26
Thanks to Hack and a French military wireless connection, the Suicide Squad's "Alpha" team had arrived in Paris at the cordon separating the two block perimeter around the Dome. Flagg and his team proceeded with all due caution but the Superior Five spotted them from the air, sounded the alarm, and moved in to intercept. Axis Amerika also interdicted the encroaching Suicide Squad team members.
Lagomorph easily identified Flagg as the unit leader so she targeted him. Besides which, she thought he was cute, "Be a good soldier and turn around, Colonel."
"Lady, you have to be some kind nuts to throw in with Saturn Queen," Flagg warned her.
"It's true," Lagomorph sighed, "I'm just a dumb bunny without a plan."
Her sadistic smirk unnerved him, "Or am I?"
Flagg realized he was in far greater danger than he'd first assumed.
"Oi! Knock it off or I'll whack yer cobber," Captain Boomerang deflected another pair of arrows with the razorangs he held in his hands.
"Make me," Splitshot taunted his foe as he nocked two more arrows.
"That bloke over there with the blonde, he's the right villain of this piece," Captain Boomerang pointed towards Flagg.
"Great, you set down your boomerangs and I'll help Lagomorph kill him. Not that she needs my help at all," Splitshot advised Boomerang.
"But that'll trigger the bomb that'll blow me head off," Captain Boomerang yelped.
"Them's the breaks," Splitshot gloated.
Captain Boomerang threw one boomerang after another. They both sailed by Splitshot in both coming and going. They also looped around Captain Boomerang before doing a circle 8 and impaling Splitshot.
"Truly sorry, mate. I think yer doing grand work here. But I like me head on me shoulders," Captain Boomerang advised Splitshot as he pulled the razorangs out.
"Lagomorph will still dust him," Splitshot promised through the pain.
Boomerang sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
And he took aim and threw his razorangs again…at Lagomorph.
"I spy a copycat," Jester accused Jongleur. Jester had been a foe of the Fox, and then Jaguar, before being the first villain Fly Girl captured. The Web still grated that Kim Brand had beaten him to the Jester.
Like Jongleur, among others, Jester saw himself vying for the crown of Clown Prince of Crime seemingly abandoned by the Joker. Even Harley Quinn had fallen off the grid. Some girl calling herself "Joker's Daughter" had assembled an entire gang of wannabe Jokerz. But she touted herself as an heir to the Joker's lineage not the mantle of the legacy itself.
"Dear opponent, I was once a mere Merryman before I evolved. Take your lowbrow puns and move on," Jongleur urged Jester, "Or else I shall challenge you to a contest of wit and witticism. Wisecracks notwithstanding."
"The stakes?" Jester asked.
"The only ones that matter. The life of a pretender to the Joker's mantle," Jongleur offered.
"I accept," Jester readily agreed. Paring down the competition was amenable to him.
Phantasm held her ground well the vibrating Tremor began to ricochet off of every building and vehicle around like a madcap pinball. She generated a smokescreen and continued to hold fast. Tremor began probing the smoke by barreling through it. Phantasm mentally counted down until he passed right next to her and she nearly gutted him with her scythe glove.
She allowed the smoke to dissipate, "Put pressure on it and maybe you won't bleed out."
Then Phantasm proceeded to affect an entrance into the Dome.
Silver Swan's song could melt or shatter steel or titanium. So Hindenburg didn't stand a remote chance against her. But when he went down, he was still inflated. And he trampled the crowd milling in that direction.
Silver Swan flew in the opposite direction and muttered to herself, "Not good."
"Are you a witch then?" Gudra the Valkyrie asked the Enchantress.
"Like none other," Enchantress boasted.
"I recall you standing beside the Justice League Dark," Gudra accused.
"I do get around," Enchantress was still feeling playful.
"See this blade?" Gudra held her sword aloft, "This was forged in the fires of the smithies of Asgard to cleave souls from the worthy dead. Or to condemn the unworthy. Which are you, I wonder."
"You really don't want to threaten me," Enchantress warned.
"It's no threat!" Gudra charged and vanished as Enchantress completed her spell.
Gudra found herself in Niffelheim, the kingdom of Hel, the Norse goddess of death. Enchantress pretended to pout, "Aw, she went away. Who'll play with me now?"
Black Spider set aside his usual firearms to combat Horned Owl with a pair of sickles. Horned Owl used steel talons mounted on handles he could wrap his hands around. Black Spider was quickly impressed.
Horned Owl had nearly killed him three times in as many minutes and evaded death twice as many times. It was rare Black Spider faced a worthy opponent. He was going to enjoy this until Horned Owl made a mistake and died…or Black Spider did it instead.
"Forget National Socialism," Anarky cajoled Fledermaus, "Embrace chaos in its purest form. You're young and can still choose wisely."
"Or I could simply kill you," Fledermaus countered.
"That's the spirit. Even among you Nazis, might makes right. And the strongest rule and dictate who has earned the right to breed," Anarky argued.
"But we also hold to racial purity," Fledermaus retorted, "And I smell mongrel blood in you."
"Then try and do something about it," Anarky challenged him.
White Canary's sansetsukon swatted aside all of Usil the Golden Archer's arrows. Then it shattered his bow. She had to give him credit that he didn't run as she came for him. Perhaps she wouldn't disembowel him after all.
Afterthought joined the Unknown Soldier, Psi, Zoom, Light, King Shark, and Shrapnel in dealing with the United Nations' co-opted security force. Light said what was on everyone's mind, "This would be easy if we could simply kill everyone."
"Not the mission," Unknown Soldier said taciturnly, "You kill anyone without provocation and I'll blow your cranial bomb. And I've got eyes on all of you."
King Shark and Shrapnel felt like their hands, and teeth, had been taken away. Afterthought had to give Zoom credit. He was really trying to employ nonlethal means of subduing their foes. Everyone else was merely biding their time until the "kill" order was finally given.
Inside the General Assembly hall, Saturn Queen had news coverage of the battle s waging outside projected on the main screen. She turned to Ivo, "Wait for it. On my signal, deploy the Shaggy Man under the instructions I've laid out."
"Yes, my Queen," Ivo agreed.
Saturn Queen knew Ivo was a potential traitor but he'd prove useful up until she had to kill him.
The Suicide Squad's "Beta" team safely arrived at Spyral's headquarters. Most of the Legionnaires were inside wreaking havoc but a rearguard stayed outside just in case of outside interventions. And now their diligence was rewarded with foes to fight.
Tatsu Toro had gone back to her maiden name while she sought to avenge her husband, Maseo, and daughter, Yuki. Having slain her own brother-in-law, Takeo, for their murder, after bedding him to lower his defenses, Tatsu no longer felt worthy to be a Yamashiro. She barely felt worthy to be Tatsu Toro. But Katana? There she found her true name.
Her blade was called the SoulTaker and had been forged by Musarama in the 14th Century. It was accursed. It made evil men commit evil acts. And it consumed the souls of its victims, enemy and wielder alike.
Katana had possessed the sword and communed with the souls it had taken longer than any previous wielder. The sword had chosen her and it granted her supernatural speed and awareness in addition to immortality. It could guide her during combat and the spirits within the blade also guided her.
Maseo had counseled her to find and defend Rick Flagg's life. Events were coming and Flagg needed to be alive to face them. The survival of mankind depended on it.
So Katana volunteered to serve in Task Force X.
Sparrow Hawk was increasingly frustrated as she repeatedly dove to attack Katana. But the Japanese woman always had her defense ready for the sword strike. So Sparrow Hawk alighted near Katana and pressed the attack on the ground.
"What's with you?" Atomic Skull demanded to know, "You used to be on our side."
"It ain't by choice," Killer Croc warned him, "I either fight ya or get my head blown off."
"Hell, you're gonna die either way," Atomic Skull promised.
"Those were warning shots, lady," Deadshot advised Hummingbird, "I don't miss."
Hummingbird veered in for another attack and Deadshot put a bullet through her thigh, "And besides, you're predictable."
Hummingbird landed and her leg collapsed from underneath her. Deadshot chambered another round as he came to loom over her, "Care to parlay?"
El Diablo and Volcana tried to burn each other out. Instead they used up all the available oxygen across an entire level of a parking garage. Predictably, they both passed out and dreamt of repeating the very same behaviors when they awoke.
Sigrid, better known as Agent Axis, fought long and hard against Catman. But in the end, she just wasn't good enough. So Catman took his first trophy from her cooling corpse.
Amos Fortune brought the entire tarot deck to life and pitted the characters against Reverse Flash. For the first time in a very long while, Reverse Flash actually struggled to stay alive. A condition he vowed to share with Amos Fortune.
Superman had captured the Doomslayers on their very first outing as presumed super villains. He'd been unaware of their past as enhanced humans developed by CADMUS. The goal had been to create controllable meta-humans. There were seven Doomslayers.
The original number had been twice that. But after CADMUS shut down, the struggle to establish a hierarchy had begun. And fatalities had resulted.
Doc Omega led the Doomslayers after the killing had ended. His enhanced physique enabled him to expertly use firearms as well as exhibit superhuman strength and reflexes. And Amanda Waller had enlisted the Doomslayers wholesale after their capture having pursued CADMUS' files on them.
Signalman faced Doc Omega and prepped his usual arsenal of sirens, whistles, flares, strobes, and flash bangs against Doc Omega. In response, Doc Omega slouched and practically lounged while barely prepping to fight back. And Signalman saw this as a good sign.
Bad Grrl was enhanced similarly to Doc Omega. But her preference was for knives. The thrill of the up close and personal kill titillated her. Giganta saw she was demented and prepared to get really personal.
Deadfall had been transformed into a ten foot tall twist and bramble of wood and vines. Lady Lunar decided to try and crush him. The ground sank as Deadfall joined it. And then he took root and entered the ground. So Lady Lunar increased gravity to Jovian levels and crushed Deadfall into splinters.
Afterwards, she decided to enter Spyral's headquarters to deal with whoever from the Suicide Squad had penetrated the building.
Bitter Ruth surrounded herself with the noxious gases she exuded. Count Vertigo held her at bay with his vertigo inducer but she continued to discharge poison gas. Signalman, having finished off Doc Omega, fired a flare into the gas and ignited it. Bitter Ruth's screams unnerved Giganta, who was still trying to scrape Bad Grrl off of her sandals.
"We need to move on," Signalman insisted.
"There's gunfire still coming from the interior," Count Vertigo remarked.
"Meaning our compatriots are meeting stiffer resistance than expected," Signalman deduced.
"Um…maybe I should stay outside," Giganta suggested.
"No, we'll need you inside in case any of these traitors enter the building behind us," Signalman decided.
Cybersaw's mechanical arms and multitool attachments were a poor choice to confront Dr. Polaris with. Dr. Polaris simply ripped his arms off and cut off his head with his own saws. Signalman was impressed.
"Very efficient," he congratulated Dr. Polaris.
Count Vertigo tended to Giganta as she lost her breakfast, lunch, and the dinner she hadn't eaten yet.
D'Artagnan had enhanced physical abilities and superior martial skills. But he was facing Multiplex. D'Artagnan was an excellent melee fighter so Multiplex gave him a crowd to fight. And eventually it overwhelmed him and beat him to death. Then Multiplex sent his duplicates forth to explore every nook and cranny of the Spyral building.
Hearse was as big as Solomon Grundy and just as strong. But Fright's fear toxin scared him to death. And she was delighted to be joined by other Legionnaires as she ventured further into the building.
"Several of our former associates are fighting our forces led by the ex-JLer named Katana," Multiplex reported.
"Psychotic bitch with a sword," Signalman clarified.
"Deadshot, Killer Croc, and El Diablo are fighting for her," Multiplex explained.
"They have to have been coerced somehow," Count Vertigo ventured.
"Giganta, you get your wish. Go outside and help whoever needs it. Lady Lunar, you're with her," Signalman instructed, "Fright, get ready to dose this whole damn building. Multiplex, stay with everyone."
Dr. Polaris bristled at the fact everyone was lending Signalman authority. But Dr. Polaris knew his time would come. And Signalman would reap a reckoning.
Mad Hatter and Psycho Pirate sent waves of mind controlled Spyral agents against the hold outs. Tala protected the three from harm while they prepped the next batch of assailants. In the central ops center, Director Katherine Webb-Kane led a vigorous defense joined by agents Nancy Morgan, Helena Wayne, Bette Kane, Mr. Minos, and Spyder. Their difficulty was in disabling their fellow agents without killing them or leaving them conscious enough to continue fighting. Still, the few remaining free Spyral agents, the best the agency had to offer, needed immediate reinforcements. Or they, like so many of their comrades before them, would die.
Task Force X's "Delta" team appeared outside of SHADE thanks to a wireless modem connection provided by local law enforcement. Unlike Spyral, who'd lucked out by having every one of their premier agents in house during the attack, SHADE had every one of their specialists in the field. Frankenstein's Creature, the Bride, the Abominable Snowman, and Bigfoot were each engaged on a mission. The mages and clerics left to defend headquarters were poorly suited to the task of repelling the Secret Society.
Nightshade immediately targeted Libra upon entering the besieged facility. She tried wrapping him in utter darkness. But Libra's Cosmic Transmorgraphier absorbed the ambient energy of the Land of the Nightshades and hurled half of it back at Nightshade as cosmic energy.
Nightshade managed to duck under the energy attack. Then she decided to subdue Libra physically. And found the Cosmic Transmorgraphier still served two purposes. The first was it could still discharge half of its previous blast in decreasing increments. And it served as a crude melee weapon. So Nightshade had an actual fight to look forward to.
Phantom Lady utilized the Phantom Zone to grant her her powers. So she easily disabled Angle Man's time-space-dimension folding triangular straight edge. She blanketed his immediate vicinity in darkness. Then she created hard constructs out of the essence of the Phantom Zone and snared Angle Man in them.
Killer Moth couldn't believe he was getting his ass hand to him by a six inch living Ken doll. But Doll Man retained his full strength from his natural height. And his techno armor was a fully realized combat chassis. One Doll Man was eager to demonstrate if for no other reason to get Killer Moth to stop firing off his damn glue gun.
The leader of the dishonored Web Hosts, and the Web Hosts in their entirely, was Karen Thomas. But she was called "Buster" for a reason. Buster tended to think in terms of breakage. Including vehicles, buildings, and bodies.
So Buster systematically broke Mania until he gladly died.
"Rad" was another incarcerated Web Host. He'd been surprised to learn ARGUS stockpiled all of the imprisoned Web Hosts' gear, armor and tech they were all intimately familiar with. Rad fought the fourth person to wear the guise of Crazy Quit. And like his predecessors, this Crazy Quilt died a swift death. Something Rad hardly felt guilty about.
"Rowdy" wore a ten gallon cowboy hat and a pair of six guns in addition to his Web Host armor. He was currently using the guns to perforate Double Down's enchanted deck of cards. But he saved his last bullet in each pistol to put a round in each of Double Down's eyes. As the cards fluttered to the ground, Rowdy reloaded for whatever came next.
Hyena tore into Punch and Jewelee so savagely they couldn't manage to use their power gems. But Jewelee managed to get a lucky body shot in and forced Hyena into a retreat. But the pair knew Nightshade could easily detonate their neck bombs if they failed to track down the crazed Hyena. So they fearfully pursued her.
The cyborg named Flex surprised Marauder with his mechanical strength. But she quickly deduced it was all he had coupled with a subpar intelligence. So her battle armor allowed her to blow to bits one cybernetic body part at a time. And she saw in his eyes it was a mercy when she finally killed him.
Typhoon burst the surrounding underground water pipes and drowned the haughty White Magician with the water. Being closest to Marauder, he sought her opinion of what to do next. She opted to wait to see how Sting did against his opponent.
Reb had wanted to call himself "Captain Confederacy" but a lawyer had informed him there was already a comic book character with that name. So Reb fought in the name of the Deep South and the Confederate values while piling on ignoble "honors" on the already sullied, derivative name of "Johnny Reb". Reb had been brought to heel by Shield and immediately inducted into the Suicide Squad.
Reb was a true socio-political throwback. He advocated the geographic South seceding from the Union, the restoration of ethnic slavery as an institution, and the economic reliance upon cotton. ARGUS psychoanalysts determined Reb gave the term "delusional" a new, broader meaning.
Reb was hunting for an enemy to fight when a wasps' nest worth of insects attacked him. Sting rode one as he directed their efforts to the point Reb died as a result. Thanking his inadvertent minions, Sting released the wasps from his control and regained his human norm height. Then he was approached by Typhoon and Marauder.
Zebra-Man ripped the rebar out of a nearby wall and magnetically hurled it at Firehawk. She converted the metal into plastic and created a sprung bear trap around Zebra-Man's next and both of his ankles. Built as a solid block of Kevlar reinforced plastic, the traps had no metal springs to manipulate.
Firehawk gave Zebra-Man a single piece of advice, "Try not to struggle."
Back in Belle Reeve, Oracle and Hack monitored the unfolding situations so Gwen and King Faraday could be immediately updated. While Oracle was in her element, Hack had never digitized so many people and sent them in so many directions all at once. The girl was barely able to focus much less analyze the incoming data. Oracle alerted Gwen to the situation.
General Glory led the Knight and Squire to assist Superman first. Knight presented himself between his supposed allies and his even more supposed enemy. He brandished his sword in a ready stance.
"Hold on there, gents," Knight encouraged them to show restraint.
Squire helped Superman to his feet while General Glory neared Reactron. Cyclotron asked the obvious question, "Why are you two suddenly buddy-buddy? You're under orders to kill this flag toting idiot."
"Because it's the right thing to do," Squire retorted, "Or are you so villainous you can't see right from wrong anymore?"
"Shut up, kid," Reactron snapped, "If you know what's good for you."
Knight energized his sword, "I wouldn't threaten him."
"Why not?" Reactron opened his chest aperture. General Glory plucked the shard out of its containment unit. He threw the rock over his shoulder so that it could be caught by Squire, who immediately made it to one of the elevators.
"You little…!" Reactron shouted. A burst of the vilest profanity came out of the elevator he chose as the doors closed.
"Shouldn't we be helping him?" Superman asked.
"I'm more worried for Reactron, to be honest," Knight leveled his sword's blade at Cyclotron's Adam's apple, "What about you?"
"I'm cool," Cyclotron promised.
"Not yet anyway," Knight zapped him with a touch of his blade and stunned Cyclotron into unconsciousness.
"If you wouldn't mind recuperating out of the way," General Glory suggested to Superman, "The Knight and I have some rounds to make."
John Stewart, the Green Lantern assigned specifically to Earth, found the ultimate will within him. So he overcame his power ring's innate weakness and captured Guardian and Agent Liberty. General Glory and Knight intervened and persuaded the two to abandon Gen. Lane's insanity and orders. And they recruited the duo to help stop and dissuade the other Ultramarine Corpsmen.
While Agent Liberty and Guardian reasoned with Chrysalis, General Glory and Knight assisted the battered and bruised, and almost squished, Atom. Ray Palmer was very much the worse for wear and his thoughts were only on Jean Loring.
"You're lucky I survived. My ex-wife would've led the inquiry into my death," the frazzled Atom warned them all.
John convinced Barda to spare Olympian and Tasmanian Devil's lives. Barda noted John's disapproval over her rough handling of her opponents, "Don't worry. They'll recover…eventually."
John wasn't encouraged. Barda was even more like Thanagarian military officer Shayera than Shayera was these days. Her basic philosophy was "Hit it, and if that doesn't work, hit it again even harder."
Knight persuaded Hood, Dark Ranger, El Gaucho, and Wingman to cease hostilities. General Glory did the same for Hourman. But he was worried for Hourman. The man seemed in a drug induced craze and eager for a fight. But he did stand down. But General Glory thought he should still discuss the matter with Steve Trevor and Hula Hula after the mission concluded.
John pulled Jesse Quick free of Sandstorm while Agent Liberty convinced Cascade and Centrix to help him talk Sandstorm down. Then it was simply a matter of sending them forth to assist Guardian in doing the same for others. The only problem with this new spirit of cooperation was Barda and her injuring Olympian and Tasmanian Devil. That stunted the growth of any reconciliatory feelings.
Vibe had already cooled the angered passions of Warmaker One, Pulse 8, and 4-D. But now they were inquiring as to what was happening to their partners, Glob and Goraiko. Plastic Man was negotiating a cessation of hostilities with Glob, Kid Impala, and Nightrunner. It was next to impossible to tell which side wanted it even more.
Guardian reached Supergirl, Owlwoman, and Jack O'Lantern. He was relieved to find they were already dialoguing rather than fighting. The central crux of their discussion seemed to revolve around the fact Supergirl wasn't Argoan or Kryptonian. A fact neither Ultramarine was ready to accept.
Barda intervened in Belphegor's struggle with Anna Fortune, "Cease this idiocy at once!"
"As I've been cajoling my worthy opponent to do just that," Anna remarked.
Belphegor's eyes went glassy, "Dr. Mist agrees. But we're already too late."
Centrix, Cascade, and Sandstorm stopped Man-of-Bats and Raven Red from tracking Gypsy any further. When the Native Americans settled down, Gypsy appeared behind them. Both Man-of-Bats and Raven Red gave her grudging appreciation.
"No one has ever eluded us before," Man-of-Bats admitted, "You could have ambushed yet you didn't. That speaks to your being a friend louder than any other declaration."
"And you're cute," Raven Red blurted.
Neither Gypsy nor Man-of-Bats made a comment.
Atom Smasher's head was clearing when the Squire raced out of the lighthouse keeper's home and fired a shard of a golden mineral out to sea with his slingshot. Reactron followed and dove into the ocean, armor and all.
"Shouldn't we save him from himself?" Atom Smasher asked.
"I rather think not," Squire shuddered, "I dunno about you, but I'm largely thinking we should be anywhere else when he comes out of the water."
"Is time!" Bizarro declared and abandoned Superwoman to watch the exogenesis camber open.
The Ultramarine Corps stood aside as Gen. Lane ordered the Sandmen, Psycho Troopers, and Black Razors into action. The Justice League was growing frustrated with the constant delays. And Superman couldn't simply barrel through because he was still weakened, not by the gold kryptonite, but rather the flare effect Cyclotron had elicited.
Lucy Lane almost screamed as Lois emerged from the exogenesis chamber reborn to new life as Bizarro Lois. Bizarro Lois wrapped her arms around Bizarro and violently kissed him before declaring, "Me am with me love. Me heart am with you always."
Gen. Lane almost puked as Bizarro responded in kind, "Me has loved you since me first thought of you when me is born."
"Lois, baby. Do daddy a favor," Lane urged Bizarro Lois.
"What, me Poppy?" Bizarro Lois asked.
"Kill your sister," Lane instructed.
"Lucy as bad as dead," Bizarro Lois promised.
"My name is Emiko Queen," Red Arrow was gathered inside Rose and Beryl's hotel room along with Jason, Conner, and Mia in attendance, "My mother is the woman called Shado."
"So where have you been all these years?" Jason asked.
"I was kidnapped by a mutual enemy of my parents called Komodo. But when I was a young adolescent, Nyssa Raatko rescued me and returned me to my mother. Shado and Oliver Queen agreed with Nyssa that I should be trained by the League of Assassins since other enemies would try to strike at my parents through me," Emiko explained, "Dinah Lance, the new Demons Head finished my education regarding my father and sent me here to you so that I could assist you."
"Totally Nyssa," Jason declared.
"Even more totally Dinah," Mia decided.
So, are you all joining the team?" Beryl asked.
"No one said we were joining anything," Mia protested.
"Oh, give it up," Rose exclaimed, "I think thou dost protest too much, princess."
"We just killed just about everyone that worked for that funny looking guy with the dumb name," Mia grated.
"And you body bagged just as many as anyone," Rose shot back at her, "You've got natural inclinations and talent."
"At least I don't make my living from it," Mia accused.
"Not all of us inherited a few, spare billions of dollars," Beryl came to Rose's aid, "And your figurehead position with Queen Consolidated gives out hundreds of thousands more a year in salary besides your stock dividends."
Mia glared at Beryl. Conner intervened, "It's true, Mia. How many Chairwomen of the Board fly off with the corporate jet every weekend and keep odd hours whenever you manage to show up? They want you out of the way so they humor you."
"I'd give all the damn money up to have Ollie back," Mia passionately confessed.
"And I'd give up being the Arrow or Green Arrow just to have a couple of years with him," Conner admitted, "Years you had."
"Oliver Queen's own legacy is tainted with vigilante justice and murder," Emiko thought it prudent to point out, "When Green Arrow first appeared he only used lethally tipped arrows and he executed those that had failed his city. Only the guilt weighing his soul drove him to temperate means."
"Bull, it was Roy Harper killing drug dealers that made Ollie go all 'noble'. He thought he could prove to be a role model," Conner corrected his half-sister.
"And since Arsenal is working for my dad I'd call 'bullshit' on that ambition," Rose snickered.
"We each have to deal with the scum we're chasing down each in our own way," Jason sought a compromise, "But you have to admit, given the state of the courts, going all League of Assassins methodology on their asses makes a helluva lot a sense."
"Spoken like a true poet," Beryl jested.
"I'll stay in," Mia decided, "But if and when I say I'm 'out' then I don't want to hear a single argument or an act of God."
"Even I can agree to that," Rose promised.
"Don't strain yourself," Mia cracked.
"Now you're suddenly a smartass?" Rose was incredulous.
"Let's not forget we need a base of operations to stage out of," Jason reminded everyone, "And no offense, but your 'Arrow Lair' sucks."
"It would also behoove us to all live in the same city," Beryl pointedly looked at Conner and Mia.
"I've got plenty of room and a kick ass bunker to use as an operations center," Mia sighed.
"You said you were lonely living alone in a house with twenty bedrooms," Conner reminded her.
"Hey, we only need one," Rose pointed at Beryl and then herself.
"We could use a computer expert as well," Mia suggested.
Beryl merely smirked.
"What am I missing? Mia groaned.
"My honey is a killer hacker," Rose bragged, "Seriously, there's only two or three people on this planet that are better.
"But I'm the better programmer," Beryl added.
Because you 'speak' computer languages," Conner realized.
"Word of advice, Mia, he's a keeper," Beryl advised their future hostess.
"He oozes sex and brains," Rose commented. Which only served to remind everyone Rose was bisexual, not a lesbian like Beryl. Mia wondered how they dealt with that aspect of Rose's sexuality. Did they embrace it or ignore it?
Shield was securing the last of the civilians from burning vehicles. He called in to Carol Anne Strander at that point, "Special Agent Strander, I had to divert to assist civilians in imminent danger. Can you assist me in reacquiring Weapon and American Shield?"
"Negative, Joe. Latham sent new orders restasking everyone. The Mighty Crusaders are to regroup at the Simon & Kirby to receive new marching orders," Carol informed him.
Shield thought the General's timing sucked. But he also knew it wasn't a decision Latham would make lightly.
Buzzard soared around the Port of Los Angeles while Owl went for a landing. Next to a submarine of all things. War Eagle discreetly land atop a loading crane some distance away and called it in.
She took pictures of the sub with her miniature digital camera. It uploaded the photos to the MLJ servers. And the sub was quickly identified as the Plunderer. Which indicated Buzzard and Owl were associated with Pirate Blue. So Latham immediately revised his marching orders.
Captain Commando braked to a halt for the seventeenth time in less than a mile, "Damn gridlock. I'm getting off the Interstate."
"There's no exit," Radiation Rogue pointed out.
"I'm not taking this junker with me," Captain Commando informed his erstwhile partner, "You're on your own."
"Inferno shouldn't have followed me into such a target rich environment," Radiation Rogue chuckled evilly.
"Good luck with that," Captain Commando exited the vehicle and slipped over the guardrail.
Radiation Rogue also exited and began checking his equipment. Inferno wasn't far behind. Frank Verrano had a choice to make and he chose to allow Captain Commando to get away.
"You get any closer and all these people will glow in the dark," Radiation Rogue promised.
"You harm one person and they won't even find your charred bones," Inferno made his own promise.
"Seems were at a standstill like this traffic," Radiation Rogue spoke and the cars crept forward, "Or not."
Inferno watched in horror as Radiation Rogue took aim. But then again, Inferno had expected nothing less.
Lancelot Strong chased after Doc Strong and Mighty Man even after he'd lost sight of them. So their ambush wasn't quite a surprise. But Doc Strong's renewed vigor and Mighty Man's more sophisticated coordination with Doc Strong's efforts were.
Lancelot fought as hard as he could but he was simply overwhelmed. When he lost track of Doc Strong he knew it was over. And when his neck was snapped by Doc Strong, Lancelot Strong died still bitter he'd never been chosen to be the Shield of America.
Web received Carol's recall notification somewhat begrudgingly. But the Web Hosts were already on Deadly Force's trail. Besides, it amused Web that Carol had lost Hangman.
Carol had Comet searching for Hangman. What Comet found was the skyscraper where the Auctioneer was holding his sale. Comet chose to hover near a corner where he could switch off observing the proceedings from a window to the right of the left while remaining largely unseen. And he called it in to the MLJ.
Steel Sterling arrived back at the point of his origin before he repulsed off of Lodestone's magnetic field. Brontosaurus was already gone and presumably restored to Lodestone's company. Steel Sterling called in.
"MLJ, this is Steel Sterling. I've lost my targets. I need assistance in reacquiring them for further pursuit, he stated, hating to admit to his failure.
"Copy that. Gen. Latham has instructed everyone to regroup and retask," Kenny Wisdom's voice replied, "Please confirm."
"Roger, I confirm," Steel Sterling thought things were probably just getting interesting. Latham's promise that the Mighty Crusaders would be challenging was proving to be a true one. He hoped it wasn't so challenging they failed to resolve the situation. After all, most of the Crusaders hardly knew a fellow teammate.
Crow flew up behind the unwitting Fly. And with a tremendous caw he swatted the Fly out of the air. Right into Elasto's waiting grasp. Constricting around the Fly, Elasto squeezed him past unconsciousness and straight into death as the Fly was crushed. Then, Pirate Blue's henchwoman, First Mate, summoned the pair to assist Pirate Blue's recovery effort at the Auctioneers bazaar palace.
"Darkling, please come in. Please respond. New orders have been issued for us to regroup and reprioritize," Kenny said through the radio.
"I already have reprioritized," Darkling succinctly replied before going silent.
Kenny didn't know Darkling was travelling atop a wave of darkness. All he knew was she was making excellent time crossing Los Angeles. Then she arrived at the Comet's location.
"Shit!" Kenny bolted from his terminal station to brief Carol.
Black Hood put a bullet in each of Jewel's and Stunner's arms and legs. He loomed over them, "Persuade me not to put you down."
The two crooks exchanged looks and then they gave up the existence of the Evil Brain Trust.
Fly Girl caught up with Lady Spider and came with both her buzz guns blazing. The electrostatic barrage proved too much even for Lady Spider's uncanny agility and she was stunned into submission. After alighting nearby and eventually holstering her pistols, Fly Girl used the special steel-titanium alloy handcuffs she'd been issued.
Cuffing Lady Spider's ankles she then ran the chain around the other cuffs as she clasped Lady Spider's wrists together. Then she lowered her to the sidewalk. All the while, Fly Girl wondered just what the hell had happened to the Fox.
Fox had felt guilty about leaving Delilah Monaco alone in her delusion. She followed the screams and cries of terror like a bloodhound. And Paul Patton wondered why that wasn't the Mighty Crusaders first concern right now.
She-Fox paused on a rooftop, poised to descend to the street below where a gang had herded a group of young women and backed them into a blind alley. She-Fox glanced over her shoulder, "Are we still pretending you're not following me?"
"Are you ready for this?" Fox asked.
"Whatever append to my freak magnet?" She-Fox sighed.
"He grew up," Fox replied.
"Too bad," She-Fox dove off the rooftop, catching herself on the railing of a fire escape landing and sliding down the railing so the ladder descended and she landed atop a gangbanger.
Every eye turned to her. She-Fox laughed, "I take it you weren't expecting me."
"Yo dead, bee-otch," a particularly preening gangster declared.
Fox took down two gangbangers to announce his arrival. She-Fox chuckled, "Where are my manners? Did I forget to mention my plus-one?"
"Kill them!" the preener shrieked.
"So Darkling is off the reservation." Carol stated rather than asked.
"She has an active comm and we've tracked her to Comet's location," KitCat reported.
"Which seems to be a shopping market for super villains looking to buy exotic weaponry," Kenny added.
"Who do we have to send after them?" Carol asked.
"We've got confirmed dead," Kenny interjected, "Fireball, Lancelot Strong, and the Fly have all been killed."
"Which is a tragedy we'll deal with later," Carol rebutted him, "Now, who's available?"
"War Eagle is observing Buzzard and Owl rendezvousing with the Plunderer at the Port of Los Angeles," KitCat warned her.
"Alert the Navy and the Coast Guard. Wave off the Port Police and warn them we have assets inbound," Carol instructed and Kenny got busy.
"Shield, Fly Girl, Steel Sterling, Web, Black Hood, and Jaguar are all returning to base," KitCat detailed, "Inferno is dealing with Radiation Rogue on the 5. Fox is doing who the hell knows what."
"I heard a report fragment where Black Hood said he had intel for us," Carol prompted KitCat.
"He said he knows the 'why' behind the attacks. I've summarized his statement here," KitCat handed Carol a tablet computer.
"This explains a lot," Carol said as she perused the summary.
"Something had to," KitCat said sourly.
Hangman had been instructed by Satan to visit the Auctioneer's sale. He watched from the back while various functionaries liquored up the clientele. Now he awaited further instruction as to whether or not he had a specific set of targets or just anyone and everyone in attendance.
Darkling joined him, "May I assist?"
"I think that's why you're here," Hangman opined.
"Comet is here as well," Darkling said off handedly.
"I know. The Mighty Crusaders are coming. But we'll begin the movement," Hangman predicted.
Jade returned from Obsidian's new apartment in San Francisco. The city-wide blackout took her by surprise. The sight of new super beings also startled her. But when she reached Sunset Blvd and Western Ave the sight of an electrical barrier surrounding four city blocks caused her to descend.
And when she came upon a hex Thunderbolt, she was hardly surprised any more at that point. A Thunderbolt that seemed exasperated, "Finally. A real superhero arrives. Where have you been?"
"I was visiting my brother out of town," Jade felt compelled to answer for some reason, "Are you really a Thunderbolt?"
"Yup," Thunderbolt answered.
"But where is your master?" Jade had to ask.
Thunderbolt became human, "Right here."
"Can humans become Thunderbolts?" Jade was incredulous.
"Apparently so," Jonni Thunder replied, "But my Thunderbolt was South American and not Polynesian like Jakeem Thunder's."
"Look, this is a good place to start from. I need your help to spread a safe zone expanding from here," Jade requested.
"Oh God, you don't know how hard I've been trying to avoid the 'superhero'' label," Jonni complained.
"So did I," Jade admitted, "Didn't take though. And if I might mention it, you're doing a lousy job of avoiding being a hero."
"I couldn't just let bad things happen to good people," Jonni argued.
"A classic definition of a hero according to my dad," Jade grinned, "And it's not about looking to do good but actually doing it when all hell breaks loose."
"Tonight definitely qualifies," Jonni grumbled.
"What's your name?" Jade asked.
"I guess you'd call me Thunderbolt," Jonni answered.
"No, your real name," Jade clarified, "I'm Jennie-Lynn Haden but most know me as Jade."
"I'm Jonni. Jonni Thunder," she revealed.
Jade could hide her mirth and Jonni recoiled, "What?"
"Remind me to tell you all about the Jonny Thunder and his Thunderbolt that joined the Justice Society back in the Thirties."
"I'm not joining any groups," Jonni protested.
"So tell them to shove off," Jade encouraged her, "It's worked for me since the original Infinity, Inc shut down."
"I sent runners out to invite more people to join us here," Jonni shared, ""But they'll probably require escorts to get back"
"I'll take north and east and you can have west and south. Deal?" Jade offered.
"Deal," Jonni became the Thunderbolt once again.
The Outlaws unloaded their gear in the Queen Estate bunker. Then they joined Mia in the manor's dining hall where they were preparing for a late dinner. Mia seemed subdued.
"Are you certain you want us here?" Beryl asked her.
"I could use the company," Mia admitted, "I want you and Rose to have the master suite."
"We couldn't possibly…" Beryl protested.
"Ix-nay on the refusal-ay," Rose nudged her girlfriend.
"I never moved in after Dinah left. First she shared it with Ollie and then Nyssa," Mia confessed, "I feel like an intruder when I go in there."
"We'll be happy to take you up on your fantastic offer," Rose insisted.
"I shall choose my own room now," Emiko excused herself.
"She certainly feels entitled," Conner observed.
"Will you and Conner be sharing a room?" Jason unexpectedly asked.
"Conner and I have intimacy issues to deal with," Mia replied.
Jason understood they stemmed from her positive HIV status, "Mapping out the room allotments helps us plan security contingencies."
"Miss Mia," the butler intervened from the door leading to the foyer, "You have an unexpected guest."
"Tell them it's awfully late," Mia replied.
"She said to tell you it's evening in Nanda Parbat not pre-dawn morning if you answered that way," the butler seemed bored.
"Is it Dinah?" Mia was out of her seat.
"It is her wife, Ms. Raatko," the butler announced.
The assembled group joined Nyssa in the foyer. Nyssa raised a hand to stifle questions, "You need to dismiss the servants from the manor."
"But Merrick had been with Ollie since he first became Green Arrow. He knows just about everything," Mia referenced the butler by name.
"And what he knows he could testify to in court," Nyssa insisted.
Mia summoned Merrick and dismissed the night staff. Emiko joined the others in the foyer. Nyssa was pleased to see Red Arrow had joined the Outlaws.
"What's this about, Nyssa?" Jason asked because no one else would, "I've heard you dismantled the Injusticer teams."
"They had served their purpose," Nyssa chose a seat and sat down.
"So why are you here then?" Rose was dubious.
"To discuss the future," Nyssa replied, "Dinah and I are concerned regarding the Outlaws' long term goals."
"Our long term goals are doing just fine," Conner interjected.
"If you have any, I'd love to hear them," Nyssa retorted.
Silence loomed and Nyssa smirked, "That's what I thought."
"I suppose you have a purpose for us," Mia snidely tossed out there.
"No, but Dinah and I came up with some suggestions for an ultimate purpose," Nyssa shared, "Would you care to hear them?"
"These Mighty Crusaders are proving to be…interesting," Jaina Hudson said from her loft in the Burnside District in Gotham City as she watched the newscasts out of Los Angeles.
"Then why am I on a plane to Seattle?" White Rabbit wanted to know using an encrypted mobile phone.
"Because Gen. Latham is the man ultimately in control of the Mighty Crusaders and the MLJ Initiative they answer to," Jaina told her.
"And Latham ran the CRUCIBLE Project your father tried to expose," White Rabbit immediately understood.
"Yes, when Latham tried to export gen factor activation techniques to India," Jaina recalled, "Now he has a team of meta-humans under his control to replace the JLA and the team's enemies already include Brain Emperor, the Patriarch, and Pirate Blue, and as well as the Global Concern."
"So maneuvering these 'Mighty Crusaders' could build inroads with the opposition. Then, depending upon the flexibility of either side, we choose one to use `em, dump `em, and move on," White Rabbit grasped Jaina's intentions.
"And you're headed to Seattle to find out Nyssa Raatko's intentions for a group called the Outlaws," Jaina explained.
"Good thing I don't need to pack…or eat…or sleep," White Rabbit snickered.