A/N: A thousand apologies for the late update - I didn't anticipate how many things I had to do today. My thanks to Jess Marylin, Jazbez, leathman, and Dextra2 for their reviews.
Timeline: October 2001
Chapter Thirteen: Meeting of the Minds
Green Arrow skulked through the dark alleys of Gotham City before making it to the meeting place – a warehouse WayneTech used for storing backup prototypes. Knowing Batman as he did, Arrow had to smile at the irony. Way back when he'd first met him, the Dark Knight would never have allowed anyone to interfere in Gotham, let alone get this close to his alter ego.
"Sorry I'm late," Green Arrow apologized as he let himself in. "I ran into some dumb thugs on the way."
"What did you do to them?" Batman asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Green Arrow said innocently, taking his seat at the table. He looked around, taking note of the group of heroes who had gathered. Most of them he knew, but there were a few unfamiliar faces – those who had begun activities only in the past two years or so – Arrow had not kept very up to date with things in the hero community after he'd taken Star City's mayoral office.
Whether by accident or by design, Superman, Batman (who tended to be who civilians thought of first whenever the term 'superhero' was mentioned), and Wonder Woman (who was the most recognizable of the old Justice Society) were sitting together at the head of the table. Close by were Batgirl, the Martian, and Doctor Fate. Nightwing (who had his arm wrapped in a cast) was sitting with the red-headed alien (Starfire, if Arrow recalled correctly); Zatanna was next to Hawkgirl. At the other end of the table sat Black Lightning and Katana, two more seasoned, yet lesser known, heroes. Near them was Green Lantern, who had obviously made an effort to be present for this meeting despite the number Bizarro and the Key had done on him when they attacked. Green Arrow knew how to recognize the signs of someone pretending they weren't recovering from fairly serious injuries – he'd done it often enough himself – and he could tell the Lantern wasn't running at one hundred percent.
"All right, let's begin," said Superman. "We've called this meeting because of a series of disturbing incidents related to villainous activities. As you know, several high-profile villains have escaped from prison and have remained at large. In the past two weeks, those same villains have resurfaced, attacking us one by one. We still have two of our number unaccounted for: the Flash and Black Canary."
"Three," Green Arrow corrected.
"What?" Black Lightning asked with a frown.
"We have three heroes missing," Arrow repeated. "Speedy vanished this morning."
"They are trying to take us all out of action," surmised J'onn. The citizens of New York had taken to calling their resident superhero 'Martian Manhunter' (because of his success in locating the few survivors of 9/11), but he still preferred his given name. "But why?"
"This is all in preparation for the arrival of some great evil," Wonder Woman explained. "It first appeared at the beginning of last year, and it has been steadily gaining power since."
"How do you know this?" Katana questioned.
"She's an Amazon," Batman replied. "They have an Oracle who is able to predict the future with a certain degree of accuracy."
"And I have felt it for myself," Wonder Woman added. "On the very stroke of the new millennium, this evil entered the world."
"That's not good," said Zatanna. "That's a very auspicious date. The mystical and magical forces of the universe are at their strongest on auspicious dates."
"What is this 'great evil'?" Green Arrow inquired.
"It is a villain unlike any you have ever faced before," Doctor Fate answered. "It is strong, and extremely powerful, and we don't yet know what it is. But if it is not stopped, Earth will be destroyed."
"So why even bother taking us out?" Nightwing asked. "If it's that powerful, we wouldn't even be significant."
"But maybe we are," Green Lantern spoke up. All eyes turned to him. The green-clad hero winced visibly as he shifted his arm, but he continued, "One thing I've learned in my career is that every person, no matter how seemingly insignificant, counts for something. Everyone could be the one person who single-handedly turns the tide of a battle."
"This is true," Starfire agreed, her tone carrying an inexplicable sorrow behind her words. "I have witnessed this very thing firsthand."
"And with all of us together, we do make a pretty formidable bunch," Batgirl pointed out. "Any villain who wants to destroy Earth has to go through us first."
"That's why he – or she – is thinning our ranks before the big attack," Hawkgirl realized. "If this new villain is going through all this trouble to weaken us, it must mean that we present a credible threat to their plans."
"Which means that if we stand together, we have a fighting chance," Green Lantern summarized.
"We'll need to be as strong as possible," said Wonder Woman. "The attack will come soon – within a few months, at the most. We have to rescue those who are missing in order to have the best chance possible."
Green Arrow nodded his agreement as he leaned forward; this was what he had come here for. He wanted his wife and ward back.
"I think I know where Flash is," Batman said unexpectedly.
"You do?" Hawkgirl sat up straight. "Where?"
"Mirror Master was involved in his abduction, which makes me think Flash is being held in a mirror dimension."
"There are hundreds of those," Zatanna pointed out. "How are we going to find out which one he's in?"
"It is a simple matter for me to search through pocket dimensions," Doctor Fate said. "But I'll need access to a mirror used by Mirror Master."
Batgirl tossed a shard of a broken mirror onto the table. "Will that do? We took it off Mirror Master a few days ago."
"You actually managed to track him down?" Superman inquired in some surprise.
Batgirl gestured at Batman. "World's Greatest Detective, remember?"
"So where's Mirror Master now?" Nightwing asked.
"He's safely locked up in Iron Heights." Batman traded a knowing glance with Batgirl. "He won't be bothering us for a while."
Wonder Woman was about to ask what exactly the Dark Knight had done to the villain, when she decided it was a subject better left alone. Across the table, Doctor Fate picked up the mirror shard and made it glow purple.
"This will take a few minutes," he said, before settling into a meditative trance.
A lone figure lurked unseen through the long shadows of the city streets. He was supremely unconcerned about the dangers he exposed himself to as he made his way to a destination known only to himself. Upon discovering that he had indeed been right about the location, he ventured back to a lonely back street half-shrouded in total darkness.
Stealthily, he cooed softly to identify his presence. A moment later, a feminine form stepped out from behind a Dumpster.
"Did you find it?" she asked.
"Yep," he replied. "It's about two miles away. Are you okay to walk that far?"
His companion scoffed. "Please. I'm injured, not incapacitated."
"Well, let's go, then."
"Should we do something?" J'onn asked uncertainly. It had been ten minutes, and Doctor Fate still showed no sign of coming out of his trance.
"No," Wonder Woman said immediately, though her lovely brow was furrowed slightly. "Fate knows what he's doing. Interfering would cause more harm than good."
Green Arrow drummed his fingers somewhat anxiously on the table; he did not like waiting.
Just then there was a sudden noise from the entrance of the warehouse. As one, all the heroes – with the exception of Doctor Fate – sprang to their feet, instantly on alert.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Superman asked in a low voice.
Batman's eyes had narrowed under his cowl. "No."
Subconsciously, the thirteen heroes spread out defensively, covering their bases as they prepared to face an unknown foe.
"Simmer down, people," a confident male voice spoke up. "I was under the impression you wanted to find us."
"Speedy!" Green Arrow exclaimed, recognizing the voice of his ward immediately.
"The one and only." Speedy came forward into the light.
"Where have you been? I thought some villain had got to you."
"I was busy tracking down your…other partner." At this, Black Canary came into view next to Speedy. Green Arrow blinked, surprised and relieved, and had to remind himself not to greet his wife overly affectionately.
"Canary," he greeted. "I'm glad you're all right."
Black Canary's face softened ever so slightly, letting him know that she knew what he wasn't saying.
"How did you find her?" Nightwing asked Speedy.
"I got wind of a clue to her location last night. When I followed it up, I found Doctor Polaris and Captain Boomerang at the other end."
Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "And?" he questioned.
Speedy smirked. "Well, let's just say they're both…indisposed until further notice."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you two are okay…" Green Lantern hobbled back to his chair and sat down heavily, subtly favoring his right side. "But next time, mind giving us a little warning before you surprise us?"
Black Canary winced sympathetically. "That bad, huh?"
"You have no idea."
"Well, it looks like we're all here," said Doctor Fate unexpectedly. Everyone turned to see him pulling Flash out of the mirror shard.
"Flash!" Hawkgirl exclaimed, flying over to help her friend. "Are you okay?"
"I'm starving," the bedraggled speedster mumbled, slumping against the table.
"Here." Batman tossed him a couple packets of emergency rations from his utility belt. "You're lucky time in mirror dimensions passes differently than in the real world – otherwise you'd have starved to death by now."
Flash cringed as he tore the edge off a packet and hungrily began to wolf down its contents. "You don't say."
"Now that we're all here," interjected Superman, "we need to decide our next move."
"Agreed," Black Lightning concurred. "Something big is going to happen soon, and we need to be ready to face whatever threats are thrown at us."
"The problem is we haven't the slightest clue what threats we will face," Katana pointed out. "We lack information."
"Then maybe it's time we get some," said Batman.