14
All across Earth-2 the Justice Lords were exacting their revenge. Thousands of Mercy Corp. employees were either dead or homeless. All were now unemployed. Hundreds more had been arrested in suspected complicity with ARGUS. ARGUS' existence had come to light and now parademon patrols scoured the globe looking for hidden bases.
The American puppet government had been toppled and the Justice Lords Authority had officially seized power. ARGUS' leadership and the remainder of Task Force X hadn't been found yet. In his paranoia, Lord Superman meted out draconian punishments at the barest hint of "treason".
Gizmo was brought before Lord Superman. Lord Superman dimply recalled dealing with Gizmo once before years ago. That meant he was another interloper from another universe.
"Where are the others?" he grated.
"What others?" Gizmo wondered.
"From your universe," Lord Superman could barely speak in his anger, "Where are they?"
"What others?" Gizmo was honestly baffled.
"Mr. Terrific and Aztek," Lord Superman snapped.
"My hold out gun must have popped Mr. Terrific here like it did me," Gizmo theorized, "I have no idea of how Aztek got here."
Lord Superman's heightened senses acted like a nearly infallible polygraph. He knew Gizmo was speaking the truth. He stepped away from his throne and came to stand before Gizmo.
"Then I guess there's only one thing to do," Lord Superman told him.
"You're letting me go?" Gizmo hoped.
"In more ways than you can imagine," Lord Superman's eyes began to glow red.
Gizmo's last thought before being incinerated was that he was screwed.
Lord Superman then checked in with the other Justice Lords. Lord Green Lantern and Lady Hawkgirl were in North America leading parademon sweeps. Tyrus had cloned Tracker and set forth from Metropolis trying to rundown ARGUS and Task Force X
Lady Katana was doing the same in Asia. Lady Wonder Woman led the search in Europe. Lady Supergirl was scouring South America. General Atom led the searches across Africa.
The Justice Lords' New God allies aided them as well. Professor Bedlam led parademon patrols over Australia. Necromina was still in the healing tanks treating her burns. Precious awaited Lord Superman's pleasure in his bedchamber.
Lord Martian Manhunter was still a formless writhing mass of green flesh. No science available to them had alleviated whatever Batman's mind had done to J'onn. Lord Superman grated at the loss of one of the Justice Lords. It meant ceding authority over to the New Gods.
While he waited for the release Precious' body would bring him, he first had to visit the dungeon.
First he checked in on "Lady" Flash. She'd been subjected to a full round of psychotropic drugs as well as psychedelic mind control subliminal messages. Christina Molotova was reduced to a shivering, naked lump huddling in a corner. Soon she'd be ready for the final round of treatment and then she would be truly ready to join the Justice Lords as Lady Flash.
Lord Superman moved off to the other occupied cell. He'd broken every bone in Batman's body only to subject him to a healing bath in a treatment tube. Then he'd repeated both exercises. Now Batman was naked and exposed under brightly burning strobe lights. The ultimate punishment for a man that drew his power from the darkness and shadows.
Yet Batman merely sat in a corner in the Lotus Position. The sight enraged Lord Superman to the point of distraction as he entered the cell, "Where are they?"
"Where are who?" Batman replied.
"You know who!" Lord Superman thundered, "ARGUS and your damn Suicide Squad!"
"So you still can't find them," Batman mused.
Lord Superman realized he'd given away more than he'd learned, "I checked your manor and brought your cave down. They weren't there. Where did they go when they left Metropolis?"
"I don't know," Batman confessed, "I was left out of the strategic loop precisely because this day would eventually come. I only learned of an operating base if I was to go to it. Mercy Corp. Metropolis was the only base I ever operated out of."
Every one of Lord Superman's senses screamed he was telling the truth. Yet it all rang horribly false, "I'll find them and then bury you alive under their corpses."
"This is because of Lois, isn't it?" Batman inquired, "I have to assume Lady Supergirl told you about the gene resequencing project."
"She and Mercy Graves aren't even as strong as Kara. They're no threat," Lord Superman replied as he spun around to leave.
"You'll have to kill Lois to stop her," Batman warned Lord Superman, "Can you do that?"
Lord Superman slammed the cell door shut behind him. Batman allowed himself the smallest of smiles, "I guess not."
Lord Superman was still fuming as he entered his private bedchamber. Precious lounged across the bed. Her armor was stripped off and she wore the barest gossamer threads. Normally her semi-nudity aroused him but today it just seemed wrong somehow.
As a New God, Precious had the resilience to withstand every one of Lord Superman's sexual exertions. It was a release he'd never had with Lois. But that was before she was infused with Argoan DNA. That meant Lois had changed in a fundamental way. Perhaps even in lovemaking possibilities.
Perhaps Lois could be allowed to rejoin him in his bed. Precious would certainly be up for sharing. She'd do anything to please him.
As Lord Superman sat down at the edge of the bed, Precious slipped from her reclining position to wrap her arms and legs around him, "Any luck with Batman yet?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lord Superman snapped and his spine stiffened.
"Nothing," Precious assured him, "But only your chief adversary can get you this worked up. Knowing that prepares me for how much unwinding you'll need. Perhaps I should thank him because in your efforts I climax several times."
"Heh," Lord Superman started to chortle, "That would irk him."
"Then please tell him," Precious breathed heavily in his ear, "I also have good news for you."
"What news?" Lord Superman was instantly wary. The New Gods were infernal schemers and any "news" had to be treated with caution.
"I'm carrying your child," Precious whispered in his ear.
Lord Superman was stunned into obliviousness. No one had known if Kryptonian and New God DNA could even intermingle. But now he knew Darkseid must have already known. Hence his granting approval to Precious to conduct this affair.
"How long?" Lord Superman asked.
"Ten weeks," Precious said happily, "I'll begin to show soon enough."
Lord Superman had visions of kicking Precious' abdomen until the hell spawn was aborted.
"What are you going to tell your wife?" Precious languidly asked.
"Lois has become an enemy," Lord Superman said stiffly, "She'll be treated as such."
Precious began to nibble on his ear, "I'm so glad. Then we can raise our child together and he can rule someday in your place."
Lord Superman rose and Precious was startled, "What did I say?"
"Nothing," Lord Superman lied, "I just remembered I have to recall Professor Bedlam. He has a special project underway that I need him to finish."
He left and Precious knew she was being fed half truths and lies. Which suited her since she was supplying him a steady diet of the same.
The last five days in Atlantis had allowed the members of ARGUS and Task Force X grow more comfortable with the Prime Universe JLU members committed to aiding them in overthrowing the Justice Lords and liberating Earth-2 from Darkseid's forces. Of course, comfortability was a relative term. As some were discovering.
"So what happened to you?" Galatea asked from Nightwing's open doorway.
"What do you mean?" Nightwing asked coldly.
"What I mean is our Dick Grayson can be a bit of an uptight ass but he's basically a decent guy," Galatea answered, "So what made you a permanent dickhead?"
"You wouldn't understand," Nightwing sniffed.
"Try me," Galatea urged, "And keep in mind I was born from a covert operation to create a counterbalance for Superman and Supergirl. When that agency went rogue and was shut down, I was left out in the cold with one purpose in life: to kill the Justice League. In order to fulfill that mission I joined sides with Lex Luthor. Later I decided my life's purpose was meaningless. So I set out to find a new one. That quest eventually led to my joining the same Justice League I'd tried so hard to destroy."
Nightwing nodded, "Maybe you will get it. I revered Batman. He was my father figure after my parents died and he was my mentor that gave me a purpose in life. Only he betrayed everything he'd taught me when the Justice League became the Justice Lords. He helped hunt down heroes and villains alike."
"When he met your Justice League, he realized what a colossal mistake he'd made and he helped recruit most of the heroes that made up Task Force X. He knew Lord Superman would make a deal with any devil to get his powers back. And he was right," Nightwing shared, "I worked with Batman but I knew he'd crossed too many lines and was too tainted to ever fully trust again."
"See? Was that so hard?" Galatea wondered, "You've just hit a transition point. You're no longer under Batman's shadow. But you can carry on the best parts of his legacy. You may even decide to open up and have a life and maybe even share it with someone."
"Meaning Power Girl," Nightwing commented.
"Meaning Power Girl," Galatea prodded him "You'd have a hard time finding anyone as willing to share or who could understand your secrets as well."
Nightwing seriously considered it, "Tell her if we live through the next week I'd like to go on a date with her."
"How about you tell her yourself," Galatea urged. She started to step away and hesitated, "For what's it's worth, judging by what Power Girl has told me, you'd make a helluva Batman."
"There's already a Batman," Nightwing said defensively.
"You have to realize he's not coming back," Galatea said before leaving.
And Nightwing's world reeled as he finally came to grips with that fact.
"You surely can't be intending to make kryptonite bullets," Sand protested. Jesse Quick and Hourman agreed. Mr. Terrific stayed silent.
"Why the hell else would we want the synthetic kryptonite?" Amanda Waller grated, "This is war and the Justice Lords have proven themselves the preeminent threat to humanity on this planet.
"We already have a hidden production base to produce the weapons. Now we just need the ammo," Mercy Graves informed the JLers present, "The Atlanteans have also transferred over the design elements of their resonance weapons. So we just need to hand over kryptonite to them and our arrangement will be completed."
"The Justice League doesn't kill their opponents," Jesse Quick argued.
"Neither did our Justice League until Luthor became President and then they became the Justice Lords afterwards and anything went," Steve Trevor reminded her of his planetary history.
"I'd like to know where Lord Green Lantern's ring gets its power," Hourman asked.
"He has a point," Mr. Terrific extolled, "There's only one Green Lantern Corps in all of the multiverse and they're back home. So where did Lord Green Lantern's ring derive from and what are its weaknesses?"
"Wood," Nyssa al Ghul suddenly asserted, "The ring and its power battery are mystical in nature."
"The ring and power battery receive their energy from an elemental force called the Green Flame, right?" Jesse asked.
"Yes, I take it you've heard of it on your world as well," Nyssa replied.
"What is this? Trivial pursuit?" Mercy complained.
"I wrote my doctoral thesis on the history of superheroes," Jesse shared, "We also had a hero receive a power ring and lantern from the Green Flame back before World War II."
"So did our original Green Lantern," Nyssa told them, "Then he was led to pass the ring and lantern on to John Stewart. He's been the Green's champion until the Justice Lords came to be. Yet he retains the ring so we can only assume the Green Flame isn't as morally fickle as humanity."
"With this kind of info we can formulate a nonlethal attack plan," Hourman suggested.
"Keep dreaming, sonny," Waller snorted.
Sand glared at her and she gave a wry look in reply, "Keep trying. I've been stared down by the best and you don't even remotely qualify."
"We need to discuss..." Sand began.
"No," Waller curtailed any further discussion, "Tomorrow your team will be briefed on their part in this operation. We'll have until dawn US Central Time to assimilate the operations facts and then we're a go. You people will either play the roles assigned to you or you can simply go home now. We began this resistance movement without you and we can certainly finish up without you as well."
The JLers knew they'd been curtly dismissed. While Sand, Hourman, and Jesse went one way, Mr. Terrific reported to the lab where he'd turned over kryptonite synthesis to ARGUS techs. While he hoped Task Force X would take prisoners he knew that was highly unlikely. He also knew Sand, Jesse, and Hourman would be considered expendable in the pursuit of winning the war.
Lady Shiva, Cassandra Cain, and Merlyn had cornered Huntress. Lady Shiva extolled the virtues of joining the League of Assassins once Nyssa had put the organization back together at the conclusion of the war. Huntress merely grunted and left the room.
"She's too damaged to play a part in the League," Merlyn dismissed the notion.
"The same could be said of us all," Lady Shiva countered.
"What do you say, kid?" Merlyn inquired of Cassandra.
"She'll join," she predicted. No one contradicted her. She was always right.
Huntress ran into Hawk and Dove. After Arsenal had been killed, Huntress had taken comfort with her Hawk. Now he was also dead. And here was a strapping version of him waiting to be exploited.
"Hey Beak Brain, you want to take the night off with me?" Huntress propositioned him.
Hawk cast a sidelong glance at Dove, "What'cha got in mind?"
She whispered details of hours of rough sex ahead of him if he came with her. Huntress could see Dove wasn't countering the offer. Too bad for her.
"My room's this way," Huntress jerked her thumb in the appropriate direction.
Hawk followed her. When he looked back, Dove was already gone. That just wounded him.
"I know this world's Clark made your life a living hell but it's still nice to see you alive," Supergirl admitted.
"You've been staring at me the same way some of us have been watching your Hawk and Dove," Lois laughed.
"When did yours die?" Kara wondered.
"The same day you crossed over," Lois said sadly, "So the wounds are still fresh."
"You took me to my first baseball game and a dozen other things," Kara shared about "her" Lois.
"I did the same for our Kara," Lois told her glumly.
"Tell me about her," Kara asked.
"Don't ever turn your back on Lady Supergirl," Lois advised her, "She'll burn your heart out from behind you. She's killed hundreds if not thousands so she's a remorseless bitch."
"I understand Clark's favorite method of dealing with enemies is to lobotomize them with his heat vision," Kara stated.
"It used to be," Lois said grimly, "Now it's a full body incineration. But there are a few dynamics you need to be aware of so they don't catch you by surprise."
"What kind of dynamics?" Kara asked.
"Lady Supergirl is in love with Lord Superman. She sees him as her means of propagating the Kryptonian-Argoan bloodline," Lois saw Kara's distaste and her stock went up in the human's eyes, "And Clark is whoring around with a New God slut named Precious. I still have a contact within the Justice Lord camp and she says Precious is carrying Lord Superman's child."
Kara almost choked, "It's Maxima all over again. Let me guess, she's a redhead?"
Lois was surprised, "How did you know?"
"It seems to be his type to have a fling with," Kara groaned.
"Someone should have warned poor Lana Lang about that," Lois murmured. Then she spoke up, "When we face the Justice Lords we'll be opposing my contact. Don't be surprised when she switches sides."
"Why is she doing that?" Kara inquired, "And who is she?"
"Because she's come to her senses and regrets the evil the Justice Lords have perpetuated against mankind," Lois explained, "Darkseid is the personification of evil yet they turned to him when the wanted their superhuman abilities restored. Lord Superman worshipped at Darkseid's feet and then led his armies against our Earth. The war sickened my contact and she's opposed to it now but she's biding her time to strike from within the regime."
Lois fell silent. Kara knew Luthor's device had created a mental disconnect between the conscious mind and the subconscious triggers that activated a special skill or ability. Lady Katana and Lady Supergirl hadn't been exposed to the device. That left Lady Hawkgirl and Lady Wonder Woman.
"But you won't say who it is," Kara realized.
Lois wore a rueful smile, "Even underwater walls have ears."
Dove stormed into a lounge to find it already occupied by her Stargirl and Aztek and well as this world's Power Girl, Heckler, Vibe, and Anna Fortune. Anna cocked an eyebrow at Dove, "It seems your man has been snared by a certain Huntress."
"Hawk is not my man!" Dove snapped.
"Then why do these circumstances anger you so?" Anna wanted to know.
Dove came up short on that one. This universe's Anna was aloof and arrogant but she was just as observant as the Prime Universe's Anna Fortune.
"It's just that...that..." Dove stammered.
"He loves you," Anna ventured.
"Yes!" Dove pounced on that lifeline.
"And you love him in return," Anna said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Dove stiffened, "I wouldn't say that."
Anna wearily sighed, "Then why the jealousy and the drama? If the feelings aren't reciprocated then let the man have his fun and congratulate him on it. I'd say he deserves the reprieve after being constantly rebuffed by you not to mention your denial of a basic truth."
"I couldn't fall in love with Hawk," Dove protested, "He's pigheaded, arrogant, twice as stubborn as he is pigheaded, overprotective, overbearing, and a misogynistic thug."
"But you plainly have," Anna countered.
Dove looked over at Stargirl, "Star?"
Stargirl grinned, "It's all true."
"It can't be true," Dove denied it.
"Who do you think about the most every day?" Stargirl asked.
"Hawk," Dove confessed.
"And you'd give your life to protect him and save his life, right?" Stargirl wore a triumphant smile.
"He's my partner," Dove defended her choice.
"And you don't want to just be partners anymore. You want to be partners," Stargirl said with added meaning.
Dove was as supernaturally aware as Anna. Everything came crashing down on her at once, "Omigod! I've been so stupid and blind. And now he's with that Italian hussy!"
"Follow me and perhaps we can rectify the wrong before it truly begins," Anna cheerfully offered.
As the pair left, Aztek looked over at Stargirl, "You look inordinately pleased with yourself."
"God, I've wanted to tell her that for months now," Stargirl enthused.
"But how could you know she felt that way?" Power Girl wondered.
Stargirl sighed, "I had to get my own romantic ass kicked around, that's how. I recognize the symptoms because I also had them. I was actually in a rock solid relationship when a former interest of mine became available again. So I broke my boyfriend's heart and hooked up with the other guy. Only I discovered I really wanted to be with my ex. And my second boyfriend really wanted to be with our Anna Fortune."
"So who was it you were really in love with?" Power Girl was hanging on every word.
"Captain Marvel," Stargirl admitted, "And it wasn't as creepy as it sounds. When he isn't a magically endowed super stud he's my age."
Power Girl paled and Vibe visibly sickened. Even the Heckler's body language became agitated so Stargirl asked the obvious question, "What's wrong?"
"We left our Captain Marvel behind in Metropolis," Power Girl could barely explain, "Lord Superman forced him into being Billy Batson and then burned him up alive with his heat vision."
Inside, Stargirl's heart froze over regarding Lord Superman. She knew it wasn't her Billy Batson but it was the thought that counted. Right?
"I know that look," Aztek counseled her, "Go easy, Star. The revenge play will just get you killed."
"Easy for you to say," Stargirl grimaced.
"I understand all too well," Aztek told her, "I didn't get told about the death of someone identical to someone I loved but I witnessed the swathe of destruction the Justice Lords and their parademons left up and down the whole North American west coast. Millions were dead or left for dead."
"Millions?" Stargirl was aghast.
"Billions actually," Vibe grumbled.
"What?" Stargirl couldn't believe her ears.
"We had a planetary population of over six billion people before the Justice Lords went to Apokolips. They came back and have killed a third of that number already," Power Girl informed them both, "Millions more have died of disease and famine since then."
Stargirl could see by the set of Aztek's mouth he felt a cold rage over this as well. Galatea burst into the room, "There you are!"
"Me?" Power Girl asked.
"What am I? Talking to myself?" Galatea said without a hint of irony, "Of course it's you. I have special news you'll want to hear in private."
"Oh!" Power Girl got it.
As the twins disappeared, Vibe wondered why the Heckler was snickering, "What's so funny?"
"It's like a Dating Game episode," Heckler guffawed.
"Wasn't that, like, an Eighties game show?" Stargirl wondered.
"Here it lasted until the Justice Lords got back a couple of years ago," Vibe told her, "My brother Ramone went on it."
"Who would be that desperate?" Stargirl had to ask.
Vibe shrugged, "He just wanted to meet the game hostess. She was a hottie."
"Really?" Stargirl sounded skeptical, "Who was she?"
"Courtney Whitmore," Vibe answered.
Stargirl's jaw dropped, "You're kidding me, right?"
"Hell, no," Vibe promised, "I used to dream about her."
"What?" Stargirl exploded, "Get away from me, you perv!"
Stargirl stomped off and Aztek shook his head, "Sometimes a little extra knowledge is too much."
"What? Why?" Vibe was horribly confused.
"Maybe I'll tell you if we live through this," Aztek offered as he left.
"Tell me you have a clue," Vibe requested from the Heckler.
"A big one," Heckler was tittering, "Stargirl is their Courtney Whitmore."
Vibe looked utterly helpless and mortified and the Heckler couldn't hold it in anymore, "Bwah ha ha ha!"
Anna unerringly led Dove through the Atlantean corridors. The Prime Universe JLers had been housed separately from their Task Force X and ARGUS allies. Dove noted when Anna slid over and hugged the wall and was about to ask why when she collided with Hawk
"What the hell?" Hawk bellowed, "Dove?"
"Hawk!" Dove exclaimed, "You're not...I mean, you're not..."
Hawk grinned, "No, I'm not."
"I'll leave you two to it then," Anna beat a hasty retreat.
"I guess you went looking for me," Hawk ventured.
"Um...yes," Dove suddenly felt like an idiot.
"Why?" Hawk asked.
Dove suddenly felt like crawling away, "I needed to see you."
"Here I am," Hawk offered, "What did you need to see me about?"
"It was about you and the Huntress," Dove managed to confess.
"What about us?" Hawk wondered.
All the damn questions were irritating Dove, "I was going to ask you not to..."
"Sleep with her?" Hawk put out there.
"Um...yeah," Dove felt like a simpleton.
"Why not?" Hawk inquired.
"I didn't want you to," Dove said a little plaintively.
"Why?" Hawk had to be a sadist and utterly enjoying this in Dove's opinion.
"Because..." Dove trailed off, "God, you're not going to make this easy, are you?"
"Nope," Hawk gleefully admitted.
"Well, it's not like you've made any recent true confessions to me, either," Dove protested.
"I'm hopelessly in love with both Dove and Dawn Granger," Hawk readily admitted, "Two people I never thought I'd love but now I can't imagine an hour without either of them. And that pretty much sums up why I left the Huntress stewing in her room."
"You do?" Dove giddily asked, "You are?"
"Yes to both," Hawk assured her, "Your turn."
"My turn?" Dove felt broadsided.
"There was a reason why you didn't want me having sex with the Huntress," Hawk prompted her.
"Because I adore you, Hank Hall," Dove finally confessed, "I thought I could live life alone and be perfectly fine. But I'm only truly alive when I'm with you. And I want to live my life with you."
"Was that so tough?" Hawk teased.
"Not so much and tougher than you'll ever know at the same time," Dove shared.
"Your room or mine?" Hawk wanted to know.
"Is that all you think about?" Dove was seriously reconsidering everything she'd just shared.
"Chill out, Dove," Hawk held his hands high, "I think we need to talk about what our mutual admiration society means for us and our future."
"Oh," Dove was relieved and crestfallen all at the same time. It also evidenced a level of maturity she hadn't considered that Hawk was quite capable of yet, "I've seen your apartment back home. I can only imagine what your room here looks like."
"I guess you don't want to risk me having picked everything up in case we finally had this talk," Hawk ventured.
"Okay, tough guy," Dove laughed, "Let's see your room."
Nightwing had left Power Girl's guest quarters and she turned to Galatea, "Omigod! Thank you so much for talking to him!"
"That part was up to him," Galatea shared, "The next part is up to the two of you."
"But how can we do anything when we're about to wrap up a war?" Power Girl wondered.
"He's a man and you're a woman. You're both seeking your individual identities while carrying on legacies bequeathed to you. And don't tell me you don't feel the weight of Lady Supergirl's legacy," Galatea warned her, "This is your opportunity to find your own way while he finds his and by talking between you, you can make your way closer together."
"But how can that work?" Power Girl worried.
"It's how Blackhawk and I worked out. We were finding our separate paths in this world and then we made a path together," Galatea revealed, "If I can do it you can do it too. And I know it's what you want."
"You're right," Power Girl decided, "But how?"
"Like I said, he's a man and you're a woman. All you have to do is create an opening exploring how similar you both are and how much he fascinates you and the conversation will begin," Galatea promised, "I think you'll be surprised by the results."
Lord Superman watched as Professor Bedlam used the Phantom Zone projector to retrieve the New Gods stranded there. They were a who's who of the Evil Factory hierarchy. Mokkari, Simyan, Red One, Marvelous Marno, Sleez, Powerboy, Little Barda, and Rip Roar all exited the Phantom Zone.
"Begin setting up an Evil Factory operation here in Smallville," Lord Superman commanded, "I want you back in operation before the rebels strike. And having banished you to the Phantom Zone, they'll never expect to see you here. And you can have your revenge."