The League: Come the Conqueror

The Flash II


Somewhere outside National City

"The humans are losing to apes?" Non folded his arms with a disappointed look on his face. "This proves even more why they need us." He shook his head a little and looked to his wife who was staring intensely at their monitors. "What is it?"

"These are no ordinary apes," Astra replied without looking away.

"Your niece or the martian haven't shown up yet." Non motioned to the screen, "Something is very wrong. We should have gone ahead with myriad-"

"This isn't about myriad!" Astra snapped, finally looking at her husband with intensity in her eyes. She moved around and pressing buttons to bring up visuals.

Non watched as he was shown footage of Supergirl and Martian Manhunter seemingly flying through the roof of Star Labs and then out again with two hostages. Non looked at Astra, "You have been watching your niece this entire time?"

"Irrelevant," Astra dismissed him, unwilling to reveal that the footage had been sent to her through anonymous sources. She suspected it had come from the individuals that had appeared in their headquarters some time ago but had no actual proof. "Something happened when the D.E.O was attacked and during that time she and the Martian have fallen under the control of whoever is leading this invasion."

"Meaning they are working for them now." Non began to understand and rubbed his chin. Taking over the humans with myriad would have been simple leaving them with Kara and the Martian to deal with. However, with the apes slaughtering and capturing humans in droves and controlling a Kryptonian and Martian, Astra and Non now would have to fight an army of apes, beings as strong as themselves and without the humans myriad would have provided them. "What do you propose?" he asked.

Astra was silent for a bit, contemplating their next move. "We can't risk both of us coming in contact with whatever is able to control Kara and the Martian so I'll go alone."

"To do what?" Non clearly disapproved of this plan but held his tongue on the subject.

"The humans they took from Star Labs," Astra tapped on a few controls bringing up pictures as well as scattered information about Cisco and Caitlin.. "Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. They're the brains behind the Flash in Central City." Once having settled on the path to take over this world, Astra and Non and begun to monitor every possible threat on the planet. "The apes' leader took them for a reason and they have been close to Kara since whatever happened to her. I'm going to free them and find out what they know."

"They will be heavily guarded," Non pointed out.

"Nothing I can't handle." Astra smirked. "I need you here in case anything happens. You'll be able to see and can come to me or continue on our work if the worst were to happen."

"Are you sure about this?"

Astra nodded her head, "Yes. It's what helps us get to our goal easier. We must act swiftly though, the apes have already begun laying siege to Central City."

Non kissed her forehead, "Then let us see this through."


Outskirts of Central City

The roads were empty and eerily silent. There were no cars driving in or out of the city nor were their pedestrians of any kind visible for miles. Instead there were military figures and vehicles as far as the eye could see. Camouflaged men and women of the National Guard were running around the area, some watching, some building and others monitoring screens inside of field headquarters covered by tents and tarps of various sizes. A barricade had been hastily thrown up with numerous heavily armed soldiers patrolling and watching for any sign of the enemy.

The apes.

Everyone in Central City had seen it from the homeless men who watched on televisions they could see through storefronts or homes they passed, to the elite of the socialites that sat fearfully in their towers and mansions. Every single one of them had seen the destruction and death being sown in National City by this strange army of mutated apes. The news had been nonstop since the moment the story had broken and the fear had been set deeply into the hearts and minds of everyone. At first it had seemed like a nightmare to most, something unreal and distant that could never actually cause them harm.

Then the warnings had started.

At first it was simply messages interrupting various television programs that told of possible danger and the need to remain safe and in doors. After a while the footage from people on the road began to flood online. The footage of apes in vehicles terrorizing and killing all along the highways and interstates just as they had done in National City. Terrorizing along the routes that led to Central City.

Panic had set in then.

It started off small at first with some people attempting to flee the city even before any evacuation warnings had been issued. Traffic had piled up to the point that nobody was moving. From there the looters and criminals had come out of the cracks and crevices, scum always ready to take advantage of chaos and misery. The Central City Police had then been tasked with damage control and maintaining balance and order amongst the populace while the National Guard had secretly been scrambled and sent to set a defensive perimeter around the city.

There was no indication about when the army or anyone else would arrive so the National Guard had been tasked with completing the defensive measures with as little fuss as possible. While the police struggled against raiding and pillaging and the National Guard prepared themselves for a fight unlike any other, the younger Flashes of Central City did what they could to quell the rampant crimes that had begun. Kid Flash and Jessie Quick had been seen all over the city stopping multiple crimes and attempting to restore some semblance of order to the chaotic situation. Many had posed the question where was the Flash but being saved was being saved and they were grateful for the help if the younger Flashes.

Outside the city a Sergeant sat under his hastily thrown together command tent several feet away from the main road. He was digging through papers and occasionally dealing with subordinates that came with the latest updates or requests. At the moment he was pouring over reports from the scouts he'd sent out which were mostly reports of animals and nothing.

"Sir!"A soldier came running in. "Sergeant Nance!"

He looked up from his papers, "Yes?"

"Sir, the enemy has been spotted! Coming right at us at full speed!"

Sergeant Nance tossed down his papers and jogged from the tent. "To your stations!" he cried out. "This is not a drill! Prepare for battle! Those apes will not get into our city!"

Any soldier that wasn't already on guard or patrolling began to run at full speed towards their assigned positions. Weaponry was grabbed and gear was tossed on as over the horizon a cloud of dust could be seen growing larger and larger. Fear set into the hearts of some as they thought back to the footage of the brutal attacks on National City. Bodies torn asunder by the apes' bare hands, impaled on massive spears and mutilated in numerous other ways. Many wondered if the army was taking so long to respond out of fear.

A soldier with a scope peered through and scanned the horizon catching a glimpse of the first signs of the enemy. His eyes widened and he dropped his rifle and left his post shouting, "Sergeant! Sergeant!" as he ran.

By the time he found Sergeant Nance he was completely out of breath, "What is it soldier?" Nance looked stern but his face held a faint hint of worry. "What's going on?"

"Th-the enemy..." he struggled to catch his breath. "The enemy! They have civilians strapped to the fronts of their vehicles!"

"What?!" Sergeant Nance looked at his men's front line with a slightly open mouth. "Fucking monsters..."

"What do we do, sir? If we attack we'll be killing innocents," a soldier nearby said.

Sergeant Nance was silent. If they attacked they'd be killing innocents but if they didn't the apes would likely slaughter them all and then kill untold numbers of civilians in Central City. Was the sacrifice of the few worth it to save the lives of the many? He took a moment to look at the soldiers around him, all awaiting orders and not a few with fear in their eyes. None of them wanted to attack civilians.

Nance swallowed his fear and steeled his resolve, the men needed to see him strong. "If those bastards get past us more civilians than any of us care to think about will die! We've all seen what they can do. We have to stop them here!" Nance saw looks of approval, disgust and worry all around. "To your stations, men. Fire when ready."


Star Labs

"I have a newfound respect for everything that Cisco and Caitlin do," Barry said, exasperated with his struggle to figure out what was going on through science. Even with the help of Wells and Iris they had found nothing useful yet.

Joe was out in the field with his fellow police officers, where Barry should be, but Joe was covering for him to allow for the Flash to do more important work. He'd been scouring the web for any sort of information that would help turn the tide on the battle the knew was heading directly for their city as well as trying to find his lost friends. So far nothing had come up.

"Barry..." Iris whispered and pointed to the muted television monitor. Wells reached and used the remote to turn the volume up so they could hear.

A news team was in a helicopter flying over what looked like the National Guard defensive line around Central City. "...we've received word that the apes had civilians tied to their vehicles. Possibly hostages but we aren't sure at the moment. Whether it was true or not right now all we can see is intense shooting from both sides. The National Guard managed to stop the apes' charge and it looks like they are holding their ground well for the time being but the question must be asked, if there were civilians, who gave the order to attack and was it the right thing to do? I- wait a minute..." the reporter touched her earpiece for a moment. "...alright, I'm being told we have to evacuate the airspace immediately as there is a threat of surface to air projectiles-"

the helicopter was suddenly struck by the very thing she had just been warned against and began to tumble out of control. "We're going down! We're going down! Mayday! Mayday!" the reporter and cameraman were screaming at the top of their lungs while the pilot struggled to regain control as they careened uncontrollably towards the ground.

"Barry!" Iris started to scream but by the time she finished the words Barry had sped from the room so fast bits of flame dotted his trail.


"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

The news helicopter was mere seconds from hitting the ground and the reporter shut her eyes tightly preparing for her final moments on this Earth. She thought about her family and her friends, her children, her career and even her cute little dog she'd just gotten for her birthday.

"I don't want to die!" she screamed once more as the helicopter came to a sudden and jerked halt. She fearfully opened her eyes to see that they had been stopped by two small cyclones of wind beneath them. "The Flash?" she whispered, having seen him use this maneuver several times in the past years of his hero work.

Barry was beneath the helicopter turning his arms furiously to slow the descent of the helicopter and stop it from crashing. To lower it safely he rotated his arms slower a little at a time so that it came just above his head, a distance safe enough for it to fall without causing any injury. He stepped aside and let it tumble the last few feet with a loud clang but he knew that everyone inside was alright.

Without waiting Barry vanished, heading straight for the apes line of defense. He rushed through the shooting, easily dodging all of the bullets, grenades and a few RPG's as well then quickly began to disassemble to weapons in the first line of apes hands.

He had managed to work his magic on several before something powerful slammed into him sending a cold shock wave through his body. He slammed into a door of a Humvee and tried to get to his feet but felt a giant heavy foot slam into his chest.

"The Flash..." a deep and rumbling voice said. If Grodd was the biggest gorilla that Barry had ever seen this massive silverfish white beast before him was a close second. "King Grodd said you'd show up. "

"Gr-Grodd...?" Everything suddenly made sense to Barry and he began to worry for the lives of his friends that he'd seen taken. Grodd had somehow amassed an army and found his way back to this earth but how and why would he take Caitlin and Cisco? And how had he become so powerful he'd been able to control Kara and J'onn?

"We were more than prepared for Central City's hero just as we were for the ones in National City." The armor clad gorilla teased and pressed down on Barry's chest making Barry scream in agony.

It seemed like he was about to have his chest crushed beneath the weight of this monster when the familiar sound of Wells' gun rang out and the pressure was lifted. He opened his eyes to see Wally and Jessie standing with two guns.

"Bet you weren't prepared for that!" Wally opened fire along with Jessie forcing the apes to take cover for a brief moment.

The distraction from the Flashes caused Grodd's army to stop focusing fire on the National Guard which in turn left them vulnerable and several of them were cut down by shots from across the battlefield.

"Get up, Barry..." Jessie zoomed up to Barry and extended a hand that he shakily took. If not for his meta-human healing he'd likely be unable to move. The pain in his body was near unbearable.

"We've got to go...they have speedster weapons..." he managed to croak. "...have to regroup..."

Wally got the hint and began running in a circle kicking up as must dust as possible clouding the vision of the apes before the three speedsters dashed away.

The dust cleared and the shooting between the apes and the human military forces continued. Several of the gorillas moved and helped the silver one to its feet. "The Flash has allies we didn't know about," he grumbled.

"What will we do now, Commander Solovar?"

"Press the attack. The human hostage plan did not stop their attack so we will not stop ours. Kill them all. I want this resistance quelled in one hour!" Solovar growled before picking up a nearby RPG and shooting forward.


National City

"And he said all that while I was knocked out?"

Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow stood together inside what they suspected was the bottom most portion of the D.E.O headquarters. The only reason they knew that they were in the D.E.O was because Caitlin had been awake upon arrival and had seen markings in the building when they were literally carried to their work area.

Of Grodd neither had seen or heard anything else. Instead, Kara and J'onn had flung them into this room like dolls where they had been greeted by a smaller gorilla dressed like a scientist. After taking some time to explain what exactly was needed from them the gorilla had left them under the guard of two giant armored behemoths that did nothing but stare and snarl. Since then they had started to build the machinery that Grodd had demanded.

"Yes, Cisco. Whatever it is he has us building is supposedly to help him bring more of whatever army he has here," Caitlin replied.

Cisco turned a wrench absently while staring off, "Okay. Lets try to put the puzzle together. Last time we saw Grodd was when we sent him packing to another Earth."

"Right," Caitlin agreed.

"You kind of betrayed him so that explains his possible anger at you and Barry."

"Right," Caitlin agreed again.

"And Eobard Thawne basically tortured and created the guy so that explains his anger at humans in general."

"Yeah, but how did he get so powerful? Where did he get this army? And how is he controlling Kara and J'onn, two of the strongest beings on this planet?" Caitlin posed.

"The first and third I have no idea but the second I have a hunch." Cisco offered. "When we thought we sent him to a peaceful place what if it was a world of gorillas?"

"Is that even possible?" Caitlin made a face.

"We've seen other Earths, aliens, time traveling speedsters and we are on a first name basis with the Green Arrow. Is a literal planet of the apes so far fetched?"

Caitlin mulled over Cisco's words. "Fair enough. So lets say, Grodd ends up on this other Earth that still doesn't explain his massive increase in size and his ability to control Kara and J'onn. You didn't see him, Cisco but I did. He's even more terrifying than before."

"As if a giant super strong, psychic gorilla needed a power boost." Cisco rolled his eyes. "I can't explain that but once we're out of here we are definitely going to find out."

"What you will do is shut up and work faster," a familiar voice spoke from the air. The doorway opened and Grodd stepped inside the room. The two guards immediately bent the knee until he walked passed them and came towering over Cisco and Caitlin.

Cisco's eyes widened as Grodd lumbered over to him decked out in his golden crown with staff. He was easily four or more feet taller and wider than the last time they'd seen him. His body seemed to radiate power and control that only added to his menacing look. "Holy moley..." Cisco whispered.

Grodd glared at them both for a moment, not saying anything,then he lashed out and hit their minds with his own powers causing them to scream. His attack was brief but the pain felt so much longer. Caitlin had fallen to the ground while Cisco was half laid across the machine parts he'd been working on.

"I came as a warning. Finish what I need before I return or you will die here in the most excruciating ways imaginable." Without another word he turned and left the room, meeting back with a few gorillas he'd left standing in the hall. "I want them guarded at all times while I'm away."

"Away, my King?" the subordinate looked confused.

"The Flash has shown himself and the siege has begun. When the machine is finished bring my armies through and send them to me. I depart for Central City immediately."


A.R.G.U.S

"I want everything we have on the situation in National City and I want it two days ago, dammit!"

Amanda Waller, director of the Advanced Research Group United Support, slammed her door heavily and nearly dived into her chair pulling up a screen and going to work on the keys. Furiously tapping away with an intense look on her face. What was she going to do? National City had fallen not long ago and her latest report said that Supergirl and Martian Manhunter had been compromised. She'd scoffed at that information thinking to herself that aliens could never be trusted no matter how much good they did. For all she knew this army of jacked up monkeys was their fault.

And now what could she do? Task Force X wasn't trained to take down the super powered aliens let alone an invading army. She'd just begun to work more closely with Director Henshaw of the D.E.O but there had been no contract since the fall of National City and she suspected that somehow the invasionary forces had known who, what and where to hit that would eliminate the greatest resistances. That meant either the D.E.O had a security breach or the enemy had spent a lot of time and resources studying them before this invasion even began.

Few things angered Waller and not having information was one of them. She was contemplating sending Flagg and a Task Force X team into National City for recon but the possibility of them being caught was too high. She instead opted to having equipment moved from their main base here to several secret locations she kept hidden throughout the country. If the enemy knew of the D.E.O and the threat they possessed it made sense to her to prepare for a possible invasion of their Headquarters as well.

Guards had been doubled and nearly all the employees at her disposal had been called in regardless of overtime or need for time off. They were in a state of crisis and that justified everyone, including herself, getting little to no rest and focusing only on the task at hand.

A knock on her door made Waller take her eyes from the screen, "Come in," she said after closing several screens.

It was Lyla Diggle, her second-in-command at A.G.U.S. Along with Justin Lowe she was one of the few that Waller trusted fully, though she'd never openly admit that to anyone. It also helped that Lyla was married to John Diggle aka Spartan, the second to Oliver Queen's Green Arrow in Star City. Through them keeping an eye on the vigilante problem in Star City was made easier. "Yes, Mrs. Diggle?"

"The gorillas have begun laying siege to Central City," Lyla closed the door and sat down across from Waller.

"The Flash?" Waller raised an eyebrow.

"Showed up briefly but was taken down by some kind of weapon. His trainees showed up and they managed to escape. That's all we know for now. Latest report is that the National Guard are losing the fight and the gorillas will be in Central City within a few hours."

"Damn..." Whoever was leading this invasion was a person of extremely high intelligence, skill and resources. "Anything else?"

"No, ma'am. But..." Lyla hesitated.

"What is it?" Waller demanded, not having the time for beating around the bush and intriguing conversation.

"I think we should send in a Task Force X team to help somewhere," Lyla admitted. "Send in ground troops to reinforce the National Guard. We have the numbers and Santa Prisca proved our soldiers can be effective. If Central City falls then-"

"No," Waller interrupted Lyla.

"But...why not?" Lyla was shocked.

"The risk of Task Force X being captured is too great and I need every available A.R.G.U.S soldier working on moving out of here and guarding the transports. I am considering sending in a squadron of troops but nothing beyond that."

"But ma'am-"

"Enough, Mrs Diggle. Our world is being invaded by man-like apes with an amazing ability at war. I don't have time for this. Please excuse me." Waller didn't even wait for Lyla to leave before opening up her work and going back to it.

Lyla stood there for a brief moment letting her hatred of this woman smolder a bit before making up her mind.

She left the room without another word and walked out into the hall. The entire base was alive with troops running around moving this or that, collecting and delivery data and information and rushing to meet the deadlines they'd been given to complete their tasks. She walked passed them, saluting and greeting but really being detached from the entire scenario.

As soon as she'd been informed of the attack on National City and the army of invaders moving towards Central City she knew one thing, her husband would soon be knee deep in the fight. She had been telling some of the truth to Waller but really she wanted to send in Task Force X to protect her husband. The current members had formed a bond with Diggle on Santa Prisca and she knew she could count on them to keep him safe as possible in these uncertain times.

Waller's only concern was keeping her secrets secret and protecting her own interests. The world could burn down for all she cared as long as A.R.G.U.S was out of the fires range. Waller wouldn't stop her though, this was an endgame scenario and everything had to be laid on the line. The apes were growing in power every minute that they waited and the armed forces had yet to respond to anything. She had to do what she knew was necessary to protect not only her husband and family but her world.

Lyla made her way to her quarters and closed the door behind her before going into a drawer and lifting out a small remote control of some kind. She hesitated a moment and then left the room heading directly for the detention area.

None challenged her as she walked in and none would. While Waller sat on her high horse lording above everyone Lyla spent time getting to know her fellow A.R.G.U.S workers and forming bonds with them. Unbeknownst to Waller, Lyla had secretly been uniting agents under her for years now forming her own band of loyalists among Waller's regime. Employees of various A.R.G.U.S fields that were sick of Waller in one form or another and wanted new leadership.

At this moment two of those loyalists were watching over the heavily locked down members of Task Force X.

She approached the entrance and received salutes from both guards at the door. "It's time. Watch the door for me," she whispered as she passed them and went into the doorway.

A long hall lined with doors on both sides was before her, each door being a cell that housed some of the most dangerous criminals on this planet. Lyla went to the first door and unlocked it then quickly went across from that door and unlocked another then stepped back and let the inhabitants out.

It took a moment, each one hesitant about the situation. Life in A.R.G.U.S was scheduled down to the T and this was something irregular. The first door pushed aside and out walked Floyd Lawton while Helena Bertinelli came from the second.

"Deadshot, Huntress...I need your help," Lyla immediately said.

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't a Waller sanctioned mission." Lawton grinned a little.

"It isn't and if she finds out what I'm doing here I'll be court martialed or worse," Lyla admitted.

"Why should we help you?" Bertinelli folded her arms and leaned back against the wall still deciding if going back in her cell was the smarter option.

"Because you both owe my husband and I need you to make sure he's safe." Lyla pointed a finger. "If not for him I doubt either of you would have made it off Santa Prisca."

"To be fair, Mrs. Diggle, I think the same could be said for him as well. We did save his life once or twice too." Lawton shrugged.

"True," Lyla agreed.

"So again," Bertinelli repeated. "Why should we help you?"

"Better yet, how can we?" Lawton tapped on his head. "Bombs remember?

Lyla walked directly to Floyd Lawton and pressed a button on the remote she'd taken from her room. There was a loud humming sound and Lawton growled in pain and gripped his temples barely able to stand. She did the same to Bertinelli and after a moment both of them were standing normally wondering what had just happened.

"I've destroyed the bombs in your heads. You're free. Not even Waller can reactivate them," Lyla told them. "I will help you both escape the base in return for this and your freedom you do one last mission for me."

Lawton laughed and looked at Bertinelli who nodded once, "Protect John Diggle?" he folded his arms. "Alright. We're in."


Star Labs

"Any word from dad?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, he just called to say he's fine. Still running damage control around the city with the CCPD. He said the National Guard is being pushed back though and he doesn't know how much longer they can hold out." Iris informed everyone. This made everyone in the room feel a bit more downtrodden.

Barry was standing in the middle of the control room, mask off and hands on hips, a look of exasperation and worry on his face. "I thought I could at least dismantle their weapons but whatever that was the apes shot me with was made for speedsters."

"This is bad, Barry," Iris said.

"I know. They had something to take over Kara and J'onn and they have anti-speedster weapons. The only thing that makes sense in my head is Grodd is somehow leading this invasion and he's been preparing for this since we sent him away." Barry paced around while Wally and Jessie sat in silence near Wells.

"I think either the use of the weapon is limited or they don't have many of them or else why not use it on Wallace and my daughter when they arrived to help you?" Wells asked.

"True," Jessie agreed. "So maybe we can work around this?"

"Even if we do I'm not sure if the three of us can stop an entire army of murder monkeys." Barry kicked his foot and sat down, putting his hand in his head.

"Seems like we arrived just in time then."

Barry, Wally, Jessie, Iris and Wells immediately went on the defensive only to turn around and be greeted by a joyous sight.

Oliver Queen stood in the doorway with his arms folded. Behind him stood Spartan, Speedy, both Black and White Canary, Vixen, Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, "The League is here to help."