rocket. But Kite Man desperately needed the cash generated by his crimes. He was deep into gambling debts to Black Mask. So the promise of a payout to Black Mask had been Kite Man's price for recruitment.
Mr. Polka Dot hadn't been as ludicrous as his name suggested when he first appeared. He'd stolen technology and incorporated it onto the pastel polka dots littering his white body suit. Each polka dot would transform into a formidable weapon when detached from the body suit. He'd given the GCPD a three week chase. He'd lasted five minutes against Batman.
Mr. Polka Dot managed to escape Arkham Asylum but his suit's polka dots had been returned to the technologies original manufacturers. So now he had a polka dot studded suit that just made people laugh at him. And he carried an aluminum baseball bat for when they did.
Now a three time loser, Mr. Polka Dot merely wished to avoid a twenty-five year stretch at Blackgate.
Multi Man was afflicted with multiple personalities and frequent, and unpredictable, mood swings. So, no one could ever quite know how he'd respond to any given situation. Or if he'd consistently respond that way through it.
Because of his mental illness, he was frequently self destructive and this led to his arrests. Luthor's bait had been a promise to stabilize the neurochemical imbalance in Multi Man's brain that led to his condition.
The Mighty Bruce was even more laughable than his moniker suggested. While the Mighty Bruce was a hacker par excellence, he was also a neurotic social misfit with delusions of grandeur. Mighty Bruce's self proclaimed goal was to liberate all information for all the people to access all the time. His goal in practice was to liberate all the people from all their funds all the time.
His latest scheme had been to infiltrate the Brother Sun cult. Brother Sun had a money making engine in his Sunday morning broadcasts where he pandered self help and goodwill messages to the audience and asked them not to donate money but rather to purchase the cookies the cult sold at every grocery and convenience store.
Mighty Bruce had heard a rumor matriculated from a former cult member that Brother Sun kept the proceeds from the cookie sales that weren't dedicated to expenses converted to gold bars he kept hidden on the cult's estate. Mighty Bruce saw it as a personal challenge.
So he joined the cult and eventually overrode the sophisticated security system. Having convinced more gullible members of the cult that Brother Sun wanted the gold loaded into a cookie delivery truck, Might Bruce drove off the estate with a truckload full of a half a billion dollars worth of gold bullion. And he drove straight into a roadblock set up by the FBI and County Sheriffs. It seemed the coincidental timing had Mighty Bruce departing just as the FBI was undertaking a raid of Brother Sun's operations on suspicion of domestic terrorism.
Luthor's legal team got Mighty Bruce off and now the hacker was merely interested in a big score that would set his financial well being up for life.
Dr. Doom had the misfortune of sharing the name with a comic book character. But Dr. Doom had once been the most successful smuggler on the East Coast. His operation brought contraband in from Florida to Maine. But the Five Gotham Families had wanted military grade hardware in order to combat the emergent Batman and Robin. So Dr. Doom had personally overseen the delivery. And Batman had intervened.
Dr. Doom slipped away and applied a homing device to the early model Batmobile. He then tracked the signal to the Bat Cave where he managed to not only infiltrate the cave but snuck up on Batman, who thought he was Robin, and knocked Batman out. A thirteen year old Robin then beat the crap out of him. Something his fellow inmates never let him forget.
Dr. Doom merely wanted to avenge himself on Batman and Nightwing in order to partner up with Tiger Shark and reestablish their lost empires.
Bird was simply named after his singular talent. He trained falcons to do his bidding no matter what the command was. His current "accomplice" was a falcon named Talon. Bane had actually hired him as an apprentice during one of Bane's jobs in Gotham. Bird had miscued Talon during the fight with Batman and Talon pulled Bane's Venom delivery line out of the base of his skull rather than attack Batman.
Luthor had mollified Bane with predictions of Bird's abject humiliations after he joined the Kings of Catastrophe. Grodd could only hope Luthor was right. Bird thought he was getting a chance at redemption and Bane wouldn't spoil the surprise in store for him. Bird's inflated sense of self worth would only make his fall more glorious to Bane.
The Former Black Seven members were a study in multicultural diversity. Dragonfly was their unofficial leader and she was Asian. Cool and methodical, Dragonfly was also a technical genius who could construct weapons, explosives, and communications devices out of household spare parts and chemicals.
Silken Spider was African-American and she was the member that saw things got done. She was a relentless taskmaster that ensured the plan was followed as devised by Dragonfly.
Tiger Moth was the bleached blonde Caucasian homicidal enforcer of the group. From single slayings to spree killings to small scale genocides, Tiger Moth was happiest when people died.
Black Beetle was not only Latino; he was the only male among the surviving group. He claimed to be from the future and some of the technological attributes of his armor attested to the real possibility of that being the actual truth.
The Council of Spiders was as elusive as the League of Assassins and nearly as reliable. They were ghosts in the law enforcement world. Mere rumor and innuendo.
Sac was able to control actual spiders, singly or by the thousands. And with his ability he could cause spiders to breed, gestate, and grow to maturity in an hour, bolstering their numbers. He could command them to attack as he caused their venom to increase in potency.
Widower used a twin set of swords. As a master assassin he was known only by his work and not by sight. And his swordsmanship was rumored to be on par with Katana's.
Goliath was a meta-human with spider-like attributes and features. The giant had been born with six arms and two legs. He could scale any wall or ceiling his fingers and toes could touch. He had fangs and his venom was unimaginably deadly. His thick hair almost seemed furry. It was suggested that Goliath also had web spinning capabilities but no living witness had ever emerged to corroborate that theory.
Wolf had so envied Goliath he'd had four cybernetic arms grafted to his torso. He was an expert marksman with every arm.
Funnel was an expert with poisons and the group's lone female. She also utilized a funnel web spinner to trap her victims.
Tangle used laser projectors to create webs. He controlled the hovering projectors with a unit wrapped around his left gauntlet.
Recluse had blades surgically attached where his fingers had been amputated.
The remaining recruits had all been solo operatives before this. Hummingbird was really Marci Hester Morgan. She inexplicably had wings and could fly. And she possessed a passion for killing both Shayera Hol and Carter Hall that rivaled Sparrow Hawk's.
Hummingbird had established a localized criminal empire within St. Roche, a district within Quebec City. Her lock on local power was so absolute the government had effectively ceded all control to her, including public services such as Fire and Police.
Gudra the Valkyrie was a literal demigoddess Chooser of the Slain. Felix Faust had recommended her membership and reported on how she'd helped take Shazam hostage and inadvertently set the wheels in motion for the creation of what became the Justice League Dark. Now Gudra wanted revenge and an opportunity to slay enough worthy warriors to prove to Odin she needed to have her place in Valhalla restored.
Armadillo was an early experiment of Santana's. He was a Shaggy Man sized armadillo with a human brain. His musculature and armored carapace were increased in strength to a Commander Steel-grade level. His weakness was a poor intellect. Grodd sensed a perfect recruit being added here. But Armadillo had an annoying habit of smoking cigarillos at all times. Even in his sleep.
Ocean Master drew a blank even when Grodd requested Brainiac's assistance. But Luthor's personal notes indicated he was an Atlantean with a personal vendetta against the Justice League, particularly the Justice League Unlimited.
Electrocutioner wore a nuclear battery on his back to power electrical discharge gauntlets that gave him similar abilities to Livewire. Only he didn't have to constantly recharge his energy or draw it from other sources. But the nuclear battery was an experimental model and the safety coefficient of its shielding was unknown.
Electrocutioner had been a mid-level assassin and bounty hunter before Luthor found him. His ole motive was to enhance his professional reputation in order to earn bigger payouts later on.
Dr. Phosphorous was a one note Batman foe. Having been charged with nuclear energy and given the ability to spew radioactive fire, Dr. Phosphorous had thought to profit by holding Gotham City hostage. But Batman had overpowered him in mere minutes and Dr. Phosphorous was subsequently confined to a special wing in Blackgate. Which he'd escaped from during the Injustice Titans and League's rampages through there.
Luthor's incentive was a cure to Dr. Phosphorous' condition.
Grodd still objected to Roxy Rocket. Her only desire was to engage in greater and riskier stunts in order to achieve greater and more pleasing sexual climaxes. She would put her entire team in jeopardy in order to achieve a potentially mind blowing orgasm.
She belonged in the Kings of Catastrophe not the Legion proper.
Fright would create a stir with Scarecrow. She'd reinvented his fear toxin, tripling its strength and potency and then dosed him with it before running off to work with the United States military. Then she had just as abruptly left the Army's service to join the Legion of Doom.
Grodd mistrusted Fright's motives. Her ultimate ambition was unclear and it could disrupt Scarecrow's ongoing development of a Venom based fear toxin.
But Luthor had notes concerning a subharmonic weapon capable of creating mass hysteria Fright was looking into.
Duchess was the last candidate. And she was another complete unknown. Talia had introduced her to Luthor and given Duchess a chance to prove herself to him. Talia sacrificed thirty Ubu clones in order to allow Duchess to demonstrate just how deadly she truly was. Luthor's note indicated that the formidable Ubus had lasted fifteen seconds against Duchess' assault.
Grodd was pleased that Luthor believed the lie he and Lashina had put together with Talia's cooperation.
Finally Grodd reviewed his own notes on the newly rejoined members of the Crime Syndicate who crossed over the dimensional barrier between Earth Prime and Earth-3. Owlman was obviously the true leader of the Crime Syndicate. Even Superwoman bowed before him. And he seemed to be a parallel between Batman and Earth-3's villainy the way Ultraman was their Superman and Superwoman was their Princess Diana. But since he was just as cunning as Batman it meant he was just as duplicitous. So he bore careful watching.
Johnny Quick had all the Flash's speed with a homicidal attitude to accompany it. But Reverse Flash, Rival, and Inertia could all boast that. Just as the original Flash, Jesse Quick, and now Trajectory could rival Wally West for speed.
Where Johnny's weakness lay was with Atomica. The homicidal lovers actually cared about one another. This meant they both had exploitable feelings and triggers.
Sea King was a counterpart for Aquaman. Only Sea King had stood loyally by the Crime Syndicate even while they lost a world.
Deathstorm was a true mystery though. Was he a fusion of people like the Earth Prime Firestorms or was he a single entity and that explained his burnt skeletal appearance? But his powers seemed highly similar regardless of appearance.
Brainiac activated a gentle chime and signaled Grodd it was time for him to meet with the Crime Syndicate in person.
Before deploying the newly established Secret Society of Super Villains, Saturn Queen cross checked the targets with the Other. Being the Alfred Pennyworth who served Thomas Wayne of Earth-3, the Other monitored and directed Brother Eye's activities. It was Brother Eye who had alerted Eve Aries that the United Nations was launching a probe into the International Security Agency's assisting a rogue Spyral agent in helping the Legion of Doom.
But the US Dept. of Defense had acted quickly in evacuating and shutting Fort Siegel down. So the Secret Society just shut up shop at the fort with the US Army being none the wiser. The official DOD policy was to deny the existence of General Sam Lane and his Meta-Human Response Division. The Sandmen Corps and Psycho Troopers were being reassigned to ARGUS in its paramilitary law enforcement role.
Brother Eye took the DOD's efforts one step further and erased all records of Fort Siegel ever existing. Then the Secret Society's teleport logs were scrubbed and a backdoor into the teleport network established so that the ISA would transfer Secret Society operatives around the globe and never even realize they were doing so.
But the Other agreed with Saturn Queen it was far better to field their pawns immediately in order to ascertain what their weaknesses individually and as a team were. So, they devised two tests in order to fully comprehend the skill sets of differing teams. One team had a mission at Grand Central Station while the other would strike offshore outside Florida's international boundary.
Captain Stingaree commanded the SS Cutlass. A twin masted schooner, the sailing vessel approached the casino cruise ship RMS Good Fortune. He fired two shots over the larger ship's bow as he came alongside. Then he fired grapples to keep his vessel tied to the casino ship.
Captain Stingaree signaled Sea Wolf and the man transformed into an amphibious werewolf. Sea Wolf climbed up a grapple line and then went amuck on the upper deck of the cruise ship. As screams filled the afternoon air, the Superior Five floated in on the cruise ship from its other side.
Drifting with the prevailing wind, the inflated meta-human known as Hindenburg carried his four teammates along with him. As Hindenburg passed over the ship, the other four threw ropes down and descended to the upper deck that Sea Wolf was terrorizing. They quickly descended into the bowels of the ship while Hindenburg deflated and came to rest in the water beside the Cutlass, where Captain Stingaree's men retrieved him.
Jongleur led the team to the ship's vault. He stood by as the others dealt with the massive safe. Jongleur himself was an expert martial artist but he weighed a slight ninety-eight pounds. He'd only ever been able to beat children in fair fights. But he was something of a tactical genius in using his teammates' neuroses to their advantage.
Splitshot looked deadly with her arrow nocked to her bowstring and ready to draw it back. Unfortunately, Splitshot was unerring in private. But an audience made her nervous and that anxiety meant her shot would invariably go wild. And occasionally even strike her target.
Lagomorph literally attacked the door. She'd been born with an Amazon's strength but the IQ of a tree. Tremor moved her aside. He had the strength of a Superman or a Majestic but a nearly crippling lack of confidence. He was also an amphibian who needed to at least douse himself with a glass of water every thirteen hours.
Tremor easily ripped the vault door off and cast it aside. Using the tote bags they'd lugged with them, the four loaded the bags up with cash. Tremor and Lagomorph carried it all. Jongleur wasn't psychically capable of lugging the bags of currency around and Splitshot needed to be free to inflict whatever damage she could at whatever she managed to hit.
As the Coast Guard approached, and explosion ripped out of the cutter's hull and it began to sink. A white swirl of turbulence raced through the water and Torpedoman erupted out of the ocean surface to land on the Cutlass. Sea Wolf took that as the signal to withdraw and dove off the Good Fortune's upper deck and doggy paddled to the Cutlass.
Jongleur and Splitshot hit the water and pirate crewmen expertly tossed floatation devices with lines attached to them. Tremor splashed down and expertly floated while awaiting Lagomorphs' arrival. She hit and sank like a stone so he buoyed her up.
Before departing, Captain Stingaree cut all lines and then cast off. Once separated from the casino ship, he detached the twin masts into the water. They began moving on their own as propellers drove them. When the masts struck the casino ship's hull, they detonated like the disguised torpedoes that they were.
Using the engines, Captain Stingaree sailed away from the stricken vessels and headed toward Florida. The US Navy had begun to respond to the distress calls and sent vessels after the Cutlass. In response, Captain Stingaree deployed the hydrofoils and then activated the jet turbine and they cruised away towards shore at over one hundred knots. Funky Flashman received word of the successful outing and claimed credit for it in the name of the Legion of Doom.
Captain Stingaree, having made an obvious turn towards Florida, reset his course for Vermont and the river passage to Fort Siegel. There he would reunite with his boyfriend, the Cavalier.
Libra led the Grand Central Station team. First he sent Captain Comet and Dr. Psycho out to clear the station with their telepathic powers. Dr. Psycho was just demented midget with mental powers. But Captain Comet had been selected by an alien race to participate in an augmentation program on order to defeat their enemies. Now he'd been released from service and discovered the hard way how much the world had changed from the Fifties to the present day.
Captain Comet had counted the Justice Society of America as heroes when he departed. Seeing their failure to contain the evils of the world, he'd decided to take a radical course. He would assist those same forces to force the heroes into making a choice on whether or not to truly impose law and order.
While Captain Comet and Dr. Psycho divided up the station in order to repel police and other intruders. Half the Secret Society was tasked with looting ticket offices and baggage cars. While Captain Comet had repelled the outer ring of passengers. Dr. Psycho had emptied the rail cars and the actual loading platforms. "Mysteriously" every person had dropped their cash and valuables were they'd stood before evacuating.
The thieving was slow work but Libra had assigned Hi-Jack, Angle Man, Silver Ghost, Fadeaway Man, the Cavalier, Double Down, Tweedles Dee and Dum, Skorpio, Sting, and Zebra-Man to that task. Angle Man's portal opening Angler would provide their escape to Fort Siegel. Libra then had a list of personnel guarding the station from the likes of a Justice League or other super team. Those included Matter Master, Killer Moth, Cicada, the Hyena, Jinx, New Wave, Sabbac, Typhoon, Vault, and Ubermensch. And he had special tasks for Quakemaster, Humpty Dumpty, and Virtuoso. Humpty Dumpty's being the objective all others revolved around.
The remaining JLU were the first to respond. John Stewart, acting as the sole Green Lantern on Earth, was designated the temporary team leader. Shayera Hol followed his lead as he split the team up. Wally West was the Flash that belonged to the JLU and he happily leapt into action. Barda and Captain Atom calmly, if grimly, faced down their foes.
Matter Master used his Mentachem Wand to convert railroad ties into a golden luster and hurl them at John. After nearly being decapitated several times John backed away to give Matter Master some room while the Green Lantern considered how to defeat a foe that could control the nature of material objects.
Typhoon called in torrential rains and forced Shayera to land. At which point, New Wave began to control the water in order to try and drown the Thanagarian.
Flash had fought Cicada before so he knew not to let the elderly man touch him. Cicada's grip transferred other people's life force to him, extending his own life unnaturally. But the Speed Force provided all the energy Cicada needed to rejuvenate himself and supercharge his restored youthful body. Flash's only consolation was that the Speed Force kept him from dying or aging in the process. But Flash had never dealt with Jinx before and was unaware she was a sorceress capable of erecting mystical barriers around. But he soon found out.
Captain Atom confronted Sabbac and Vault. Sabbac used his name to summon the dark powers of the demon lords whose names formed the acronym of SABBAC. The idea had been entirely Blaze and Satanus' but the six lords thoroughly enjoyed participating in the effort to bring down Shazam and his champions. And seemed blithely unaware of the fact they weakened themselves by doing so therefore making them more vulnerable to the twins' ambitions.
While Captain Atom struggled with Sabbac, Vault used his armor, designed to harness his own meta-human abilities, to create an impenetrable force field around the combatants. Even if Captain Atom managed to overcome the occultic warrior, he'd never escape Vault's trap.
Barda fought the Hyena, Killer Moth, and Ubermensch simultaneously. She had no idea the Hyena was an infected Summer Day who was now a werehyena. Killer Moth struck her as a Batman-styled moth fetishist. Ubermensch was the one foe that was a true challenge.
Per Degaton had learned of the Multiverse through the Justice League's intervention on Earth-9. So he'd managed to construct a viewer that could show him the wonders of parallel Earths. Finding Earth Prime to be the source of the Justice League, Degaton had sent Jenni Quick, his own foster daughter and lover, to Earth Prime to create a fifth column to prepare for Degaton's invasion force.
She quickly found children and grandchildren of the scientist that had created Captain Nazi as well as Captain Nazi himself. Learning of a nearly worldwide Reich inspired the scientists to resume work on Hitler's master plan to create an Axis Amerika to conquer the "Home of the Brave" with. Using Captain Nazi as a template, the converted a Neo-Nazi into Ubermensch.
He had Captain Nazi's strength, durability from harm, and speed, but he could leap great distances rather than actually fly. Ubermensch, who would have served Hitler as a brownshirt in the glory days, grew impatient with Axis Amerika's slow rate of coming together after Jenni Quick went back to Earth-9 to receive further orders, left the fifth columnists behind and returned to his Aryan Nations Brotherhood band where he was recruited by the Other after several successful Army and Marine depot raids.
Barda quickly subdued Hyena, who transformed back into a very naked Summer Day. Killer Moth watched over without actually watching her. Ubermensch fought Barda to a standstill in the meantime.
Humpty Dumpty was mentally disabled but he had an uncanny knack. He could disassemble any device or vehicle and reassemble it so that it past inspection. Yet unerringly, Humpty Dumpty's repairs would result in catastrophic failure. Brother Eye had identified the key components of train that kept it going. Libra had described these sections to Humpty Dumpty and explained how they were all broken down on every train. So Humpty Dumpty was applying his special brand of repairs to them. When the trains failed and derailed, hundreds of passengers would be injured and with luck dozens would be killed.
And the Legion of Doom would receive the blame as Funky Flashman took credit for it in their name. Saturn Queen and the Other were setting up the Legion in order to build a confrontational attitude between the Legion and the Secret Society. Owlman would use this opportunity to set Grodd on the Legion's throne while he assumed leadership over the Secret Society. Today was just the opening salvo in a campaign that could stretch for months.
Virtuoso stood guard over Humpty Dumpty's endeavors and was the only one outside of the Secret Society's cabal of leaders that knew just how important the work was. And best of all, Virtuoso was totally indifferent to the fate of the passengers.
"Explain to me how you came by that instrument and what it does," Libra asked.
"Here's a history lesson for you. Back in the Forties, during the war and beyond, a man that would call himself the Fiddler created a violin that controlled people's minds through subharmonic suggestion. The Fiddler used this violin to commit robberies. And in time became an enemy of the JSA. But when the Justice Society vanished, Fiddler retired because crime had become boring," Virtuoso explained, "Eventually he passed this knowledge on. But his successor was more interested in the technical side of playing the violin than in committing crimes. He supported himself as a violin instructor at a music academy while he delved into making the instrument itself more effective and broadly ranged. I became his student and in an effort to impress me, he revealed his long held secret."
Libra was still interested, "I detect a 'but' coming."
She wore a shrewd smile, "But he taught me how to use this violin and repair it. When I no longer needed him, I played for him and put him in such a deep slumber, he died from it."
"Now I know why you're here," Libra admitted.
"Have you noticed Saturn Queen gathered fresh blood and barely known notables?" Virtuoso asked, "It's like they're grooming us for some more sinister purpose."
"Taking over the Legion isn't enough for you?" Libra chuckled.
"Is it for you?" she asked archly.
"Hold that thought," Libra left.
He checked on Quakemaster next, "Remember, you're our exit strategy."
"Not a difficulty," Quakemaster promised.
"Can your jackhammer fill all the requirements being asked of it," Libra wondered.
"I could create a much larger seismic event then what you're asking for. The directional focus is also easily done. I've field tested all of these results so I'm certain you'll get what you want," Quakemaster promised him.
"Then just standby until you get my signal," Libra instructed, "Captain Comet will extract you."
"Isn't he really playing for the other side?" Quakemaster asked.
"He thinks he is but by the time he flips sides, the Justice Leagues will crucify him," Libra enjoyed the thought.
Inside a briefing room within the Hall of Doom, Grodd signaled Brainiac, "I thought some discretion was advised so I've booked you all rooms in an exclusive chalet in the Swiss Alps. There you're ever desire will be sated while we discuss business."
The teleport flash was unseen by anyone. But the chalet employers stood at attention when the blue ISA flashes delivered Grodd and the Crime Syndicate. Owlman curtailed the more extreme requests from his fellow Syndicate members. But he booked a joint room with Superwoman and Atomica and Johnny Quick did the same. Sea King, Deathstorm, and Ultraman booked the services of sex trade professionals. Power Ring looked nauseated by the whole idea.
"Once you've killed Luthor and I take his place, I'll order the Legion to assist you and your version of the Secret Society in taking control of Earth-3. But when that has been accomplished, I want you to cede control of the Secret Society to me," Grodd demanded.
"In order to do so, we'll abrogate our offer to further assist you in taking control of Earths-2 and -9," Owlman counter offered.
"I'd expect nothing less," Grodd allowed.
"And we may have further assistance coming from yet another Interdimensional being," Owlman revealed, "Johnny?"
"There was a speedster from an unknown Earth. He lost his connection to the Speed Force and cannot reestablish it. For now, he relies upon Velocity 9 to regain his powers," Johnny Quick shared, "But this man, called Zoom, is travelling across the multiverse stealing Speed Force power from unsuspecting speedsters. Since Earth Prime hosts so many, it's only a matter of time before Zoom travels here. And when he does, we can feed him everyone you want powerless."
"Why is he travelling across worlds?" Grodd wondered.
"He's seeking a man named Max Mercury," Owlman answered, "And Max only exists on this world."
Max Mercury had appeared in the Forties some years after Jay Garrick became the Flash. But Max had been the first Earth Prime speedsters to directly touch the Speed Force. And in doing so he translated himself across the years to 2012. Now he served as an unofficial guardian to Bart Allen, the Kid Flash.
"I'll give you Max Mercury's location if you can kill him," Grodd suggested, "Then Zoom will be beholden to us to restore his powers on a permanent basis."
"Sure we can. It isn't every day you kill an Interdimensional legend," Johnny Quick replied without thought. He quickly glanced towards Owlman.
"For once, Johnny's impetuous nature is right on target. You provide the precise location and we'll kill Max Mercury and return here for dinner and recreation," Owlman agreed.
John created a plow blade construct and carved up the concrete beneath Matter Master. That dislodged the Mentachem Wand from his hand. John's ring plucked up, and destroyed, the wand. Matter Master fled before him vowing to simply build another wand to replace the destroyed one. Then John spotted Shayera's difficulties and abandoned pursing Matter Master.
New Wave had Shayera floating in a bowl of water. John hit her with a freight train engine construct. The water collapsed all around Shayera. While she coughed it out of her lungs. John dropped another engine on Typhoon and the rains abated.
"You okay?" John asked his half drowned wife.
"Never better," she lied, "Dry me off so I can operate under my own power."
"You'd better check on the kid," John suggested as his ring wicked Shayera dry.
Shayera flew at Jinx. Jinx threw mystical bolt after bolt at Shayera. But her Nth metal mace was designed to destroy magical energy. So Jinx was ill prepared to defend herself when Shayera smashed her upside the head.
"Look out!" Flash yelled as the barrier walls fell around him. Shayera happily bashed Cicada's head as well. The old man toppled.
"Look out again! Midget alert!" Flash pointed at Dr. Psycho as he approached.
Dr. Psycho was startled when Shayera didn't succumb to his telepathic barrage. And Flash knocked him around so fast he couldn't switch targets. Shayera wasn't out but now she had a splitting headache and had someone to take it out on.
"Ooo! That's not right!" Flash exclaimed as Shayera walloped Dr. Psycho.
Vault's efforts were caught up in Captain Atom and Sabbac so he never noticed Green Lantern come up behind him and then take his armor apart with the merest twitch of willpower. Vault was an easy target afterwards. John joined Captain Atom's battle against Sabbac. The demon champion escaped back into Hell. Then the JLU united to assist Barda.
Captain Atom stunned Summer Day as she started to recover from Barda's mega wand. Flash was drooling, "Hot naked chick! Free boob galore!"
"You're my next target if you don't stop raping that girl with your eyes," Shayera warned him
"Yes, mom," Flash sullenly replied.
Killer Moth was holding John off and then stymied Shayera's efforts as well. But Flash tied him up with his own snares.
Barda fought Ubermensch to as standstill before the Nazi bounded away. "I'm going after him," Barda declared as she slipped on her hover discs and plucked her mega wand off of her belt.
"I'll go with her," Captain Atom promised.
Libra checked on Humpty Dumpty's progress. Seeing he was done, he signaled Quakemaster and Captain Comet. Angle Man received the signal as well and transported all of the Secret Society thieves with his Angler. He then vacated the train depot and met up with Libra, Virtuoso, and Humpty Dumpty and moved everyone to Fort Siegel. Captain Comet teleported every unconscious or fleeing member of the Secret Society.
Quakemaster generated a directional 6.0 quake and then ceased as the JLU scrambled to respond. Captain Comet teleported both of them to the fort.
Saturn Queen was pleased to report the Secret Society's ongoing success to the Other. Brother Eye had kept watch over the Society's actions but Saturn Queen could relive it through the participant's memories. So while the team members celebrated, she and the Other dissected areas to improve in.
Funky Flashman already had the press release claiming responsibility in the Legion's name prepared to go. Brainiac reported to Brother Eye Luthor was already frothing at the mouth to learn who was acting in the Legion's name without his authorization. Brainiac claimed ignorance and touted "technical difficulties" in tracking the Secret Society or Brother Eye down.
Eve Aries was still pleased by the dual successes accomplished by the Secret Society. And she noticed a now clothed Summer Day hanging back in a corner. Given that stress could trigger her transformation, it was probably for the best.
"Go ahead Summer, they won't bite and I'll make certain you don't either," Saturn Queen promised her.
"Did we really hurt the Legion of Doom today?" Summer clung to that hope. Her desire, like Captain Comet's, stemmed from a sense of justice and an inability to achieve it on their own.
"Let me show you the footage," Saturn Queen summoned Captain Comet, "I'll show you precisely what we achieved today.
Brother Eye, under the Other's direction, had edited the footage they were about to view.
Events were unfolding throughout the Multiverse. But particularly in the Prime Universe so Kismet decided to intervene in a modest way. Using her nearly unlimited power, she transformed Sharon Vance into a being of pure electromagnetic energy. Sharon was a former resident of Smallville and school chum of both Lana Lang and Clark Kent.
Finding herself altered, Sharon set course for Metropolis to see Lana. Between her friend and Superman, Sharon hoped to make sense of her newly turned blue skin and the energy that seemed to spark off of her. And why she could fly at nearly the speed of light.
Kid Eternity stood before Shazam at the Rock of Eternity. Neither of them was pleased.
"Isis is telling stories about you," Kid Eternity warned him.
"Such as I intend to murder her child?" Shazam scornfully mocked Kid Eternity.
"Among others," he admitted.
"I intend to erase a mistake I allowed to happen. Call it murder if you will. I call it a correction," Shazam freely admitted.
"And you left your kids in Hell," Kid Eternity realized it had to be true.
"They were monsters. But even they weren't on the scale Osiris will become," Shazam warned him.
"I see I've been on the wrong side of this," Kid Eternity decided, "Send your worst. We'll be ready for them."
He vanished and returned to Kahndaq. Shazam regretted what he had to do next. He would not only send the Marvel Family to champion his cause but he would also seek a favor from the new Dr. Fate. Nabu would convince Khalid Ben-Hassin of the worthiness of his cause.
Grodd signaled Owlman, "I found Max Mercury."
"Then we'll just kill him," Owlman promised.
Beast Boy tried knocking on Red Robin's door but all he heard in reply was music playing very loudly. So Gar Logan transformed into a door mouse and slipped underneath it. The bathroom door was open and he went in.
After all, they were both guys and everything was blurry behind the glass shower door. Then Beryl Hutchison threw the door open. And Beast Boy suddenly realized Red Robin wasn't even remotely a guy. And she had red hair not black.
"Holy Christ!" Beast Boy yelped. Then he got a randy look in his eye, "Lookin' good, Red Robin."
"The name's Beryl, Beryl Hutchison, and what the deuce are you doing in my bath?" she asked.
Beast Boy noted that she was also suddenly British, "Um…yeah. Someone is attacking Max Mercury and Bart. Some kinda Justice League wannabes."
"They're called the Crime Syndicate, Gar. Do you bloody mind?" she pointed at the towel rack.
"Um…sure," he quickly handed her a towel, "Does Ravager know you're…?"
"A woman?" Beryl asked, "Intimately."
"Right," all sorts of realizations were underway in Gar Logan's mind.
"So you two are…?" Beast Boy asked, "After all, this is San Francisco."
"We're exactly as God made us," Beryl wanted to strangle his immature hide, "And you'll be meeting Him if you don't walk away now."
The Teen Titans were more than aware of Gar's discovery when Red Robin joined them. Her shoulder length hair and its color startled them all. And her breasts, no longer hidden by a padded vest, were snugly fitted out by her tunic.
"To set your records straight, my actual name is Beryl Hutchison. I was the original Squire to the UK hero called the Knight. But he chucked me into the rubbish bin to make his son my replacement. Despite the fact the little sod had no training whatsoever," Red Robin explained, "I made my way here to America and met with Batman. He didn't want me as a Robin but he allowed me to sculpt the Red Robin identity. When NOWHERE scooped me up, Ravager helped me disguise my gender because the powers-that-were didn't want anyone knowing I had a few years of experience the other cadets lacked. Red Hood fell under the same category."
"When Jason led us out, I continued the charade because that's how you knew me," Red Robin shared, "And you accepted me on my own merits rather than those I accrued as the Squire."
"But you're still a…" Superboy began.
"Watch what you say next, Conner," Wonder Girl warned him.
"We all have secrets," Raven defended Red Robin and pointedly looked at Miss Martian, "Red Robin felt the need to hide who she really was. Haven't we all done the same at some point?"
Red Hood had his helmet off so Red Robin could see his supportive look. M'gann M'orzz also felt kinship with Red Robin's plight. Raven was the most vocal advocate.
Wonder Girl and Fairchild looked the most disapproving. Cassie because she felt betrayed and Caitlin because she'd had a crush on the man she thought Beryl was. That left Beast Boy, Superboy, and Solstice deciding her fate it seemed.
"I absolutely can't take sides in this," Beast Boy bowed out.
"I can't go along with this. Our paramount gift to one another is trust. If we can't trust you to even know you're a woman, how can we trust you with our lives?" Solstice tied up the opposition.
"Look, you and Ravager scheming up all of this is something off the books. It is what it is. But that was in NOWHERE. That was a while ago and you still lied to us all afterwards," Superboy complained, "Kiran is right. We all just began to really believe in you and now that's all gone. Maybe there was a real reason why the Knight ditched you."
"Very well," Red Robin tried not to look as crestfallen as she felt, "I'll just pack up my things and leave then."
"At least we now know why she never wore regular clothes in her down time," Beast Boy opined.
"So who leads us now?" Solstice asked.
"He won't," Wonder Girl pointed at Red Hood.
"I say you will," Fairchild nominated Wonder Girl.
"Hey! I'm for it," Superboy chimed in.
"I agree," Solstice happily voted.
"I go where the group goes," Raven was noncommittal.
"Why not?" Beast Boy shrugged.
"You already have a majority," Red Hood reminded her.
"M'gann?" Cassie asked.
"I prefer to keep my opinion to myself," M'gann deferred.
"All right, Superboy and Miss Martian, you fly ahead and assist Kid Flash and Max Mercury," Wonder Girl instructed, "The rest of us will pile into the SUV."
When they reached the garage, they discovered Red Robin's motorcycle was missing. Beast Boy looked wounded, "She never even said goodbye."
"We're better off," Fairchild dismissed the idea.
Red Hood started the engine and thought the Teen Titans were becoming a bunch of judgmental losers. So what did it matter if Red Robin were a man or woman? She'd proven herself in every way that counted. And for the second time, she'd been kicked to the curb for it.