14
On Earth Prime, inside the Legion of Doom's Thailand temple complex, Grodd contacted Luthor, "How goes the inspection?"
"As well as can be expected," Luthor snorted in disgust, "The malignant dwarf and the worm were overcomplicating things again."
Grodd could hear Sivana and Mr. Mind protesting in the background. Professor Ivo shouted them into silence before Luthor spoke again, "Ivo and I are streamlining their designs into something not so overpowered as to overload the national power grids. I don't need to raise the Chinese government's ire at this juncture. They've nicely concealed all the accomplishments that have been made from the Great Ten. Now we're gearing up to be able to power the array from a bank of fusion batteries we'll need to bring in from LexCorp."
Grodd knew that appropriation would mean stealing the batteries, "I also have news. The raid on the GULAG is underway. It looks as though we'll be successful despite an intervention mounted by the Justice League."
Grodd could see the anger that festered within Luthor upon just hearing the JLU's name, "In addition, we've determined who kidnapped Captain Boomerang and Weather Wizard from federal custody."
"Who'd want them?" Luthor was baffled, "And why?"
"We've discovered the 'who' if not the 'why'," Grodd confessed, "Back when you were still involved with CADMUS, it turned out to be a subsidiary of a super agency we've discovered is named ARGUS. ARGUS runs many agencies, including Task Force X. But as you know, the Suicide Squad was shut down. But many of Task Force X's agents were transferred wholesale into a new entity labeled as 'Checkmate'. Checkmate is the agency that appropriated the lost Rogues."
"As you stated, the 'why' lingers," Luthor mused.
"Captain Boomerang was a one-time agent of Task Force X. Perhaps they wish to recruit him," Grodd theorized.
"Have you informed the Rogues of this Checkmate's location?" Luthor asked.
"Not yet," Grodd was curious as to where this was leading.
"Give it to them," Luthor instructed.
"And if they should be captured or killed?" Grodd wondered.
"Then we'll know better than to underestimate our potential foes," Luthor wore a feral smile.
"Very shrewd," Grodd remarked, "I'll see to it. Anything else?"
John landed in an alleyway near the apartment complex where Kyle Rayner, Kara In-Ze, and Al Rothstein shared a three bedroom flat. Everyone had been assigned to different missions but supposedly Kyle should be home. Using his ring to create a trenchcoat, John went to the shared apartment and rang the doorbell.
And then he tried knocking when the doorbell failed to yield a result. Not getting anywhere, John used his ring to manipulate the lock's tumblers and unlock the door. He cautiously entered in.
"Hello?" he called out, "Anyone home?"
"I'm busy!" Kyle called out from his room.
John noticed the door was ajar and entered in and saw most of Kyle's private space was devoted into being an art studio. It was then that John remembered that Kyle was the newly appointed writer-artist on the Flash Gordon strip for King Syndicate Features. The strip had run continuously from 1934-2009. Since then it had been in perpetual reprints.
Kyle had only been working on the strip for a number of weeks before being called away to Zamaron. He hadn't even been published yet because the comics syndicate wanted a surplus of strips in case Kyle wanted to take a week off. But he was also on a deadline to get a specified amount of work turned in. And he was undoubtedly behind now.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. But we need your help," John told him.
Kyle shoulders sagged, "Is there any news on Kara yet?"
"No, I just found out myself that she was away," John thought it was a good sign Kyle's first thought was about Kara.
"I'm on a deadline here, John," Kyle turned to face the Green Lantern.
"And I'm sorry but we're getting our collective ass handed to us," John hated to admit.
Kyle groaned, "Okay! I'll give you six hours and then I'm done no matter what."
"No matter what, huh Rayner?" Kara said from behind John.
"Kara!" Kyle exclaimed with delight as he pushed past John, "You made it home!"
"I could say the same to you," Kara smirked.
"Look, I know I don't have a right to ask you two for help but we really need it," John almost begged.
Kara cast a rueful glance Kyle's way, "He knows we're going to say 'yes'."
"He knows I already have," Kyle gave her a wry reply, "And so do you."
"Look, I want time off after this," Supergirl insisted.
"I'll personally persuade Waller to give you each a week off," John promised.
"Two weeks," Kara demanded.
"Two weeks," John sighed.
"He really must be desperate," Kyle remarked as his power ring created his White Lantern uniform on his body. Kara had never changed out of her Supergirl uniform.
"So where are we headed?" Supergirl asked John.
"The Legion is staging a breakout at the GULAG," he informed them.
They both groaned.
"Repairs will take a week," M'gann complained to J'onn in her Megan Morse identity, "Something about special ordering parts."
"We could simply push through on to New York City from here," "John Jones" suggested.
"No, you still need more rest," M'gann insisted, "You haven't fully recuperated from your ordeal yet. I just need to find a buyer for some of my gold and then we need shelter and some provisions."
"Follow me," J'onn led M'gann to a bus stop. A mental nudge encouraged the driver to think the fares had been paid.
They got off the bus in one of Tulsa, Oklahoma's fashionable districts. There several goldsmiths agreed to buy samples from M'gann's supply of ingots. Over the course of visiting the various goldsmiths, they acquired over four thousand dollars. J'onn warned M'gann they would have to repeat this exercise several times to earn enough currency to pay for the repairs on M'gann's RV.
"Next we secure housing," J'onn told her.
It was a short bus ride to an area littered with motels and hotels. They found a medium priced chain with two room suites and a kitchenette like J'onn insisted they needed. Upon seeing the room, M'gann was impressed.
"Do all humans live in such luxury?" she wondered.
"This is hardly luxurious by most standards," J'onn told her, "And yet it is a far nicer dwelling than most inhabitants of this planet possess."
"Why did the person at the desk insist upon my paying for the week's lodgings in advance and then an additional thousand dollar deposit?" M'gann asked.
"In case there are damages to the rooms or additional charges brought about by our ordering entertainment services," J'onn explained.
"What entertainment?" M'gann was curious.
"Surely you know about television," J'onn ventured.
"I've heard of it and seen something called television at stores where I purchased supplies after selling gold ingots but I have no idea what it's about. It seemed like nonsensical images on a screen," M'gann revealed.
"Count yourself blissfully ignorant," J'onn advised her, "Now that we have accommodations we must purchase foodstuffs."
"Hence the kitchenette you insisted upon," M'gann was pleased by her deductive reasoning.
"And I shall introduce you to an invaluable transportation device," J'onn stated.
"A hover car?" M'gann wondered recalling Martian variants.
"No, a taxi. But some drivers believe they pilot hover cars," J'onn warned her, "And then I shall also introduce you to this planet's finest culinary contribution to this universe."
"What is it?" M'gann was rapt with anticipation.
"They call them Oreos," J'onn savored the name.
Checkmate headquarters was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The town was famed for being the location of the University of Michigan. Checkmate was located across town in what appeared to be an extension campus of the University. It was even listed as such with administrative buildings, faculty facilities, classrooms, and dormitories.
But in truth, the base housed one of America's most closely guarded secrets. A covert action team that exercised the will of the US President and the National Security Advisor and was funded and controlled by ARGUS. Officially, Checkmate did not exist outside of a theoretical war game exercise. Yet it had agents deployed around the world.
Uncle Sam currently led the surviving Freedom Fighters on a mission in Eastern Ukraine. The other meta-human operatives currently had a day off but were on notice to go active at any second. But Checkmate's newest recruit accompanied Amanda Waller into meeting the agency's latest acquisitions.
Captain Boomerang and Weather Wizard were shackled to the floor and bound to the chairs they occupied. Waller skipped the usual preamble and got straight to the point, "Gentlemen, you have been tried in absentia and found guilty of terrorist acts and multiple homicides. A verdict has been rendered. We're simply here to carry out the sentencing."
"I never attended any bloody trial," Captain Boomerang protested.
"And as such you surrendered your right to a defense," Waller countered, "It took the prosecution approximately two hours to make their case. The verdict was a formality."
"And what was this so-called verdict?" Weather Wizard warily asked.
"Death," Waller said with some satisfaction.
"But you're here to offer us a deal, right?" Boomerang wondered.
"I'm here to make certain you really die," Waller said coldly, "Deadshot, you're up."
He came in from the outer hallway carrying an advanced model assault rifle, "No hard feelings, right?"
"Strewth! You're bloody well one of us," Boomerang protested.
"I decided to trade up to a better offer when I was captured while on a contract," Deadshot pulled the rifle's bolt and took aim, "Say 'punch my ticket'."
Deadshot pulled the trigger and Captain Boomerang screamed. He also voided his bladder. Deadshot removed the empty magazine and then showed the two Rogues the full one as he swapped them out.
"Oops," Deadshot chuckled, "Can't let that happen, can I?"
He pulled the bolt again and this time there was a distinctive difference in the noise the action made. Boomerang began babbling, "You want Luthor? I'll give him to you."
"Think about it, Digger," Weather Wizard growled, "Lawton's offering us a clean death. Luthor won't be so generous."
"First he has to find me, mate," Captain Boomerang rebutted him, "Look I'll enlist in anything you want me to. And I'll serve up the Legion of Doom."
"You're an idiot," Weather Wizard said with disgust.
"Will you give up the Rogues as well?" Waller asked sharply.
"Give me a pen and paper and they're yours," Boomerang promised.
Weather Wizard spat on him, "You're scum."
"Look the government is a cushy ride," Boomerang promised, "Join up with me."
"I'd rather get shot," Weather Wizard decided.
"Okay," Deadshot instantly took aim and put a round between Mark Merdon's eyes, "You're wish is my command."
"Bloody hell!" Boomerang voided his bowels this time, "You've gone psycho!"
Deadshot shrugged, "I'm an assassin. It's what I do."
"Get him cleaned up and get him to the chopper," Waller ordered the guards to either side of the room, "You screw with me or any of my people and you will be buried without warning or hesitation. Get it?"
"Like I couldn't," Boomerang was still shaking.
"Good," Waller said with satisfaction, "Now you and Deadshot are coming with me to the airport and we're flying out to Washington DC where you'll meet the King and Queen of Checkmate. They'll debrief you and then you'll return here to begin planning an operation to take down your former friends."
"Lovely," Captain Boomerang said dismally.
With Colonel Rick Flagg and Special Agent in Charge Karin Grace at the White House briefing the President and National Security Advisor, Waller would be bringing the two latest recruits to a safe house in DC for the mother of all debriefs. And then Waller decided the JLA would have all the data it needed for their first mission.
Underneath the admin building on Checkmate's campus, a bunker served as the command and control hub of Checkmate's operations. Agents listed as Pawns served throughout the world in a variety of capacities. Knights were the primary agents and were generally classified as meta-humans. Checkmate's Rook and Bishop were Sarge Steel and King Faraday respectively. Faraday ran the intelligence division while Sarge Steel oversaw the operations planning.
Faraday's team was coordinating with Sarge Steel's operations handlers in overseeing Uncle Sam's unit in Ukraine. Faraday's protégé, the Knight known as Nightshade, came to check on him, "How are they doing?"
"Tactically speaking, they're a resounding success," Faraday grimaced, "Strategically, though, they've missed the ball."
"I thought the President wanted to show America's resolve in supporting the Ukrainian government," Nightshade commented.
"It's never that simple, Eve. They've put the fear of God into the separatists but the real mission was to obtain the Spear of Destiny," King Faraday informed her, "And it looks like someone got there first."
"Have we even figured out why Russia went into the Crimea and supported the eastern separatists in the first place?" Nightshade wondered.
"The very same reason we're there," Faraday told her, "You see the Spear of Destiny bounced around for two thousand years before the Hapsburgs got a hold of it. A soon as Hitler annexed Austria he broke down the doors of the Hapsburg estates looking for the spear. Once he had it he somehow managed to coax its powers out of it."
Faraday continued to watch the monitors while he taught his history lesson to Nightshade, "Hitler secretly mounted an invasion of England and FDR secretly recruited the men and women that would form the Justice Society of America to top them both. But once the JSA hit Europe's shores, Hitler seized control, of the meta-human members' minds. Dr. Fate's intervention was the only thing that got them back to England."
Faraday paused before continuing, "Knowing that his forces faced a superhuman threat, Hitler summoned the Valkyrie from Valhalla. The Choosers of the Slain battled the future JSA on the shores of Dunkirk until the Specter destroyed Germany's fleet. Sadly for the future Allies, the bulk of Nazi forces made it back to the European mainland. But even then, Hitler had one final threat to throw at the United States in particular."
"An experimental long range bomber flew out of Berlin and headed across the Atlantic with its target being the White House in Washington DC. Seeing the potential for catastrophic deaths, the Valkyrie flew escort," Faraday continued, "The bomber's payload was a conventional explosive with the same thousand kiloton yield of the first atom bomb. During the war, the design was lost and we only rediscovered out to replicate that power with a Fuel Air Bomb around 1990."
"But Hitler was eventually defeated," Nightshade reminded her mentor, "What happened to the spear?"
"No one knows. The Red Army claimed they never found it and neither the US, the UK, nor the French ever dug it up in the rubble that was Berlin. After the war, everyone just sort of forgot about it," Faraday explained, "Until recently. After the fall of Communism in Russia back in 1992, records became available that had never seen the light of day before. Russian academics began circulating rumors the Spear of Destiny had been recovered by the Red Army and Stalin had it locked away so deep no one ever found it again."
"But Putin paid attention to the rumors," Nightshade guessed, "And the rumors said it was in the Ukraine."
"You have to remember, until Khrushchev redrew the map, what is now eastern Ukraine was sovereign Russian territory," Faraday pointed out, "So we end up where Putin has to gain control of eastern Ukraine if he wants to get the spear cleanly."
"But now we're learning someone else got to it first," Nightshade followed the reasoning, "But who?"
"That answer is the one we should be afraid of," Faraday commented.
A boom tube delivered the still liberated Rogues to Checkmate's Ann Arbor campus. They immediately intercepted the coroner's wagon as it headed off the property. The deputy coroner and her orderly were forced out of the vehicle and the Rogues took a look inside the body bag in the rear of the vehicle. To their anger and dismay, they found Mark Merdon the Weather Wizard.
"Who did this?" Golden Glider had the coroner by the lapels and was trying to shake the information out of her.
"Lisa!" the Top pulled her away, "She doesn't know."
"All we have is a set of identification papers and a prewritten autopsy report," the coroner managed to say.
"Where's Captain Boomerang?" Captain Cold threatened the pair with his cold gun.
"That was our only pickup," the orderly answered.
"The bastard sold Mark out," Golden Glider raged, "I'm going to kill him."
"No, we question him first and then you kill him one piece at a time," Heat Wave tried to calm her down.
Captain Cold froze the coroner and her orderly, "We need to take Mark home."
Trickster had been mutely staring at Weather Wizard's corpse, "I'll do it."
Captain Cold and Heat Wave exchanged a dubious look. Mirror Master stepped in, "I'll ride with him. I can also cut down on travel time."
The pair climbed in the hearse-like vehicle and as it drove away, a mirror image appeared before them and they transitioned into a mirror Earth where they were the heroes and Flash and the JLU were villains. Then they image disappeared.
"Pretty smart using the mirror world," Pied Piper opined, "This way they won't get looked at twice as they cover the ground before transitioning back into our world."
"Yippee," Golden Glider scornfully remarked, "Now let's make someone pay."
Sarge Steel sounded the alarms and alerted all Pawns on base. Next he signaled all available Knights before turning to Nightshade, "I want at least one alive for questioning. Somehow those bastards broke open a secret above the Vice-President's pay grade."
"I'm not the bloodthirsty type, Sarge," Nightshade reminded him.
"But the beings who reside in your nightforce are," Sarge Steel retorted, "So keep them under control."
Nightshade pretended to pout as she was swallowed by the very nightforce they'd been discussing.
Inside the Knights' floor of the dorms, Nightshade found Lorraine had already become Firehawk and Valerie had transformed into Silver Swan. Firehawk asked the obvious question, "What are we facing?"
"Flash's Rogue made us. We need at least one left alive to tell us how," Nightshade instructed, "They were probably coming after the Weather Wizard and Captain Boomerang."
"Why is that a past tense statement?" Silver Swan inquired.
"Because Waller co-opted Boomerang and Deadshot killed Weather Wizard," Nightshade explained, "The Rogues intercepted the body on its way off campus. So they're probably just out for revenge at this point."
"We'll let them taste their own blood," Firehawk promised. She and Silver Swan headed for the roof where they could easily take flight.
"You heard?" Nightshade asked without turning around.
Andrea and Briar Rose came beside Nightshade. Andrea answered for the pair, "Of course."
She slipped on her helmet and her voice was transformed into that of her late father, "I'll drop back to the first underground level in case anyone gets past our enthusiastic flying pair."
"And I'll meet any blokes stupid enough to confront me on open ground," Mayflower's crisp British accent held no inflection at all.
Nightshade knew the truth though. Her mother Rose had been outed as the super villain Thorn before her violent death. And then came the deaths of her Force of July teammates. And while she's made inroads with her half-sister, Jennie-Lynn Haden, she had been rebuffed at every turn by Jennie's twin brother, Todd Rice. Of course, as Jade and Obsidian, they were the children of Sentinel and had their own issues to deal with.
Added to all of that was the general ass kicking her fellow florakinetic, Poison Ivy, had delivered as well. So Mayflower felt she had a lot to prove now. Which could make her impetuous or sloppy, or worst case scenario, both.
Firehawk soared over the Rogues and rained nuclear fire down upon them. Heat Wave waved the others off, "Go! I've got this one."
He volleyed off a few shots with his thermal blaster. Each one intended to bring Firehawk closer and closer to the ground. Finally she landed on her feet.
"I've got you now, babe," Heat Wave chuckled.
"And what makes you think so?" Firehawk asked.
"This does," Heat Wave fired a burst into her chest. She didn't even flinch. He whacked his thermal blaster a few times and tried again with a two-handed grip.
Firehawk grinned, "Poor dear. Not having any luck? Maybe because these flames you see coming off my body are nuclear in natures."
She waved and his thermal blaster reconstituted itself into a pair of handcuffs around his wrists, "Oh, and I also share Firestorm's ability to control atomic and molecular structures. So who has who here?"
Heat Wave groaned.
Silver Swan circled the Rogues overhead but she didn't take any direct action. Pied Piper volunteered to deal with her, "I'll have her singing to my tune in just a second."
He began to play his flute and Silver Swan alighted on the ground ten feet from Pied Piper. She wore a dazed expression and he began to smirk. But then her eyes became wild and she wore a crooked smile.
"I suppose all you're lacking is vocal accompaniment," Pied Piper suddenly knew he was in grave danger as she opened her mouth.
Her swan song blew him twenty feet back. His flute had been shattered and his clothes were shredded rags. Pied Piper's ears rang so badly he could barely hear her demand that he surrender. He held up his hands.
"Whatever, just don't do that again," he pleaded.
Mayflower stood before the admin building. The Top looked askance at the Rogue siblings, "You go ahead. My power really isn't suited for enclosed spaces."
"Don't get too enthusiastic here, Roscoe," Golden Glider advised him.
"Jealous?" he teased.
"As if," Golden Glider rolled her eyes.
"Duck," the Top instructed as he began to spin. The centrifugal force blew air currents at Mayflower rivaling a small tornado. It knocked her clean off of her feet.
Captain Cold and Golden Glider slipped past her. Mayflower got back onto her feet, "Pretty sprightly of you, chum."
"You ain't seen nuthin' yet, my English tart," the Top boasted.
"I've seen enough," she said dryly as she waved her hand at the ground beneath his feet.
"What's that supposed to do?" the Top laughed.
Then the plants beneath him grew at a phenomenally accelerated rate. Seeds that Mayflower had littered across the campus lawns did the same as well. Soon, the Top was bound so tightly by vegetation, he couldn't spin or move and could barely breathe.
"Now, let's have a little chat, shall we?" Mayflower wore a wicked grin, "And keep in mind, we only need one of you alive. So are you willing to talk or should I simply dispatch you now?"
Inside the admin building, Golden Glider asked Captain Cold, "How can you be certain this is the building we want?"
"Because it's the only one they're defending," Captain Cold pointed as they headed for the corridor on the right. There, Pawns had set up a barricade and broken out the automatic weapons they held in reserve.
"See what I mean?" he asked as he froze the Pawns.
Golden Glider skated over the frozen barricade, "It's clear up ahead."
"Not for long I bet," Captain Cold wagered.
The next turn brought them headlong against another barricade force. And the Pawns met the same fate as their fellows. Finally, the siblings found a stairwell.
Ascending, they met various office staff and analysts but no armed resistance. Golden Glider smirked at her brother, "Down?"
He nodded, "Down."
The stairwell landings beneath the building were also defended. And continually met the same fate as the previous entrenched positions. By Captain Cold's estimate, they were five stories beneath the ground floor before they encountered a doorway.
There the Phantasm waited for them. Midway down the corridor was an elevator. Captain Cold instinctively knew their quarry could only be accessed by that elevator.
Golden Glider knew it to, "Take the elevator. I've got him."
Golden Glider speed skated towards the Phantasm. Had Golden Glider realized that the assassin was actually a disguised female, she still would have attacked in the same way. But she hadn't anticipated that the Phantasm would clothesline her.
Kicking out at the Phantasm, she secured her brother's passage into the elevator. Everything about her enemy's body language indicated "he" was angry about this. Golden Glider retreated and then skated towards the shrouded figure again.
But this time, as she closed the distance, she pirouetted and kicked out at the Phantasm's visible weapon. "His" scythe glove froze over as the skate blade made contact and "he" shucked it only to have it shatter when it hit the floor. Golden Glider came on again.
This time the hallway filled with smoke and the Glider simply pushed through it. Using her toe pick, Golden Glider came to a halt. Looking back, she saw Phantasm emerge from the smoke unscathed.
Golden Glider skated into another cloud of smoke, "Coward!"
Phantasm's backspin kick leveled Golden Glider and her head went into the wall as she fell. Pinning the glider to the floor, Andrea Beaumont beat the Rogue unconscious. She finally understood why Bruce found so much satisfaction in it.
Captain Cold found himself in the control bunker confronted by Nightshade and an army of Pawns. He aimed at her, "Nothing personal."
Firing he watched as a black portal opened up between him and her. And then a second opened behind him and the beam froze him over. Only his head remained thawed.
"Damn, this is embarrassing," he grumbled.
"Not as much as this will be," Nightshade knocked him out with a single punch.
Everyone save Captain Cold and Golden Glider was apprehended and moved to a secure location. Firehawk transformed the ice covering everybody into water. Nightshade deemed it necessary to remind everyone they were damned lucky to be alive. Captain Cold and Golden Glider were revived and then they joined their fellow Rogues. The entire group was rather sullen at that point.
Sarge Steel had ordered the closure of the base. Everyone was evacuating as fast as humanly possible. They were transferring to a site designated Base Two. Uncle Sam and his group were recalled and supplied with the location.
Sarge Steel met with the Knights on campus, "I want you to push ahead to Base Two and secure it. If the benefactor that supplied the Rogues with our locale has moved on it as well we'll know our entire network has been compromised. But in the meantime we'll operate with extreme caution as we assume that our primary bolt hole is still open."
"But none of us knows where it is," Silver Swan complained.
"The knowledge is compartmentalized expressly to keep it from hostile hands," Sarge Steel explained, "Nightshade has it and she'll be your ride in."
"Bloody hell," Mayflower grumbled.
Observing what dwelt in the nightforce would drive a normal person mad. Only Nightshade's unique heritage enabled her to access it and transit through it unscathed. So the Knights formed a line, took each other's hands, and closed their eyes as Nightshade walked them through it.
On the other end, they felt the warm sun on their faces. Nightshade smiled, "Okay, you can all open your eyes now."
And they all marveled at the location.