Story by Darksuperboy
Written by TheHero-Guy (posted here with his permission)
Apokolips
September 29
09:16 UST
Darkness engulfed the charcoal black walls of Darkseid's impressive fortress, while a faint red glow managed to lick the outside of the burnt surfaces. This light emanated from the large pits that were just outside the building, creating an eerie ambiance. A figure overlooking the dreadful scenery from a balcony then looked up. The sky from above him only allowed slivers of pale moonlight to escape due to the thick smoke and hoards of parademons flying in a mad frenzy. The flames then revealed the figure to be none other than Vandal Savage, who amongst the cloud of parademons and ash, could see that the War world was well in orbit above this hell pit.
He then heard heavy footsteps approaching, yet didn't turn to see who it was because he already knew. Darkseid. The heartless giant then entered Vandal Savage's peripheral vision as he too looked over his kingdom. Savage was the first to break the silence once he was next to him.
"You've tamed your planet quite well."
In slow response, Darkseid spoke with a deep, yet powerfully intimidating voice. "Let us hope the same can be done for yours."
Savage, in turn, replied with sure confidence. "With our combined forces I see no problem, and when Earth's people have been properly educated, we will take our rightful place in the galaxy beside our allies, and together tame the rest of the universe."
Before anything else could be said, the hard scraping sound of someone shuffling towards them broke the conversation. The source of the noise turned out to be none other than one of Darkseid's faithful servants, Desaad, who entered the balcony. Darkseid, still facing the bloody sky, spoke. "What news do you bring Desaad?"
Desaad in response stopped, bowed to his master, and replied. "My lord, the boom tube gateway is progressing as planned. I predict completion by the end of human's earth calendar year."
Savage clenched his teeth, as he had opposed the idea of waiting so long to begin the invasion that he had waited for nearly 50000 years for, but the Light's power in his home world had been severely diminished by the meddling of the justice league and their younger counterparts. That incident had been the last straw, and wished more than anything to not give them any more of a foothold on which to build a defense. But, nonetheless, he now had to think on the large picture he had always dreamed of since the discovery of his immortality, and if the Darkseid's forces were to invade now, they would have to do so without the support of the War world due to its inability to create a boom tube large enough for it. That, and Earth's forces may last long enough for assistance to arrive, be it from the Green Lantern Corp, the Martians, or the enemies of Apokolips itself.
Darkseid was right, it would be better to wait until all the pieces could be put into play, while they waited they still had a task to be done. There was that and Luthor's last message informing him about their technological infiltration of Earth's forces was progressing faster than expected.
As if reading Savage's mind, the mad giant then spoke. "And what of our operatives on Earth?"
Desaad, in turn, replied by raising his head a little. "The earthling allies are following the plan you have laid out for them my lord."
In approval, Darkseid, then turned to Vandal, revealing his fiery red eyes. "Your world will soon belong to its rightful ruler…"
Savage replied with a burning anger. "And he will remember and help those who put him there."
He then then lifted his head back up to the distant stars through the smoke, hoping to see the one that would soon be his, but then smiled as he read Desaad's latest report over the unfortunate events that had happened to his enemies.
September 29
Hall of Justice
10:17
Although Justice Hall was now fully repaired and up and running smoothly, its grand reopening had been on a somber note. With the death of one of its founding members, the hall didn't quite feeling complete for those who worked inside it, and the golden statue that represented that hero seemed dull without its real counterpart beside it. But a hero's job is never done and crime didn't stop for anyone. After the Joker's last performance, the entire country had been put into complete chaos and was only now recovering, with some places faster than others. Central City being one of them, especially with its greatest hero gone, it was left vulnerable, bringing out its super villains who had thought it would be best for an easy crime spree, but they had quickly learned it was not best to call attention to themselves in front of a mourning Justice League.
From the second Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Abra Kadabra , Heat wave, The Trickster, Weather wizard, and Mirror master raised the first alarm, they were quickly met by the entire league plus sidekicks and many other heroes all looking more than annoyed. It was at that point that they all decided it'd be in the group's best interest to surrender without a fight against Earth's greatest heroes. This small incident brought the League a very important concern. Who will defend the fallen hero's home? That is why the group was gathered together to set up a rotating duty schedule so that Central City would never be without a hero.
Inside the Main Hall were a group consisting of Tigress, Starfire, and Superboy who were waiting for the last arrival, until the zeta tube finally activated.
"Recognized, Blue Beetle, B22."
From the tube emerged a fully suited Jaime, who was met by the small group of young heroes. Superboy was the first to greet him, as he patted him on the back. "Blue, good to see you back."
Jaime, however tried his best to smile, and replied with a small hint of anguish. "Thanks. Though, I'm not sure how much help I would be…"
All of them knew that he was referring to the Flash's funeral, which Jaime had attended out of suit, yet received the cold shoulder from Bart when he had tried to console his friend. Not to mention the understandably high tensions with most of Central City's population about the Reach having inspired the Joker's last act that had cost them the life of their hero. He felt the weight of the entire city's disappointment and resentment, which was caught by Tigress, who rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Give him time. He's just...hurting." The blonde hero could definitely relate to Jaime, and had been a massive support to Iris during this tragic time, just like she had been there for her when she had lost Wally.
Jaime then released a deep sigh, and then looked to the others with sadness. "I guess. So... are we waiting on anyone else?
Tigress then shook her head, and walked over to the computer as she spoke. "No. Now that you're here, we're good to go."
She then typed the location of Central City into computer, after all the young heroes wanted the public to know that there were still heroes protecting them, so were resolved to show more of themselves outside of shadows. As the Zeta tube whirred to life, the group entered together, and disappeared in a flash of light.
September 29
Gotham General Hospital
10:27
Within one of the rooms of the muted Physical Therapy Wing of the building, a red headed girl held herself up in between two balancing poles, trying with all her strength and efforts to accomplish what used to be a seemingly simple task: move her legs. Barbara Gordon refused to give up and believe the heart wrenching truth. She didn't quite remember what had happened, but was told that after Dick managed to get her to the hospital, the damage that had been done, and it had been too late. The Joker's bullet had caused severe damage to her spine and resulted in a 95% loss of motor control to the lower half of her body. The damage would have been lethal, were it not for her body armor. In her mind, she was deeply angered by the irony that it was unlikely she would of been shot at like that if she hadn't been wearing the suit, which she could now never wear again.
In the first few days after the accident, she had hated everyone who showed up next to her bed, and had grown tired of telling her father that they were friends from school or pen pals, when really, she knew all of them in their costumes and alter egos. She had let them know how she felt, even if it confused her watching father, who on her instruction had been told to refuse entry to her ward, Bruce Wayne and his protege, Dick. The young woman had gotten over blaming them, and how could she after giving that speech to Lightning on that dreadful night. She just didn't want them to see her weak, which had lasted a few more days until she got a visit from someone unexpected: Iris West Allen.
Upon seeing the grieving widow, the younger redhead's anger dissipated, and listened to her wise, yet caring words. She had mostly spoken about cherishing the time she had with the ones she loved, and after that, the injured heroine had started letting people back in and began the emotional healing process. She then began to regain confidence in herself, and talked with her therapists, her father, but the most surprising was the fact that she had even talked to Bruce. Yet the only the person who wouldn't see her was the Dark Knight's former sidekick, who had surprisingly been reclusive towards her, which she hated. If anything, he was the one that needed to talk to her just as bad as she needed to talk to him. Dick had recently suffered so much, which led to her to think that this had been the last draw. Even after all that had happened to her, this made her sad for another person.
She was then brought back to reality by the sound of the bored nurse, who was too busy looking at her phone.
"You can do it, Barbara, just another few steps."
Barbara glared at the implication that this was easy to the nurse, but the heroine quickly dismissed the angry thought, and took a deep breath. With great effort and a large amount of time, the redhead managed to make the two more baby sized steps to the end of the runway before she collapsed into the waiting wheelchair. "Very good Miss Gordon, we need to make sure you keep that remaining motor control going, so you don't lose it..."
Barbara once again glared due to condescending tone from the nurse but managed to swallow the knot in her throat. Little did the trained woman know that Barbara had a 0.5 percent chance of surviving such a traumatic and life-threatening experience. To most people, that was considered a downright miracle. Her case meant the difference between being able to move your toes on your own and feeling your own legs, compared to being a vegetable from the waist down. Barbara was focusing on this incredibly significant thought and the current challenge of placing her feet onto the footrests of the wheelchair, when suddenly the nurse's voice once again interrupted her train of thought.
"Excuse me sir, can I help you?"
Barbara looked up to see a ruggedly exhausted young man standing before them in the doorway. At first, she did not recognize him, but it was because of the noticeably different features that were plaguing him. He had the start of an unkempt shadow around his lower face, along with bloodshot eyes and heavy bags under them. His clothes looked a bit torn, and dirty. Before them was none other than Dick Grayson, making Barbara's heart sink with sadness at the sight of it for how far he'd fallen. Yet her hope had been renewed by the fact that he had shown up.
"I, um…" Dick was confused about what to say both in general, and to the nurse. For a long time, Barbara released a small smile.
"Its ok. He's a friend." She then looked up at the nurse, who in turn was showing concern at the young man in the doorway. "Could you give us a minute Dr. Thompkins?
Still concerned about him, she nodded in agreement, walked past Dick, and mentioning. "I'll be right outside if you need me."
Barbara then nodded slightly back at her. It seemed that for the longest time, the two just stood there in silence, until Dick nervously began. "Its my fault…"
She then quickly cut him off in order to prevent any added tension, and spoke just above a whisper. "Dick, don't."
The wreck that was Dick refused to avoid the conversation though, and continued. "No it is, if I had just…"
Unwilling to yield, Barbara again cut him off, this time with more force. "You can't change what…"
Dick continued anyways, struggling to contain the tears that had been welling up in his eyes. "I could have! I could have changed so many things if has just…" He then stopped, and lowered his head, keeping his face hidden in the shadows.
Barbara could feel the emotional state he was in, and spoke comfortingly. "You made the right decisions." She then slowly wheeled herself forward, that way she was closer to him. "You did what was best."
From the distance that was between them, she could hear heavy breathing coming from the young man, with his legs quivering while talking. "It's all my fault. All of it. If I had just trusted you, or listened to him…" It was then that he broke out into tears, and fell to his knees, only to be caught by Barbara's warm embrace of her arms. She then rested his head in her lap, while he laid collapsed on the floor, leaning on her chair while she stroked his head speaking softly into his ear.
"Shhhh…" For a few minutes, this continued in silence, she calmly reassured him while still running her fingers through his hair. "It's alright. Everything's going to be alright." She then sensed the presence of someone else, but then looked up to see the faces of a distressed Kaldur and Roy. These were the two men who had found Dick, dragged his drunken form out of one of the many bars he'd been to, and brought him to her to help their friend finally let go of the past. With a new sense of determination, she concluded. "We'll heal together…"
September 29
Arkham Asylum
10:51pm
Lightning tore through the gloomy sky, as rain poured down over the soaked mass of protesters, who were still camped outside. These people were not just residents from Gotham, but Central City and other cities around the country. Although they were from different areas, they were all full of hatred towards the man who tried to nuke them, with some even trying to break IN to show the perpetrator how they truly felt. Most of the people, however, were content with just causing a small commotion. The ruckus could be heard within the super prison's most distant corridors and hallways, slowing fading as the noise crawled to the most distant part of the building, where a lone door was being guarded by two superheroes who were currently playing a game of chess: Miss Martian and Aqualad. The one responsible for all the mayhem now spoke up from the cell, and knocked on the glass.
"Knock, knock."
The two continued with their game and ignored him, which only annoyed him a bit. With a shrug of his shoulders, he looked back to his cell and smiled.
"Still not talking to me then? I don't know why you're all so serious, its not like I killed anyone... oh wait. I did!"
He then broke out into a maniacal fit of laughter, while the two continued to remain silent. Yet the Joker carried on.
"Come on it was a good joke! Just look outside, and you can see all of my adoring fans!"
But little did the mad killer know, the two heroes weren't even listening to him. They had been mind linked, and were currently inside the mental realm in the form of Mount Justice's old cave, in the living room playing chess. A tv screen behind them symbolised their outside world, showing the view from their eyes and the sound from the speakers of what they could hear. M'gann in her human form, moved a chess piece.
"I'm not comfortable with this Kaldur."
Still thinking on his and her next move, Kaldur replied.
"We all must do our duty, M'gann..."
He then moved his own piece.
"Even if we do not like it."
M'gann not really concentrating on the game, spoke back.
"No its not that. Its just...the madness radiating from him is like crashing waves. I don't like standing this close to him, even uncle john doesn't like getting to close him, and when he shared an experience with me of the time when he entered his mind…"
She then let out a shiver, allowing Kaldur to respond calmly in hopes of keeping her from altering the mental realm.
"It is to be expected. From what Martian Manhunter and Batman have explained, the Joker's mind has been altered by an accident that cannot be fixed by any telepathic method. What you are essentially sensing is pure chaos, something I would not like anyone to experience."
The heroine then moved her next piece, and a hint of sadness was detected in her eyes. She had thought about the moment in which she "broke" his mind, leaving him in a state of stasis.
"You only say that because of me..."
Kaldur eyed the board before him, and looked up at her. He knew what she was referring to.
"But I also haven't because of you, and you've taken great strides in that regard. You were the only one who could have saved me, were it not for your determination..."
He then moved one of his knights, knocking over M'gann's queen.
"Which is why you have lost. Checkmate."
He then revealed a small smile, knowing that M'gann would understand his sarcastic sense of humor. Yet, he had managed to keep her from concentrating on the game, meaning that she had lost. M'gann laughed, and with a wave of her hand, all of the pieces reset themselves onto the board.
Kaldur then let out an uncertain sigh of deep thought, and moved his first piece.
"Yet you are not the only one who has learnt from their most recent mistakes, I will never again keep secrets from my friends again, no matter what the cost is t...
M'gann interrupted him with a caring, yet serious tone to her voice.
"Kaldur, don't."
He then looked at her with an ashamed guilty look on his face, and accepted the comfort from his friend and nodded in agreement. Kaldur was about to move one of his pieces once more, when he spotted movement on the screen. M'gann also spotted this, making her eyes flash green, transporting them both back into their bodies in real time.
The Joker had been telling them the many stories he usually would tell his victims, but he was just finishing one of his favorites.
"...so that's how I got these scars!"
He looked back at them, and laughed hysterically. The door next to the two heroes then opened to show two guards walking down the corridor with a food tray.
"Oh! My waiter has arrived!"
The Joker then sat upright, and spoke with a theatrical grin.
"I think I fancy the lobster today, but if it's not too much trouble, I really need to get going…"
He knew that the guards were getting pissed off at their job and continued with his antics as they advanced on the door.
"What? No napkin at least? Bad form sir! No tip for you today…"
Aqualad then opened the slot in his door for food, and slid the plate in. As the two guards turned to leave, Joker recognized one of them, causing him to put his face against the glass.
"Oh! Is that you, Boles old boy? Now I'm thinking that instead of giving YOU the tip, I'll make sure to give one to your family when I get out!"
He then let out another one of his maniacal laughs. M'gann then sensed that Boles had had enough of the clown, and was flooded with devastating memories of his past. He had had many encounters with him since he first began working at the Asylum when he was a young man, and M'gann to take it all in. So many of his friends and loved ones were gone because of this heartless animal. The only reason he was still alive was probably because of the many encounters he's also had with: the Dark Knight. Boles did not fear the Joker, and if anything, he was furious at him. All he wanted more than anything in the world was to end it. Now. She then blinked, and saw that he had turned to reach for his pistol, aimed and fired a single bullet. With her superhuman speed, Miss Martian caught the bullet with her psychic blast, while Aqualad had already drawn water to form a shield around the Joker's door. With tears in her eyes, Miss Martian then crushed the gun, and levitated a yelling Boles out of the corridor. The Clown Prince then looked back to Kaldur as if nothing had happened, and stood up next to the cell's microphone.
"Thanks Fish Legs! You just can't seem to get good staff these days!"
Aqualad then walked over to the cell's door and spoke.
"You're right..."
He then placed his hand onto the door's microphone, sending a few bolts of electricity through it and into villain, temporarily knocking him out.
"...you can't."
September 29
Central City
8:13am
The brisk fall breeze whispered through the calm streets of the city, with little activity to report. No major villains, no threats to the city, just a couple of attempted muggings and a car chase. The latter of which the team was finishing up now on a closed off highway, with various parts from a disassembled car laid neatly in the middle of the road. A smug looking Kid Flash twirled a wrench with his speedy fingers, while Blue Beetle had the driver suspended off the ground with one arm waiting for the cops to arrive. Soon, they could hear the piercing sound of sirens, assuring the rest of the team to spread out amongst the city to patrol. The driver, still angry for being held up in the air, continued to yell at his captor.
"Get your stinking hands off of me, you over-sized blue alien tin can!"
Obviously no match for his strength, the man continued to struggle, with his legs flailing in the air. Blue then looked up at him with a confused and annoyed look on his face.
"Dude, I'm from Texas. Its ALL human under here."
The driver then replied with disgust.
"Really? Cause all I see is a traitor under there."
Surprisingly, the man then faced Kid Flash, and spoke.
"And you. Why are you working with this guy? He's the reason the Flash's dead!"
Jaime had had enough. He couldn't believe the ignorance of this guy, and struggled to keep the scarab from tightening his grip. This caught the young speedster's attention, as he zoomed in front of the man's face, and waved the wrench right in front of his nose.
"No. The real reason the Flash is dead is because a crazy clown decided to go nuclear on a city and my grand..."
Blue Beetle then cut him off nervously before Bart spilled any secret identity details to the police who had just arrived on the scene.
"Calm down, amigo."
He then looked at the approaching police officers, and turned to Bart.
"Let's just leave this guy to the cops and get out of here."
Blue Beetle then released the criminal, who the police immediately took away. To Jaime's surprise, however, Bart jokingly punched him in the shoulder and replied.
"Fine. Race you back to the tubes!"
He knew Jaime had to get back home for homework, so the two shot off into distance.
While the two were running and flying through the streets, the two talked. Jaime broke the ice first.
"You know, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for me to come back to the city that doesn't have a liking to the whole E.T. experience, and I get it. It's just so...different from the last time was here."
While zooming through the cityscape, he replied with a grin.
"Which is why we have to get them unmoded, and getting them crash with you!"
Still feeling the uncertainty from the entire city, Jaime responded with a heavy heart.
"I just feel responsible for what's happened…"
At that moment, Kid Flash stopped dead in his tracks so fast that it took Jaime a few seconds to realize what happened, and had to fly back to him, where he landed in middle of a dark alleyway, met by Bart. The young speedster appeared as if he was about to explode, and released his onslaught of words.
"I'm only going to say this once. It wasn't YOUR FAULT, OR NIGHTWING'S, OR ANYONES!
By now, he was yelling at the confused hero, who could only see what unfolded before him in shock.
"YOU KNOW WHO'S FAULT IT IS? YOU KNOW WHO YOU CAN REALLY BLAME?! ME! ITS MY FAULT MY GRANDFATHER IS DEAD! HE'S DEAD!
Bart's eyes could no longer contain the tears, and let them roll down his face.
"AND I CHOSE TO LET IT HAPPEN!"
Jaime replied with confusion, trying to console him.
"Bart, but you didn't…"
The young one then replied with more anger, causing his voice to break under all the stress he had exerted upon himself.
"I'M TELLING YOU JAIME! IT WAS MY FAULT, I KNEW HE'D…"
He then slowly paused to take a deep breath and finally confessed.
"When I traveled to the past, I thought I could get both, but the universe chose for me. I knew one or the other had to go…"
Tired of the cryptic and vague talk coming from Bart, he replied.
"What are you talking about?"
Just then, the Scarab on Jaime's back spoke.
"The Kid Flash is referring to the Law of Causality, Jaime Reyes."
Not doing much to help him understand the situation, Jaime looked to the Scarab.
"What?"
The Scarab, in return, responded.
"The Reach, though never possessing the ability to time travel, continued to create several theories concerning it, one being the Law of Causality.
Jaime continued, still not grasping what was happening.
"And that is?"
The Scarab then read the definition of it to Jaime's mind.
"The law states that if a time traveller ever created a machine in order to affect an event in the past, he could never use that machine to change it, out of a paradox caused by the event never happening, therefore, the time machine was never created to change it."
Still deeply confused, Jaime looked to Bart.
"What?"
The speedster was now ready to continue with his explanation.
"I helped create the time machine to not only stop the Reach, but the death of my grandfather too. But because one of those HAD to happen for me to want to help build the time machine, I had a decision to make."
Bart then closed his eyes in hopes to make the tears stop. He remembered little flashbacks of his previous life, one in which he had nothing. No family, no friends, no hope. Until the day he stepped into the time machine, his life had been oppressed by the frightening grip of the Reach. He then opened eyes and faced Jaime.
"That's why I chose to stop the Reach. They took away everything I had in the future I grew up in. I lived without even knowing my grandfather, and...and after all this, I still don't. Do you understand?"
Jaime, shocked by this realization, replied with wide eyes.
"Bart, I'm so sorry…"
Bart, having calmed down, masked his inner turmoil with confidence, and spoke.
"It's not your fault. It had to happen, and if it wouldn't have happened, it would have caused a paradox that would have ripped the universe apart."
By then it was clear to Jaime that Bart was not coping well, and reminded himself that he needed to talk with Black Canary about this.
"So in the grand scheme of things, we're good."
Tears continued to roll from the speedster's face, as he carefully spoke with a smile.
"Don't you ever let me hear you blame yourself, because its my fault. Not yours."
Shocked, as Jaime suddenly realized that it all made sense, walked up to his friend, and placed his arm around Bart's shoulder."
"Its my fault…"
Bart continued to mumble, as he let the run in full stream tears, while Jaime helped him towards the zeta tube. They both didn't care about the time it would take them to get there, but were just glad they both had someone to help them get there.
September 29
Pentagon
8:33am
Deep underground, behind steel-reinforced walls, a blockade of security guards, a myriad of surveillance cameras, and armoured plating coated the dimly lit room. Inside the room, the leaders of all the nations army, navy, air force, CIA, FBI, special forces, and a representative for the president had all gathered for this top secret and highly classified meeting. The man representing the President of the United States, Howard Fell, spoke first.
"Good evening gentlemen, we are gathered here to discuss the progress of Operation: Prometheus, but first…"
He then looked to the intel representative.
"How are we going with General Eling?"
The other representative replied, pushing his glasses up the ridge of his nose.
"So far, his physical state hasn't changed, since our extraction team tried to corner him in Egypt which made us to believe his change is...permanent. His last known location was just outside of Afghanistan, where we believe he will attack terrorist camps and bases within the Province to support our troops there."
He nervously finished, while a general murmur of approval swept through the room, but a look from the President's representative shut it down. There was no leeway for those that were high in rank, such as the general, to be disobeying orders and running an operation of such importance. Fell then turned his head to one of the men and spoke.
"Alright if that's all, we'll move onto Army. Status report."
The Army's general replied with a positive tone to his voice.
"Despite the temporary set-backs in development, production of the XTR is nonetheless progressing. We estimate a complete combat-ready battalion by the end of the year."
Fell simply dismissed this as another failure, and turned to another man.
"Navy?"
The commanding officer representing the Naval division then looked back at him, and turned to face his cupped hands.
"We've been monitoring the Atlantians as closely as we can to see if there is any technology we could reverse engineer by observation, but their territory is...too deep for even our nuclear subs to spy on them, and not to mention their advanced sonar technology detecting us."
Fell sighed, rubbed his eyes with his hand, and shook his head at the little progress that had been made. He then sipped his coffee, and spoke with boredom.
"Airforce."
The Airforce commanding officer looked to the Navy's, as if he had the exact same thing to say.
"We've had dozens of fighters fly over Greece on cargo or repair runs, but even our most advanced detection systems can't detect Themysciria itself, let alone any technology they may have."
Now angry at the status of each division, he slammed his fist into the desk, and looked around the room.
"We are the most powerful nation in the world! Our defense budget is second to none, and all we've got to show for nearly four months of constant surveillance and intelligence gathering of alien technology to defend is a suit of armor?"
With a venomous glare that glided over everyone he continued.
"Gentlemen, this is NOT acceptable! Do I make myself clear?!"
Suddenly, the Special Forces officer sat back in his chair and stared at the table.
"Sir, with all due respect, we are here to defend our country without question. But without risking an international incident or worse, this is the best we can do unless they give us their technology."
Fell took this in, and was about to reply, until he was cut short by a man who had been sitting in the shadows observing the preceding.
"Sir, each member of the Justice League's popularity has carried over into their respective nations when viewed by the public. The Atlantians and Amazons have never shown any signs of being a threat, so it would be frowned upon by the public if the United States were to be caught trying to steal their technology after watching their very own representatives save American lives almost every day."
He took a deep breath and continued.
"I know that the United States government isn't too comfortable with just trusting the Justice League to protect them when it's most convenient for them, and instead go off and defend their own countries first."
Everyone's attention was now fully toward this man, as he had brought out what no one had thought about before. But before any of them could question his allegations, he then concluded with an air of great confidence.
"No, what we need are American superheroes that would only look out for America's interest."
Suddenly, the room came to a quiet frenzy, until it was silenced by an interested Fell.
"And you are?"
The man in the seat sat up straight, and smiled.
"Sir, my name is Dabney Donovan and I represent CADMUS. I think we've been going about this the wrong way."
Donovan then stood up, and walked around the room, with everyone's eyes following him.
"Instead of trying to upgrade our entire military to defeat an alien insurgence, we should be trying to make what has defeated attacks like them in the past."
He then paused, and faced everyone.
"Gentlemen, I propose we create our own Justice League."
The room buzzed once again, this time with more serious inquiries arising, until the Army officer spoke up.
"You want to...add to their roster?"
The CADMUS representative then turned his back to them, and spoke.
"No. We make a team of our own heroes, but just from the United States to protect the United States."
He then faced Fell, as he continued with a care-free attitude.
"We've received reports that not all heroes in the U.S. are part of the League. Think about it, no foreign influence or outside loyalties. With our training and resources, they would be a formidable fighting force for the government."
The Naval officer then spoke up.
"But the real League won't like it…"
Donovan, who seemed like his proposition was already a reality, replied with a grin.
"Who says they have to know?"
After listening to Donovan, Fell spoke.
"They'll know."
He then paused, leaned back in his chair, listening to the idea in his mind, and liked what the possibilities could be.
"They will know, because we will tell them, and they won't have any reason to stop us. Keeping this in the dark would just give anyone who's opposed to it more of a reason to go against it if it were to ever get out. Foreign powers would see a cover up as an ill intent towards them. No. We declare it to the world, gain support with the public, maybe even reduce the amount of influence the real Justice League would have on us."
After looking around the room, most of the officers were in agreement, but there were some that felt uncomfortable with the idea. Fell stood up, meaning that the meeting was, yet motioned to Donovan.
"Get me a brief outlining of the potential we have with this to me by tomorrow for the president to read."
Donovan then replied with a nod.
"Of course sir."
Just before Fell turned to leave, he looked back to Donovan and concluded.
"Call them...the Justice Society of America."
Unfortunately this didn't come in in time for edits, so if you notice anything major, please let me know.
On a personal note, I'm very much stuck, so you can expect some random YJ pieces from me soon so I can get back in the mode. I've already got a little Artemis and Wally fluff started.