Divine Protector of Skyrim: Sorry it was so short. I was having a long, stressful day when I finished the last chapter and I rushed to get it done. I've gone back and made it longer.
Chapter 10: Guardians of the Earth:
Washington D.C.
March 1, 2017
11:00 A.M. EST
Jim Harper groaned as his eyes drifted open to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Who could be disturbing him at… 11:30 in the morning? Wow, he thought to himself as he pulled himself off the couch in the living room of his small apartment. I guess I had more to drink last night than I thought. He'd gone out for drinks with Red Arrow the night before to celebrate Jim's birthday (technically the day he was cloned, but who really cared?) and he'd gone to sleep with a major hangover, evidently a more severe one than he'd first assumed.
As he climbed off the couch and made his way towards the sound of persistent knocking against the front door, he thought back to how his life had changed in the last five years. When he'd first discovered that he was yet another Cadmus-created clone of the original Roy Harper, the now-former Guardian had been rocked to his core. Realizing that he'd been created to serve as another pawn of The Light, he quit his job as head of Cadmus security in disgust. After that, it had simply been a matter of finding another job.
He was still keeping the apartment though. He was too used to the place to give it up. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts and focus on answering the door. He was surprised when he opened it to find someone he hadn't seen in almost six months.
"Nightwing," he said to the vigilante, surprised. "What brings you over here? Did you find another lead on Wally?"
"I didn't find a lead," Nightwing replied. "I found him. Temporarily trapped in another dimension, but still alive and well. But that's not why I'm here." The former protégé of Batman went on to explain his and Amanda Waller's co-founding of A.R.G.U.S., and their desire to expose The Light's crimes by beating them at their own game.
"So are you in?" he finished with a hopeful smile.
"You're just starting out and desperate for recruits, aren't you?" the retired superhero asked with a resigned smirk. Nightwing only smiled knowingly. "Alright," Jim answered with a chuckle. "I'm in. Give me fifteen minutes to get ready and we can go through whatever recruitment process you've set up. Roy and I went out to celebrate my birthday last night, so my head's still a little fuzzy." Nightwing nodded and said goodbye to the clone before out of the building and pulling out his cell phone.
He quickly dialed Waller's number so that he and his partner could discuss their newest recruit. Waller was busy making the rounds among her friends in the intelligence community, recruiting those who she knew would be willing to work for A.R.G.U.S. Once they had enough manpower to begin normal operations, they could put their plan for taking down the Light into action.
They had a long road ahead of them. In order to expose and topple The Light and their conspiracy, they needed to play their cards carefully. Their game plan would require precision, stealth, and most importantly of all, a great deal of patience. There was inevitably going to be friction with the Team and the Justice League once A.R.G.U.S.'s founding was made public. But Nightwing was confident he could convince everyone to calm down and work together towards a common goal. The two sides didn't have to get along. They just had to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.
In two chapters, we'll jump back to the Marvel side of things and jump ahead a few months to show what the Wests and the Avengers are up to during the events of Thor: The Dark World.