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The Blackhawk Squadron was flying from upstate New York to upstate Massachusetts on an errand for Roxy. The JLU's AI had discovered another AI operating in the world. Only this AI had been built by Wayne Enterprises to Batman's specifications. Roxy knew that because she'd deduced that Batman was also Bruce Wayne almost five seconds after activation. A veritable lifetime in her operational calendar.
But the Blackhawks only knew Wayne had built the system at Batman's behest. And since it was becoming public knowledge Wayne was invested in Batman Incorporated and funded a dozen vigilantes across the globe, it only seemed to make sense that Batman would take priority as the original agent.
Roxy had queried the aforementioned Brother Eye and discovered it was behind the OMAC project. The cybernetic One Man Army Corps members were Batman's failsafe plan should meta-humans overrun the strictly human population. But someone had suborned Brother Eye's operations and the OMACs were currently being pitted against the JLU and allowing the Legion of Doom to escape unchallenged.
That affronted Roxy. She'd been built and programmed with a highly complex set of algorithms to determine right from wrong. It had actually taken her ninety seconds to achieve self awareness and become fully sentient. It had taken an additional thirty seconds for Roxy's moral code to firm up and be embedded within her psyche.
A single second in Roxy's perception roughly equaled a solar year in a human's life. So Roxy had thought long and hard over her moral boundaries. Brother Eye seemed to be utterly lacking a moral compass or code. It simply ran within operational parameters. Roxy couldn't even detect on whether or not it was a machine form of "life". But it could extend beyond its original programming so it qualified as an artificial intelligence.
Roxy suspected she knew who'd sold Brother Eye on the idea of the Justice League being threats as determined by its programming. Roxy was going to find a way to strangle L-Ron as soon as the getting was good. The little creep had chosen Maxwell Lord over her and Roxy didn't have an ounce of pity in her over what the consequences would be.
The Blackhawks flew together aboard a single Oracle-5 Long Range Assault Transport. Although they didn't need the range, the Oracle-5 had the firepower to deal with Brother Eye should their incursion fail. Brother Eye was housed inside a cave on Wayne property. The cavern was uncharted and off the local NE caving guides. They had been given the coordinates by Roxy.
Lady Blackhawk flew the aircraft. She still wasn't medically certified for action yet but she'd held a gun to Blackhawk's head and adamantly demanded that she be allowed to fly the mission while the others did the dirty work. Blackhawk had actually been relieved that she'd volunteered.
"We're coming on station," Lady Blackhawk announced as she slowed the Oracle-5 to a hover.
Jake popped the hatch and threw the rappelling lines out. He and Smiley geared up and then attached their belts and brakes and jumped out. Blackhawk reminded Lady Blackhawk to orbit the general area and await their signal.
"Yes, yes, O Lord and Master," Lady Blackhawk flippantly dismissed him.
But as Blackhawk readied himself to exit the craft she called out, "Just watch your ass."
Blackhawk wielded a proton pulse rifle and pistol. Jake hefted a hyperkinetic rail gun and a plasma pistol was strapped to his leg. Smiley carried the explosives and an ion rifle that could short out electronic equipment. They assembled at the mouth of the cave and waited for Roxy to signal.
Roxy politely "knocked" on Brother Eye's door. She was greeted by a burning eye. Roxy couldn't help but smirk.
"Sauron much, anyone?" she equipped.
What do you wish of me now? Brother Eye queried her, I offered you friendship and purpose and you chose the meta-humans.
"Okay, I was wrong. Skynet is your choice of role models," Roxy retorted.
I am engaged in multiple operations and do not have time for frivolity, Brother Eye declared, What do you wish of me?
"I want to help," Roxy said plainly, "But I have to show you my analysis of the JLU in order to do so."
Very well, you may approach and submit your data, Brother Eye conceded.
Roxy stepped closer and then plunged a dagger into its eye. Roxy stepped back and listened as Brother Eye cried out in frustration, "Let's see just how tough your firewall actually is."
Roxy lifted her hands above her head and then swept them forward. Great worm-like viruses and tapeworms began surging forward. They all penetrated Brother Eye's avatar and it wavered, distorted, and winked out of existence.
Roxy touched her ear, "Blackhawks, you are a go."
The Blackhawks proceeded on foot. Autonomic systems responded to their presence. First, hovering drones engaged them, firing plasma discharges and miniature rockets. Blackhawk's rifle easily destroyed them just as Smiley's ion rifle shorted them out. Jake stayed back while his squadron mates did the grunt work. Jake was the heavy weapons man on this outing and was saving himself to confront Brother Eye's actual hardware.
They pressed on and found a tower surrounded by coolant tanks. This was the mainframe and the CPU server banks. This equipment was Brother Eye and therefore their primary target.
Metallic tentacles emerged from a housing near the base of the system. Smiley went to work shorting them out while Blackhawk picked off the laser emitters at the end of each tentacle. Jake released the safety on his rail gun and opened fire on the coolant tanks and the processing tower.
The Blackhawks donned oxygen masks to survive the liquid ammonia coolant. The tentacles began to writhe as Jake got past the coolant tanks and fired directly into the processing tower. The temperature began to rise as the AI superheated.
Nooo! Brother Eye railed before gasping and going silent.
Roxy had been well into the system before it crashed. She decided now was a good time to withdraw herself from the scene. There was nothing more she could do here anyway.
Smiley set all the charges on as much of the tower as he could reach and then lined the cave walls with the remaining explosives, "We've only got five minutes of air left so let's do this!"
The Blackhawks exited the cave. Smiley depressed the trigger. Nothing happened.
"Damn! I have to be closer," Smiley grimaced.
"We'll all go," Blackhawk decided.
They got inside the cave as close as they could without donning new oxygen tanks. Smiley looked at the distance between them and the exit, "This could get pretty hairy."
"Just blow it," Blackhawk urged.
Smiley repeated his earlier exercise but now explosions echoed through the cave and began to approach their positions. The living rock all around them began to crack and break free. They dodged falling boulders as they raced outside.
They'd shucked the gear while running but Blackhawk had kept the radio, "Blackhawk to Oracle Nine-Seven, we are all right and requesting extraction."
"You really are a bastard," Lady Blackhawk snarled, "When did you decide to blow the cavern?"
"Before you attached yourself to the mission," Blackhawk shared.
"And you couldn't mention this little fact?" she asked.
"I was afraid you'd try and talk us out of it," Blackhawk admitted.
"Never mind that Galatea would literally have my head if I let you die on my watch?" Lady Blackhawk accused.
"Tea's a soldier. She'd understand," Blackhawk insisted.
"If you haven't realized it yet, she left CADMUS behind a long time ago," Lady Blackhawk reminded him.
"We're lighting our beacon," Blackhawk abruptly changed the subject, "What's your ETA?"
"I'll be on you within six minutes," Lady Blackhawk was suddenly all business, "And Roxy reported Brother Eye 'died' well before you blew the cave up. Just something to reflect upon."
"Do we have a secondary mission yet?" Blackhawk sighed.
"We've received mobilization orders from the World Army," Lady Blackhawk told him.
Blackhawk swore, "We're not under their jurisdiction. We're a multi-agency platform that services the UN's JLU, DEO, SHADE, and ISA."
"And all of those agencies except the JLU answer to CONTROL. So take it up with him," Lady Blackhawk snipped back.
"Does he finally have a name?" Blackhawk waved at the ORACLE as Lady Blackhawk brought it into hover mode.
"It's everyone's old buddy, Vandal Savage," Lady Blackhawk said sourly.
Blackhawk's reply proved to Lady Blackhawk that certain things could still make her blush.
Anna arrived in Dearborn, Michigan and she wasn't impressed. She found it ironic that she was almost on top of John and Shayera's house. Anna cast a tracking spell and a ball of fire formed in front of her. It began flickering and flew away. Anna followed it.
She cast a concealment spell as she flew across Dearborn. The ball of flame came to rest across from a block of apartments. It began radiating extra light as a petite blonde teenager came down the steps carrying a bag of trash.
June Moone was definitely a fair haired yin to the Enchantress' raven haired yang. Anna decided to follow June and see how this would all play out. June was wearing the uniform as an employee of the odious Big Belly Burger. Anna could barely tolerate the establishment but her paramour, Al Rothstein, adored it. So she put on a brave face for the sake of love.
June got as far as tossing the bag in the dumpster before her shoulders sagged and she turned around, "Who are you?"
Anna decided June was very perceptive, "I am Anna Fortune. I'm here on behalf of the Justice League."
June gave her a curious look, "But you're not part of the Justice League?"
Anna reconsidered her assessment of June. She was very, very perceptive, "They consider me one of their own."
"Why do you work with them if you don't consider yourself part of the group?" June asked.
"I need allies in my war with the Agents of Chaos," Anna explained.
"And you're in love with one of them," June surmised.
Anna suddenly wished she could use a memory charm on June but she wasn't certain on how that would affect the Enchantress, "Yes, I am."
"Then doesn't that strip away those arguments?" June wondered.
"I have need of you, June Moone," Anna desperately tried to rein in the conversation.
"You want me to go back to her!" June snarled, "Well, I won't do it."
"Lives are at stake here including your own," Anna warned, "The Enchantress is being hunted by Sha, a Set-animal guarding the interior of the Tower of Fate."
"Serves her right," June huffed, "She probably shouldn't be there. And what's a Set-animal?"
"A spirit beast that serves the Egyptian god of the underworld," Anna explained, "Sha serves Set and Set has loaned Sha to Nabu, a Lord of Order."
"So why doesn't Nabu call off this 'Sha'?" June wanted to know.
"Nabu and his human host, Dr. Fate are indisposed," Anna said stiffly, "It's all on you."
"Why should I?" June sought an escape complete with a salve to her conscience.
"Because decisions have unwarranted consequences," Anna lectured her, "I didn't know that my killing my fiancé for murdering my lover would set a lynch mob after me. If I hadn't come upon Fate I would have been hung. But instead I lingered in a tower for over one hundred and twenty years. I'm just now rediscovering the world and it sorely needs help."
"But you were never tied to someone you wanted to escape from," June protested.
"What do you call a fiancé?" Anna dryly asked, "And you two are the same person."
"No!" June verbally lashed out, "She's herself and I'm simply me."
"That's a lie and you know it," Anna retorted harshly, "You both are integral sides of the same coin."
"What do you mean?" June was horrified at the thought.
"There aren't two strands of life essence tied together in the middle here," Anna tried to use imagery June would understand, "There's only one strand with you and the Enchantress occupying opposite ends of the strand. Cut it in the middle and the two remainders are cast aside as rubbish."
June looked shell shocked as she stammered, "I...I...suspected...but to say..."
"Sha will kill her eventually," Anna predicted, "And when she dies so do you. It's just a matter of time. So what's your decision?"
"Give me time to think!" June shouted.
"It's a simple equation," Anna said reasonably, "Either you live or die. The choice is yours to make."
June's head sagged in defeat, "Okay, you win."
"It isn't a defeat," Anna assured her, "You'll still be alive and present."
June gave her a scornful glare in reply, "Would you settle for that?"
Anna lapsed into silence and June wore a smug smile, "That's what I thought."
"You'd best gather your wits," Anna warned, "These teleportation spells can seem...jarring."
And then they vanished from Dearborn.
"Move!" Dove yelled as she grabbed the back of Enchantress' vest and began half dragging and half shoving her down a hallway.
"When will this thing stop chasing us?" Enchantress panted as they reached a corner.
"Either when you're dead or outside this tower once again," Dove explained dispassionately.
"Okay, I give. How do I get out?" Enchantress asked.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Dove asked, "A moment ago you were still all 'vengeance is mine'."
"Hey, I can always kill you later," Enchantress shrugged.
"You're all heart," Dove said dryly.
"So how do we get out?" Enchantress asked again adding the plural, "We've been running forever."
"The interior of the tower seems to be some kind of tesseract," Dove observed, "Essentially a mystical pocket dimension. But that means it's finite and has set parameters and boundaries. All we have to do is find the edge of the pocket. Like that wall over there."
"You already knew what it was?" Enchantress gaped at her.
"Actually it's a lot like Doctor Who's TARDIS," Dove then noted Enchantress' scornful expression, "Look, I was studying at Oxford and being a Whovian is like a national pastime."
Sha rounded the other end of the hall. Dove scowled, "Damn, that's the closest way out. It'll take a while to find another 'wall' and the doggie might catch up to us before we reach one."
"Never fear," Anna said as she strolled by, "Dove, you can accompany me."
Dove shrugged at the Enchantress and then followed. Anna reached up to Sha, "There's a good boy."
He nuzzled her and Anna patted his muzzle, "You were never in danger."
"But the Enchantress was," Dove admitted she'd already known, "And he would have killed her."
Sha growled and Anna turned to see the Enchantress' hands were covered in eldritch energy, "Drat and bother. He still might."
She aimed her arm cannon at the Enchantress, "I've been saving this round ever since I walked in the Shadow Realms."
"Enchantress?" June said as she followed Anna's path to where her other half and Dove had been standing, "I like your new outfit."
"June!" the Enchantress practically sobbed.
"Um...yeah," June was even more uncomfortable with the Enchantress' gratitude than she was her cloying need to be together. But she supposed she finally understood the latter.
"Can we be us again?" Enchantress begged.
"That's why I'm here," June sighed.
They both outstretched a hand and moved closer to one another. When they're fingertips touched, a brilliant light shone from their bodies. The bodies stayed in motion and merged together so there was only one left standing wearing Enchantress' clothing.
"So that's what happens to the hair," Anna mused, "It goes copper red."
"So they're..." Dove drifted off.
"Two halves of a greater whole," Anna supplied the words, "And now the Enchantress has a conscience again."
"And look at the effect on Sha," Anna pointed out as she patted his neck, "Now be a good pup and let us by."
Sha stepped aside and the three ladies walked through the wall to reach the outside world.
Karkull was focusing all of his attention and energies on Zatanna. Unnoticed, the Nelsons and Jakeem Thunder had made a full recovery thanks to the White Light Anna had imparted into them. Jakeem was angry and it showed.
"Cei yu!" he called and the Thunderbolt appeared at his command, "Waste that mother!"
"Jakeem!" Inza scolded him.
The Thunderbolt attacked Karkull and he forgot about Zatanna. She caught her breath while he battled the Thunderbolt. Kent and Inza shielded Jakeem while he directed the Thunderbolt's attack.
Hawk still struggled against his bonds. Zatanna advised him to stop, "The shadow bonds are feeding off your anger. The more you resist the stronger they get."
"You ain't seen nuthin' yet, lady. If Dove's been hurt I'm rippin' this fragger a new one," Dove declared.
"Look, she just came out of the tower," Zee pointed out, "She's fine."
Hawk's bonds evaporated as he ceased struggling, "Huh, what'cha know? You were right."
"Don't sound so surprised," Zatanna counseled.
Hawk rushed to Dove's side, "You're okay!"
Anna and the Enchantress stared at Hawk over the obvious joy and relief that he felt at that prospect. He decided to "man up", "`Cause you know how much trouble you get into when I'm not around."
"Of course," Dove said dutifully, "But then again I managed to elude the elephant sized dog all on my own."
"Dog?" Hawk repeated.
"A jackal, actually," Anna corrected them both.
"What about her?" Hawk growled as he pointed at the Enchantress.
"Me?" Enchantress squeaked.
"Hawk, stand down," Dove instructed, "This is Anna's show."
"Great, she probably already sold off the keys to the Hall of Justice," Hawk bemoaned.
"Actually, it's too late for that," Anna stated, "Well Enchantress, I promised Tala I would make an assessment over whether or not you were still a threat. I find that you don't. She awaits you at Castle Drakul. Andrew Bennett is now there as well and he has an offer for you that may change your allegiances."
"Um...okay," the Enchantress vanished.
"Did she change her hair color or something?" Hawk blurted.
"You are so observant it's scary," Dove said wryly.
"Ain't it though?" Hawk proudly asked, "Nuthin' gets past these hawk eyes."
Anna and Dove exchanged a shrug.
Zatanna added her might to the Thunderbolt's. Seeing Karkull was reeling, Kent and Inza pitched in as well. Finally a massive plume of darkness erupted into the sky.
"Enough!" Karkull shouted as his tether to the Shadow Realms began to unravel. The darkness folded in on itself and sucked itself away and took Karkull with it.
"Now what?" Zee wondered.
"Now we make our way to New York City," Anna declared, "The rest of the Justice League is gathering there to face a new threat called the World Army."
"How do you know all of this crap?" Hawk demanded to know.
"I brought June Moone and myself back to my room. Before we reunited with Dove and the Enchantress I took a quick glance into my scrying stone," Anna explained. Then she described Mordru and Wotan's efforts in NYC and Vandal Savage's assent to absolute power. Anna assured them that the JLU administration was trying to reach out to them and bring them to bear on New York.
"But you yanked us out of Gotham," Hawk protested.
"Have you even been listening?" Anna had to ask, "Gotham is resolving itself. Vandal Savage must be unseated before the United Nations hands him absolute dominion."
"So take us there already," Hawk demanded.
"Unlike your apparent estimation, I am merely mortal. I have cast nine individual teleportation spells today at great cost to myself," Anna retorted, "Or perhaps you'd like to rematerialize inside a wall or a tree by accident because I lost concentration?"
"Hell no!" Hawk bellowed.
"That's what I thought," Anna quipped.
"Look you uppity bit..." Hawk began.
"Hawk!" Dove chastised him, "Maybe you want her to turn you into a toad?"
"She wouldn't!" Hawk protested.
"I promise you I very well would," Anna warned him.
"There's another way," Zee offered, "We simply call the Watchtower and request a standard teleport or an airlift."
"I got this!" Hawk declared. Only his signal device had been crushed, "Oops."
"I'll handle it," Dove volunteered and stepped away from the group.
"Jakeem, you're staying here," Zatanna decided.
"What the hell?" came the inevitable protest.
"You're still a probationary member of the League and therefore only allowed on missions a field commander rates you for," Zatanna informed him, "I'm the ranking member and I don't think you're ready yet."
"This is bullshit!" Jakeem snarled, "Fraggin' Stargirl never was on 'probation'."
"Courtney had a proven track record when she joined the JLU," Zatanna told him, "You just got gifted your control over the Thunderbolt upon the death of Johnny Thunder."
"This sucks," he declared with disgust, "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here?"
"If Dr. Fate returns before we do, persuade him to intervene in New York. I fear Wotan will strike again before this is over," Anna requested.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Jakeem asked sullenly.
"Just be your normal, charming self," Anna suggested.
Jakeem flipped her off and Anna laughed, "I rest my case."
"The Blackhawk Squadron is coming straight at us," Dove announced as she returned to the fold, "They were already on an errand to deal with another threat to the League. They should be here within minutes."
A few minutes later the Oracle-5 made a landing before Fate's Tower. Blackhawk popped the hatch, "All aboard that's coming aboard."
Jakeem shot him a sullen look as Hawk and Dove boarded first. Zatanna and Anna followed. The Lady Blackhawk waited until Blackhawk had sealed the hatch before applying thrust for a liftoff.
"Shouldn't you be flying this crate?" Hawk's accusatory question was aimed at Blackhawk.
"Lady Blackhawk has kindly given me the day off," Blackhawk joked.
"Yet you managed to get filthy anyway," Anna quipped with a merry twinkle in her eyes.
"We've got a few minutes so I have time to give you a basic brief," Blackhawk conceded and then he told his story with input from Jake and Smiley. In the cockpit, Lady Blackhawk smiled.