11
In Gotham City's Business District, Nyssa al Ghul gathered her Injustice League. She nodded her approval to White Lightning for enslaving the wills of Booster Gold and Mr. America. Nyssa studied her Injusticers as she spoke.
"Excellent work everyone. Even down three of our original members we still bloodied the Justice League's nose," Nyssa said with approval, "Now, has anyone seen Lady Flash or knows whether or not Inertia and Sun Girl set out on their secondary objective yet?"
"I thought you were the all knowing one," Mad Dog snapped.
A rush of wind announced Lady Flash's return, "Hawkgirl is dead."
"Don't be too certain yet," Nyssa warned her Russian operative, "Shayera Hol is many things but easy to kill doesn't rank amongst them."
"I dropped her off the George Washington Bridge," Lady Flash huffed.
Nyssa could see the tremors in Lady Flash's hands. The Russian was seeking an award. If she didn't receive her prize, the tremors would soon overtake her body.
Nyssa fished a packet of Velocity 9 out of her pocket. She held it out and Lady Flash hungrily snatched it away and raced off to find a spot where she could snort up the powder. Merlyn looked disgusted.
"Junkies can't be trusted," he declared.
Nyssa gave him a pitying look over his lack of imagination. Velocity 9 had been developed by the League of Assassins to grant super speed powers to individuals that weren't blessed by a connection to the Speed Force. But it was a designer drug with a designed outcome. The use of the speed granted by the drug consumed the user physically and often killed them. So it was best used on suicide missions where the League of Assassins wanted to leave no trace of an operative being there.
For speedsters like Lady Flash, the drug was more addictive than heroin. And it did enhance their speed capabilities without the physical side effects outside of the crippling addiction. Colonel Ivana Christina Borodin Molotova had been a member of the Russians' first generation Blue Trinity speed force.
But soon after Blue Trinity was created, a second generation named Red Trinity was created. This trio was stronger and faster than Blue Trinity and didn't come with the same behavioral problems. Blue Trinity was subsequently demobilized. Christina's former partners were executed for heinous murders. Christina had managed to exit Russia and ended up in Nada Parbat where Nyssa recruited her to the League of Assassins.
Nyssa had gambled when she introduced Christina to Velocity 9. But the drug's effect made her faster than even the original or current Flash. And it curtailed Christina's independence.
Nyssa garbed Christina in a costume secured from Wally West's own apartment and dubbed Christina "Lady Flash". They'd actually had to lengthen the costume because Christina was taller than Wally and take it in because her waist was so much slimmer.
Nyssa stared down the street where Magenta was still grappling with Steel through invisible means. Magenta had tried being a hero at the Flash's side but her powers created paranoia and schizophrenia in Magenta so she'd briefly abandoned using them.
But now she was back and reveling in them. Whatever had happened between her and the Flash had permanently altered her perspective and it had altered her physically. Fran Kane was been a natural blonde. Now she was naturally raven haired. Nyssa knew people's hair could go white from fright but from golden to black was a new one in her experience.
"White Lightning, take your toys and check on Magenta's progress," Nyssa instructed, "Steel seemed a perfect target for her but something is amiss. It shouldn't have taken her this long to cripple him."
"Can I have a wonder dose in case she's totally lost it again?" White Lightning inquired.
Nyssa handed over a prefilled syringe with 500 cc of Thorazine, "An upper arm injection into the meat will suffice. Her capillaries will absorb the drug and her heart will pump it directly to her brain. It will sedate her within a few minutes. Then we'll have to be prepared to carry her out of here."
"Yes, mother," White Lightning teased, "Follow me, boys."
Booster and Mr. America very dutifully and very miserably trudged on behind her.
Nyssa turned to the others, "Blacksmith has begun Phase Two of our operation and the JLU has responded to their defeat here. Blacksmith's team has secured our target. He has been sent to Thailand to await our delivering him to Nada Parbat. But the JLU won't let us simply walk away. I suggest you set up secondary ambush points and prepare to bloody them yet again."
"We could leave right now and no one could stop us," Merlyn interjected, "Our secondary objective was to kill Batman."
"True, but that would leave the entire reinforcing JLU team crashing down on Blacksmith's group," Nyssa advised, "And I know you spared Lightning."
"We were sent after the Bat not a second rate amateur," Merlyn argued.
"Which is for the best since she'll make excellent bait," Nyssa counseled him.
"I agree," Merlyn sniffed.
"I suggest you set up your traps then," Nyssa commanded. Then she went to work locating Inertia and Sun Girl. Inertia had traveled back in time to assist Professor Zoom in destroying the Allen and West family legacies. Zoom had no use for him so Nyssa had inherited him. Sun Girl had come back through time just to be with Inertia.
Yet Nyssa had recently been inspired by Deathstroke's gathering a specialized team of mercenaries he dubbed the "Titans" to bedevil the Teen Titans. Such a move was genius in Nyssa's opinion. She'd effectively gathered three teams: her Injustice League, her Injustice Rogues, and her Injustice Titans.
Although, Card Queen, Inertia, and Sun Girl had yet to meet the other Titans. Her father, in Talia's body, was gathering the other three recruits while Nyssa secured Talia's "Heretic". If all went according to plan, Ra's would transfer his mind to the Heretic's body and the best part was it would still be a body of Ra's' bloodline.
Ra's would have his Leagues of Shadow and Assassins and Nyssa would have her three Injustice groups. Now there was just the slight matter of the Injustice Society violating her newly established trademark. Of course, the Injustice Society had been around in one form or another since 1941 but that didn't give them the right to continue operating independently in Nyssa's world view.
Blackhawk flew the Oracle-5 that had departed the K-Star Ranch in upstate New York some twenty minutes ago. Lady Blackhawk had torn out of the ranch ten minutes earlier for a supersonic flight across the United States. Blackhawk's orders were to stay subsonic as he flew over heavily populated areas including Metropolis, New York City, and Gotham City. But he'd rattled their teeth in Albany as the Oracle took off.
Like LBH, Blackhawk had two recruits flying with him. The other two of the four recruits in fact. Nikki Nemzer sat beside Blackhawk at the co-pilot's station and Randall Wildman sat behind her at the weapons station. Wildman covered the routine comm traffic from that station.
It had taken an entire two seconds to see Nikki and Wildman had a history together. It seemed amicable enough but there was enough smoldering lust to threaten to break out in the cockpit. Blackhawk had nothing against romantic or sexual expression. After all, he was married to Galatea.
But LBH would assume her Zinda Blake identity and take it to NYC. Jake and Smiley had learned the highways and byways of Albany in order to keep it closer to home. It was too soon to say how Attila and Irishman were going to cope. But Nikki and Wildman seemed on the verge of abandoning Blackhawk to the cockpit and racing to the restroom in order to try and join the mile high club, of which he suspected they were already charter members.
And he'd already spotted the looks Lady Blackhawk gave Nikki. Zinda was fiercely territorial and the existing Blackhawk Squadron was her stomping ground. Blackhawk knew it was just LBH's hang up that she didn't know how to play well with other women. Look at how she'd tried butting heads with Galatea during his courtship with her. It had taken going to Zamaron for the two women to achieve a sense of detente before a lasting peace could be established.
Blackhawk decided to let personal matters lie unless they interfered with business. He could only hope Zinda felt so inclined as well. Otherwise life in the Bunkhouse was going to get very rough.
"Okay Nikki, you're up," Blackhawk advised her, "I'm going to VTOL and you're the hatch man. Get everyone out in an orderly fashion single file and don't take any crap off of anyone."
"If you want orderly, it's a good idea to be sending me," Nikki unstrapped, removed her headphones, and gave him a thumbs up before exiting the cockpit.
Wildman knew she was cut off from the mike traffic, "I think you made a friend."
"As long as she gets the job done we'll be fine," Blackhawk said nonchalantly knowing the message was being sent, "She seems confident enough."
"You have no idea," Wildman chuckled with meaning.
Nikki strapped onto the wall and opened the hatch as the Oracle descended. As it came to a rest on its landing gear, the red light above the door turned green. Nikki grabbed the cabin mike to be heard over the roar of the engines.
"This is it. Please disembark one at a time with ten seconds between passengers," she instructed. The JLers all complied with a nod or a smile until Jakeem Thunder gave her a massive eye roll and flipped her off when she prevented him from jumping out onto Rocket Red's back.
Nikki sealed the hatch without comment. She toggled the cockpit when the JLers had cleared the minimum safe distance, "We're good to ascend."
Nikki was relieved she was still hooked to the cabin wall as the Oracle made a rapid ascent and then rocketed off into the distance. She started to stumble after she unclipped because Blackhawk was banking the aircraft to make a turn. As she scrambled back into the cockpit and her station, she saw he was setting up a patrol pattern over the Atlantic off the Jersey Shore.
"Any problems?" Blackhawk inquired.
"Some kid gave me attitude," Nikki remarked, "How old is he anyway?"
"Fifteen going on a very cantankerous seventy," Blackhawk chuckled, "You don't belong in the outfit until you've been dished out grief by either Jakeem Thunder or Stargirl."
"Well, I'm officially baptized," Nikki commented.
"Of course, the queen of unnerving people is the AI you met earlier on the tour," Blackhawk shared, "Roxy delights in spilling secrets and creating mischief. I guess when your perception boils down to nanoseconds at a time; distractions pass the time while you're incredibly bored."
"Looking forward to it then," Nikki said but her tone belied her words.
Zatanna reported to Barbara Gordon outside GCPD HQ. The cops had the building surrounded but were taking fire from their own arsenal and confiscated weapons by the prisoners the Injustice Rogues had liberated. Zee showed up with Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, Samurai, Rocket Red, Red Tornado, Starman, and Batwing in tow.
Zatanna split up her force leaving Samurai to assist the police. Zee and Apache Chief ended up confronting Blacksmith, the leader of the Injustice Rogues. Zatanna had to ask who her foe even was.
"I'm called Blacksmith," she revealed, "We've actually met rather indirectly. I used to be married to Goldface before he died. I took over his logistics operation. I've been running weapons and henchmen to common criminals and super villains alike for a few years now. But I've got my operation nailed down. I thought I'd try life in the field for a while."
"I thought the ISA broke up that business," Zatanna replied.
Blacksmith laughed, "The ISA curtailed a shell corporation. The real organization is alive and unhindered."
"Why are you telling us this?" Apache Chief wondered.
"Because sweetness, you won't be alive to pass the information on," Blacksmith predicted.
"Be careful for what you wish for," Apache Chief stoically warned her.
"We really don't know each other so you haven't a clue as to what I'm capable of," Blacksmith retorted.
"It won't matter," Zatanna predicted.
"I think it will," Blacksmith pointed at Zee.
Zatanna screamed as her flesh transmuted into an organic steel. Then Blacksmith experimentally waved her hand about. Zatanna stiffly moved around like a resistant puppet.
"How about you, big boy?" Blacksmith gestured at Apache Chief.
He grunted but remained himself. Blacksmith scowled, "It seems your fabled control over your molecular density makes you immune to my charms. Too bad."
Zatanna attacked Apache Chief before he could fathom Blacksmith's meaning. He noted that Blacksmith was scrutinizing every move because she was ultimately in control of Zatanna's body. But because it was Zee's body, he couldn't risk permanently harming it.
Apache Chief phased through Zatanna and headed straight at Blacksmith. Blacksmith pointed to her left side. Two uniformed police officers had grown too curious and came within range of Blacksmith's ability.
Once transformed, they drew their weapons and fired at Apache Chief. Seeing Zatanna was directly in the line of fire behind him, Apache Chief increased his density and the bullets bounced off of him. But each shot was a searing pain due to its velocity and temperature from the gunpowder explosion that launched it and the resultant air friction. It wasn't called "hot lead" for nothing.
Then every one of Blacksmith's puppets dropped as though their strings had been cut. And Apache Chief could find no trace of Blacksmith herself. Apache Chief called in Blackhawk and requested an emergency transport for Zatanna and the two GCPD officers to STAR Labs-Metropolis.
The man the JLU would come to know as Plunder opened fire at Starman and Black Vulcan with a specially designed rifle. The bullets rocketed out of it and Starman plumed out a plasma field. The "bullets" detonated. Starman looked to Black Vulcan.
"They're actually missiles," Starman informed him, "They seem to be heat seekers."
Plunder emptied his clip at the JLers before swapping out the spent magazine for a fresh clip. Then he emptied it at the nearby police. Starman used a solar beam to draw all the missiles into one place and destroy them. Black Vulcan tried electrifying Plunder but his powers had no effect.
"I'm wearing an insulated suit, wise guy," Plunder told him as he pulled out a pistol from his belt, "What about you?"
He fired several times and plasma plumes discharged from the barrel. Starman intercepted them and absorbed them. Since stars were essentially thermonuclear reactions spewing radiation and ionized gas, he was able to absorb the plasma the way he absorbed solar radiation.
But Plunder pulled out a second pistol and shot Starman in the side with a laser pistol. Although light was a part of the electromagnetic spectrum yielded by stars, laser light was a singular wavelength focused through the simulated emission of radiation. In essence, Dr. Light would have no problem with the burst but it seared through Starman's side.
Gavyn went down with a cry and clutched his abdomen. Black Vulcan electrocuted Plunder's weapons, "Guess your guns aren't insulated, butt wipe."
Plunder threw down a smoke bomb. When the prevailing winds dissipated the smoke, Plunder had vanished. Black Vulcan turned his attention to Starman.
"Damn, how Batman was that?" Black Vulcan quipped.
"Can I have some assistance?" Starman grated, "This wound didn't cauterize and I'm immune to my own abilities so I can't do it myself."
Black Vulcan realized Starman only sounded bitter because he was still grieving over the loss of his husband, Roger. Gavyn had only returned to active duty the day before and even then only because he'd been going stir crazy in their old apartment.
"Hold on and I'll get some EMT's here in a hot second," Black Vulcan sprinted off to a nearby ambulance.
Gavil Ivanovich was still the lead Rocket Red. Gavil wore the Apokoliptan battle armor the Hunger Dogs had provided the Rocket Red Brigade. The rest of the Rocket Reds wore domestically designed battle suits that had incorporated technological infusions from the Green Lantern named Kilowog. But even they weren't as hardy or advanced as the Apokoliptan suit.
Gavil was Rocket Red Brigades face for the outer world beyond Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Even so, his duties to his government had kept him within the Russian Federation for some time. The Rocket Reds had been tracking Islamist separatists in Chechnya as well as averting terrorist acts in the protectorates in Georgia, Moldova, and the Crimea.
Then Gavil himself had been sent to North Korea to meet with August General in Iron to mediate a nuclear crisis instigated by the country's young leader, Kim Jong-un. Kim had been saber rattling with South Korea and the US and had fueled his missiles and was ready to launch at Seoul and Tokyo. Russia and China had been asked to intervene by the UN Security Council.
So the two powers had sent a demonstration of force. Their presence made Russia and China's point. If North Korea were to pursue madness on their borders they would send in their elite forces to deal with the instability and end the regime.
Now Rocket Red was staring down a metal giant akin to his Chinese counterpart in North Korea, "Is like Comrade August General. Only has human face and is bald on top with long hair and beard everywhere else."
"The parallels are uncanny," Red Tornado agreed.
"Quit talking about me like I'm not even here," the Injustice Rogue demanded, "I used to be Tony Woodwards but now I'm called Girder. I'll let you figure out why."
"Be advised, surrender will go much easier for you," Red Tornado counseled him.
"Advise this!" Girder grabbed a concrete barrier designed to prevent vehicles from ramming GCPD HQ and threw it at the JLers.
Rocket Red surged forward and blocked the barrier. It shattered but knocked Rocket Red back. That was when Gavil noticed Girder had thrown a second barrier. Caught unprepared, Rocket Red was smashed into the outer pavement where the police lines had formed.
"Your strength is impressive but you still have vulnerabilities," Red Tornado observed.
"Name one!" Girder challenged him.
"You are prone to rust and your rusting joints stiffen up thereby limiting your range of motion," Red Tornado described the situation.
"So what?" Girder was stomping straight for Reddy now.
"I am designated 'Red Tornado' it is my ability to create windstorms," Red Tornado advised him, "Such as this one."
"Say what?" Girder looked around.
"My most practical capability is creating funnels clouds such as tornadoes;" Red Tornado continued to explain, "Funnel clouds out at sea are labeled typhoons."
Girder finally looked up to see a water spout descending on him from the bay, "Nooo!"
A deluge of water encapsulated Girder. It was Red Tornado's supposition Girder could not be drowned and that theory seemed to be working out in practicality. And as Reddy had guessed, Girder was rusting at a hyper accelerated rate. He was barely able to move at that point.
Heavy caliber bullets struck Reddy in the back and the armor piercing rounds penetrated his armored hide. Red Tornado went down on his knees as the typhoon broke apart and rained water across half of Gotham. Plunder strode up to Rocket Red and put two bullets in Red's visor.
Rocket Red knew the bullets wouldn't penetrate but he was caught by surprise when they cracked his visor in star patterns. Even his sensor's Heads Up Display functions were disabled.
"Plunder, I'm stoving up!" Girder lamented.
"Hold that thought, big guy," Plunder requested. He took a polished handheld mirror crafted by the Mirror Master out of his belt. Reflecting his image and Girder's in it, they vanished to be temporarily relocated to Earth-37. There, everything that was known to Earth Prime and most other Earths was reversed. Then they relocated to Earth Prime but had shifted to Thailand.
The abnormally slender figure flashed knives resembling oversized scalpels at Batwing. He kept trying to speak but all that came out was an inarticulate mumble. What Batwing couldn't know what that Murmur had once been a surgeon who'd turned into a serial killer. In prison he'd cut out his own tongue so they could never force a confession out of him.
He'd escaped a psychiatric prison when Blacksmith found him and trained him to be Murmur. Murmur felt both a rush of power and of sexual excitement when he killed. Mutilating a victim before finally ending their life brought him the most exquisite orgasms.
Murmur came at Batwing utilizing expert fighting strokes. Batwing utilized his batons to fight back. He was surprised to receive a slash across the cheek for engaging Murmur too closely. Now Batwing went from a defensive posture to trying to disable Murmur as roughly as needed.
Batwing finally engaged his flight pack's engines and went airborne to begin a gas attack. He was paralyzed by the sight of Batwoman flying in on her glider. The sun reflected off a polished surface below and Murmur simply vanished.
"Was that him?" Batwoman demanded to know as she flew alongside Batwing, "Did he kill Sonia?"
The voice changer the Batwomen had always employed made it impossible to distinguish between them all. But Batwing had a good idea which of the survivors was confronting him, "That wasn't Catman, Kathy. I don't even know who that was."
"Would you even tell me if it had been?" Kathy Duquesne wanted to know.
"I promised Margo I'd tell her where Catman was when it was discovered or if we had him in custody," Batwing shared, "What Margo does with that information is up to her."
"I see," Batwoman was obviously displeased.
"But while you're here you can either be useful and help the police return these prisoners to their cells or you can get out of the way before the GCPD decides to arrest you for being an unauthorized costume in this city."
"I guess I'll help," Batwoman grated.
Barbara Gordon had led the outer perimeter action while Lt. Cutter led the SWAT team into the building and pincered the escapees trying to reach the upper floors between themselves and Commissioner Sawyer's resistance group. Samurai had been assigned to the GCPD effort and then Batwing and Batwoman flew in to assist as well.
Bulloch bellyached to Barbara, "Great. One of them broads is back in tights. I heard Sonia died so that leaves the Duquesne brat or the Ballantine chick as the culprit."
"You're sure you want to say that directly to them?" Barb asked.
"Look, she's ain't Justice League which means she's starin' at an arrest warrant for bein' an unwanted vigilante," Bulloch argued.
"Except I kind of want her here for this," Barbara countered.
"Ya just can't look the other way, lootenant," Bulloch warned her.
"How about I let her with a warning this time?" Barbara asked.
After everything was settled, Gordon approached Batwoman, "Look, I don't know which one of you suited up this time and it really doesn't matter. The deal is simple, if you're not Justice League you can't where that costume in this city."
"I'll wear what I want where I want to," Batwoman summoned her glider, mounted it, and flew off.
"Great, and I thought Bruce had become the biggest pain in my ass," Barbara griped to no one in particular.
