Tales of the Titans: Godwar Part 3: The Faith That Would Bring Them Results

Chapter 26: Plans Within Plans

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"All right, let's go over this." Bumblebee had assembled Titans' East for an emergency conference in Steel City. "'Cause somehow I don't think we've got long."

"I know," said Aqualad. "'Bee, I relayed that information to Aquaman, like you suggested, hinting at the Titans' problem—while being careful not to call them our problems, but, at the same time, pretty much implying it—and mentioning the bills and their consequences."

"And his response?"

"…Was no response whatsoever. I know Arthur Curry, and that's not the way he usually plays it. He lets you know exactly what he thinks; he doesn't, what's the human expression, 'beat around the bush? Well, he doesn't. To me, that indicates he hasn't made up his mind yet."

Bumblebee thought, her chin in her hands. "Having the King of the Seas on our side, even passively, would be an enormous improvement. I understand Atlantis does have a UN presence, which pretty much nobody else does, except for the League itself. And the League's…had its problems with the UN, in the past."

"On the other hand, the main reason Atlantis has such a presence is because they've been careful about the boats they've rocked. That near-invasion thing…you can bet someone on the ruling council will bring that up, saying they don't need to antagonize the surface-dwellers anymore, especially not over something like this, that doesn't directly involve Atlantean policy. After all, what we're asking is for them to throw in with us based on their king's personal relationship with us, not any genuine need on their part as a nation."

Speedy spoke up. "And that's the thing, isn't it? It all comes down to whose ox is being gored here. I mean, yeah, we could tell the others, sorry, but we just can't back you on this…except I, personally, would have a hard time looking myself in the mirror afterwards. But it would be the most practical, and, yes, the most law abiding thing to do. How can we deny that?"

Tara cleared her throat. She'd grown up a lot recently, with the Kindred's science aiding her in throwing off the genetic predisposition she'd been cloned with, to love Beast Boy. Now she was more in control of herself. "I'd like to ask a hypothetical question. Of the group in general."

"Okay." The others looked at her.

"Would we be willing to go up against Titans' West? I mean actually attack them? Maybe on orders from the government?"

"What? No! Whatever gave-*"

"Because that's what it could easily come down to. Look. Best case scenario: the bill passes, Titans' West declares, etc., and we get to stand on the sidelines and watch. Not pleasant, I know.

"But worst case: we could be ordered into the battle, maybe alongside either the League or some black ops groups, or both. Now: split the difference: like it or not, we're still Titans, we've been affiliated with the West Coast group in the past, and we can't get around that. That could easily make a lot of powerful people very suspicious of us, just from that alone. Remember the internment of the Japanese during World War II? Just because of their racial type. And here we are, superbeings with 'Titans' hanging onto our name…allegiance subject to question. We could swear all the oaths of loyalty we want to, and some people would still not be convinced.

"Now suppose the League / U. S. wins. I doubt they'd look with much favor on us, no matter what. We'd still be under suspicion. And you know, there's probably some who'd wonder just how we could be loyal to anyone, if we let our own people—ones we've fought beside in the past—get hammered and did nothing.

"Now suppose Titans' West wins? Or at least manages a draw? It could happen, you know. They've got the crystal, the Orb, this Entity, not to mention the Kindred. And who knows what other resources they have. As Speedy says, would we be able to look at ourselves in the mirror after that?"

There was absolute silence around the table. Mas y Menos read the words scrolling across their tablets, translated from English. They both looked at each other, and nodded.

Bumblebee stood up. "Does anybody have anything to say, or add to, that?" No one spoke up. "Then it seems we've no real choice, not at all." She paused. "I'll call Raven. Aqualad?"

The Atlantean teen smiled crookedly. "I'll let Aquaman know. That is, unless Batman's already told him."

…..

11:30 Hours: Two shadowy figures moved stealthily through the unlighted portion of the warehouse. The rooms next to these were carefully guarded, as was this room, but nothing's uncrackable.

Gizmo stopped, looked around. "Coast's clear, Rod. Follow me." Behind him, Control Freak was clearly nervous. "I guess there wasn't any other way of doing this, huh, Giz?"

"If there had been, we wouldn't be here. Now c'mon. That junction box is just over here." And he indicated with a sharp nod of his head.

Overhead, as silent as a ghost, a black shadow slipped from one pile of boxes to another. Batman narrowed his eyes as his optic imagers confirmed his suspicions: Control Freak and Gizmo, normally enemies of the Titans, but now allies. Question: did the Titans know they were here? It was possible they could be acting without authorization. After all, they were criminals.

But there was absolutely no question in his mind what they were here for.

This room was closed off, used only for storage. The adjoining rooms were likewise occupied only by a skeleton crew…but there were data juncture cables that ran underneath this structure.

The U. S. military's own version of the internet was, of course, closed to the public simply by means of being on a completely different circuit altogether. There was no physical connection between the two. In order to hack into the government's databases, one had to actually be in a certain physical place, a place that was heavily guarded for that very reason.

In order to determine what the military's plans were for the Titans, these two technos would have attach a physical siphon of some sort to a physical cable. So their presence here made sense.

Silently, he moved from one vantage point to another, drawing back into the shadows when they looked up. Were they suspicious?

Generally speaking, people only saw Batman when it was too late. But Batman was smart enough to realize that the level of technology often accompanying these two was an unknown factor. They may have sensors…

"There! There he is! Rod! Go for it! Down that way!" Gizmo clicked a button on his belt, and two surface-to-surface missiles leaped away, heatseekers, zeroing in on the Dark Knight.

A thrown batarang took out one missile; he dodged the other, already readying smoke bombs. These particular bombs would also mask his heat signature, making more such missiles useless. Along with them, he also threw a chaff grenade, producing a cloud of multiple radar reflections. He had to make this quick; the authorities were sure to hear the racket and would come to investigate.

None of them needed to be here when that happened.

Cape wide, he glided down in a spiraling pattern towards the entrance to the aisle they'd ducked down. Even before he touched down, he was readying no less than three batarangs, one a stun grenade, and one a "screamer," designed to disorient and confuse the target. Quickly but cautiously, he peeked around the corner. His maps indicated that this was a dead end; they had to be at the other end of it, as he'd seen no evidence of flight capabilities on their part.

Nothing. The aisle was a dead end, and there was no sign that anyone had come this way.

Without even thinking about it, Batman instantly drew his grappling line and shot the hook into a support beam on the ceiling. If they weren't where they should be, that could only mean one thing: a trap.

He mounted another pile of equipment, a vantage point from which he could see his surroundings. In the distance, he could hear the sound of voices, alarms, and other noises indicated an aroused base. Quick: where could they be? He knew there were no hidden exits in the aisle way they just run down….

Still nothing. Batman narrowed his eyes…he'd missed something. But what?

There was a rattling at the door. Time to go.

…

0300 Hours: Gizmo sat in the small room with Alpha and Angelique, in one of the contoured Osiran chairs, his head in his hands, elbows resting on the table. Alpha watched him steadily. This young human had one of the most powerful non-boosted intellects he'd ever come across, and he was currently wracking that brain for an answer that none of them could fully and completely answer.

"It's gonna come down to it. Independence…and then the you-know-what hits the fan. We need someplace we can make secure. And there's no time to build one."

"What about that underground complex you showed us?" Angelique asked.

He shook his head. "Maybe as a last ditch, last resort option. But it's too old, really…it would require way too much reworking to get it to do what we need it to do."

"And what's that?"

Gizmo thought for a minute. He was getting another of his headaches. "Basically? Stand off everybody on the entire planet, and maybe beyond. And it's just not able to do all that. Sure, for a while there, it was good, with the quantivores, but we're talking long-term. Not even this other HQ you were telling me about, Slade's lair, would have what we really need."

"Do you not think that Raven and the others should be apprised of these thoughts of yours?" asked Alpha. "They may have already thought of them, and perhaps have suggestions of their own."

Gizmo nodded. "They need to know, that's for sure. But we need to make sure our conversations are secure, Alpha. And don't underestimate Batman. Just 'cause he's human doesn't mean he isn't capable of some pretty surprising things."

"We shall take your warning into consideration. Now." And he opened a link to Titans' Tower. Even though the hour was late (or early, depending on how you looked at it), if what Gizmo was telling them was true, every moment counted.

"Gizmo?" Angelique looked at him with concern. "You okay? When was the last time you ate?"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "I got a McRib on the way over. Fries and a drink, the whole nine yards."

"Gizmo! That special ended two days ago! You mean you haven't eaten since then?"

Whoops. Busted. "Well, I mean, uh, I did, er, get something, something else…er, somewhere. I think. Hey!" She was levering him up out of his chair.

"C'mon, Giz. You gotta eat. C'mon, now. Resistance is futile…"

….

Still yawning, Raven teleported to the Kindred's Hive along with Hank. She was mildly surprised to see Gizmo there, munching (a bit reluctantly, she thought, with some amusement) on a sandwich. "You wanted to see us, Alpha?"

"Yes. Gizmo here, has been apprising us of some of the deeper aspects of our proposed course of action."

"Oh?" She turned to look at Gizmo.

"Yeah. Y'see, I don't think anybody's really thought it through, just what it would mean."

Raised eyebrow. "Then, by all means, let us go over it."

Thirty minutes later, Raven sat, almost in shock. What Gizmo had told her had the ring of truth. "And…this is what you've come up with?"

He gulped down a bite of sandwich. "Yeah. It's not perfect, but considering the time constraints we're under, it may be all we can do. The best we can do."

"It seems….a bit extreme."

"Yeah. Because it is extreme. But…Raven, I know you don't like to think like this, but this is war we're talking about."

"Yes, but….it would require a pre-emptive move on our part. I'm reluctant to go that route. At least, not without more knowledge about…plans in the making."

He nodded. Strange, she thought, how he'd once been one of their deadliest foes. Now…it was like he'd always been on their side. She wondered why.

Or maybe they were being forced onto his side. Was this how the "supervillains" perceived themselves, she wondered? At war with the rest of society? And were they? "I can totally relate. No point in burning any bridges, I get'cha. But whatever's done, will have to be done quick, Raven. Now, you're in charge, so I'm just throwing this idea out there for you. Consider it an option, if you wanna."

"A lot depends on what Batman has in mind."

Gizmo buried his face in his sandwich, a guilty look coming across his face. "Uh, yeah…about that…"

…

Three hours earlier: Batman returned to the Batcave, very disappointed in himself.

He'd failed to capture the two miscreants, which meant that not only had they apparently one-upped him (something extremely few beings did), but also they were still on the board. Had they been acting under orders from Raven? He didn't know.

The only consolation he had was that they'd not had the time to siphon the military's computers. Batman himself had several such siphons in place; the American military's plans and actions—as well as the plans and actions of other nations—were an open book to him.

He had to admit, he didn't like what some of the most likely contingency plans the military had involved, hence his seeing to the introduction of the bills currently before the House. If he could make a legal decision seem feasible, a violent confrontation would be less likely. At least until the legal matter was settled.

And there was no way Congress would not make such a decision. So, as philanthropist Bruce Wayne, he'd seen to the sponsoring of one that would, he hoped, satisfy the legals as being logical and sufficient to allay everyone's fears without being seen as too soft on a potentially renegade group.

And, truth to tell, he wasn't sure the Titans weren't a renegade group anymore. They so easily could be. The League might could overpower them, should it come to that, but, given the allies they'd been able to acquire, plus the unknown factors of the Orb and the Entity, the cost, both in lives and property damage, could easily be astronomical. It could easily rival the invasion by Apokolips that had happened not long ago. The world was still picking itself up from that.

Plus there was the very real possibility that the Osirans had managed to track or otherwise find Omega and Athena. They were certainly aware of them, by now, and that they'd managed to get away with a fully functional hypercrystal. So they could easily now consider Earth a major threat to them and their imperial objectives. Batman didn't like to think about a full-scale invasion from Osira: they probably wouldn't even need their warriors. Their tech alone could paralyze and overcome any defense Earth could mount.

And if they did use their warriors…millions of Superman-level beings, superbly trained and utterly dedicated beyond death to the Lords…Earth wouldn't have a prayer. Especially in the fragmented form it would find itself after such a major civil war.

He didn't like to think of it, but, as Batman, he had to think of it. Think of it, and plan for it. There was no other way.

Such were his worries that he could be forgive for being only human. He could be forgiven for not noticing the nanobots he'd stepped in, back at the military base, the nanobots that stuck to the bottom of his boots…

….nanobots which waited, patiently, for the most opportune moment….

To be continued…