Chapter I: Humble Beginnings
New York, NY. Three Years Ago...
Before the Infinity Crisis - before the Justice Legion of Avengers - Bart Parker, more famously known as Speedster-Man, began his superhero career with street-level threats. It wasn't until his second month that he first encountered another vigilante. It was just another night of patrol when he spotted a car jacker. Using the shadows to his advantage, the young speedster made his way down to the parking lot. Feeling particularly playful tonight, Speedster-Man tapped the robber on the shoulder and disappeared just as he turned around.
"What the…?" The crook whipped his head around in every direction, his hand gripped around his pistol as he searched for whoever was spying on him. But there was no one around. Shrugging it off, he went back to picking the lock on the car door.
"Y'know, in the future if you're gonna steal cars…" The crook drew his gun as he spotted Speedster-Man sitting on the hood of the car. "Don't dress like a car thief."
"Who are you?!"
Bart stood up and gave an overly dramatic bow. "Why I'm your friendly neighborhood Speedster-Man, of course!"
"What's with that mask? You some kinda cop?"
"... a cop?" Bart's eyebrows furrowed beneath his mask as he hopped up from the car's hood. "You seriously think I'm a cop? With the mask, and the outfit? That says 'cop' to you?"
The thief fired his first shot, but the speedster easily dodged the bullet. In the blink of an eye, Speedster-Man flicked his wrist forward, firing a line of cable from the device clamped to his wrist. The thief yelped in pain as the grappling claw struck his hand, forcing him to drop the gun. Aggravated, the thief took out his switchblade.
"Oh, god! You found my weakness!" Speedster-Man mockingly fell to his knees. "It's small knives!" With another flick of his wrist, the grappling hook struck the switchblade away, sending it into a nearby wall. "Oh, wait. No, it's not." He chuckled, launching a net from his gauntlet that entrapped the thief against the same wall. Just then Bart spotted someone watching him from a balcony just as he heard a police siren coming from the distance; he realized that the person on the balcony had called the police. The squad car was driven by a single policeman who quickly got out of the car and drew his gun.
"Freeze!" He ordered.
"No, no! It's okay! I got him!"
"Put your hands up!"
"Okay! Okay!" Bart raised his arms. "They're up!"
"Who are you?!"
Speedster-Man dropped his arms and turned back to face the criminal. "No one seems to understand the concept of the mask." He remarked. Suddenly, his accelerated vision kicked in just in time for him to dodge the policeman's bullet. With lightning reflexes, Speedster-Man snatched the gun from the policeman's hand and waved it in front of his face.
"Are you freaking kidding me, man?!" Bart barked, furiously, before tearing the gun in half with his bare hands. "I just did ninety percent of your job and that's how you thank me?!" Without another word, he sped away in the blink of an eye. He climbed up the side of the King-Hardy hotel to clear his head, trying to forget about the prejudice he suffered from law enforcement. He didn't understand why the police and media were so against him, but a part of him wondered if his karma was catching up to him. If it was because he had ignored his responsibility, and was now paying the price for it.
Suddenly, an alarm went off inside the building, snapping the super-swift hero out of his depression. Out on the balcony, a young woman in black leather with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder fired an arrow at an opposing building and used her bow to zipline down from the hotel to make her getaway. "Alright, hero time!" Speedster-Man fired another grappling cable and swung after the cat burglar, landing on the adjacent rooftop right behind her.
The cat burglar instinctively whipped around upon hearing him and fired three more arrows at him. Naturally, he managed to dodge all of them and sprint forward to snatch away her bow. The burglar was startled, but quickly put on a coy smile. "Well, hello~" She purred, seductively. "You must be that hunky new superhero who's been running around making life difficult for people like me."
Speedster-Man blinked beneath his goggles as he got a better look at the woman. She didn't appear to be much older than he was, and she appeared to have an athletic build. The only thing more enticing than her piercing blue eyes was her flowing platinum blonde hair that shone in the moonlight. The hero shook his head. "My name's Speedster-Man. And who are you supposed to be?"
"You can call me the Black Arrow." She replied. "And I'm gonna need my bow back, if you don't mind."
"I do mind, actually." Speedster-Man crossed his arms. "Why would you rob a hotel?"
"They had it coming." She replied. "That place is a front for criminal activity. This duffle bag is full of dirty money I was going to use to help fund a new orphanage."
"Huh. I never knew Robin Hood was into BDSM." Speedster-Man snorted, motioning to her outfit.
In response, Black Arrow placed one hand on her hip as she coyly unzipped her corset halfway. "Aw, you don't like my costume?" She pouted, playfully. "And here I was hoping we could get to know each other."
"Sorry, but I'm not inclined to believe your story."
"Then I guess we do this the hard way." She sighed. She was so distracting that Bart's accelerated vision couldn't warn him before she swept her feet under his legs, tripping him up. She caught her bow and made a dash for the edge of the rooftop. Bart quickly recovered and chased after her. As he got closer, he noticed a cartoonish black cat patch sewn onto the back of her jacket, wondering what it was for; but as he followed her onto a roof of a condemned building, he soon found out. As she ran, the ceiling collapsed behind her, leaving nothing for Bart to run across. He yelped in shock as he fell through the roof, landing on the cold concrete floor of the next level. Determined to catch her, he raced over to the window and crawled up the wall.
Black Arrow had jumped down onto a semi-truck heading for the freeway. "Ha-ha! I got you now!" Bart cheered and raced back down to the street and soon caught up to the truck. Unfortunately, the thief fired one final arrow that unleashed a puddle of slick oil onto the ground, causing Speedster-Man to spiral out of control and crash into a nearby trash can. With his shoes still slick, his costume stained, and his pride hurt, Speedster-Man could only watch as Black Arrow escaped.
"You won't get away with this!" He fumed as the leather-clad archer saluted him from the retreating semi-truck. "I swear I'll get you back for this!"
Queens, NY. Present Day.
Bart Parker woke up with a smile on his face. It had been three weeks since he and his friends had successfully saved the universe from Darkanos, and everything was finally getting back to normal. He jumped out of bed, raced into the shower, brushed his teeth, raced back into his room, and got dressed for the day. Today, he would be heading to Chicago for college, and taking the next step in starting his new life. He was just combing the knots out of his long hair when he caught something out of the corner of his eye.
After Steve Allen and Sharon West - Bart's grandparents - had retired from super-heroics, he had inherited the original star-spangled shield the Flag had started using in the early days of World War II. But he had yet to use it on his crime fighting nights. He didn't know why, but it never felt right whenever he held it. So for now, it just rested behind his desk before he went away. With a heavy sigh, he finished brushing his hair and made his way downstairs for breakfast.
"SURPRISE!"
Bart jumped in shock; standing before him was Aunt Joan, Felicity, and all of his fellow superhero proteges, standing under a banner that read "Happy 18th Birthday!"
"Whoa!" Bart laughed. "Thanks, you guys!"
Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck and quickly locked lips with her boyfriend. "One kiss for every year." She winked.
"Best gift ever." He smiled, enjoying another kiss.
Two hours later, Donna and Ronnie were the only ones taking up Aunt Joan's offer for more chocolate chip and banana pancakes; everyone else felt as if they were about to burst. Karen and Tim sat with Bart and Felicity at the kitchen table. "Come on, Bart." Tim scoffed. "You're saying we actually surprised you?"
"It's been a busy week." Bart shrugged. "I forgot it even was my birthday."
"Oh, by the way! I got you something!" Karen reached behind her seat and handed her friend a neatly wrapped box. "I made it myself."
Intrigued, Bart tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a brand new costume similar to his own, but with two white stars on the shoulders, another printed behind the black spider on the chest, and a white utility belt. "Wow! Thanks, Karen, this is crash!"
"Well, when I heard Captain Allen gave you his shield, I figured you'd need a new suit to match it." Karen smiled.
"Heh… yeah, thanks." Bart smiled, meekly.
"What's the matter?" Tim asked, noticing his friend's demeanor.
"Uh… I guess I just… wish my parents could be here." Bart shrugged, dismissively.
"Aw, I'm sorry, sweetie." Felicity kissed his cheek for comfort. "I know it must have been hard growing up without them, but I'm sure they'd be proud to see you, now. I'll go ask Aunt Joan to get your other presents."
Tim waited for Felicity to leave before leaning in. "You haven't told her or Aunt Joan, yet?"
"What? That my real parents visited me from the future?" Bart shook his head. "No. Aunt Joan's life is already crazy enough because of me. After everything that's happened to us, lately, I just want a few days to be normal."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Bart hurried over to answer, and was surprised to see the person on the other side. "Hey, kid." Wally - the current Flag - smiled as he entered the house. "I'm sorry to have to do this on your birthday, but we've got official Justice Legion business to take care of."
Bart sighed in exasperation. "So much for normal." He thought. The others quickly acknowledged the Flag's presence and prepared to leave. They thanked Aunt Joan for the hearty breakfast and left out the front door. Bart stayed behind a little while longer to collect his suitcases, his laptop, and the shield he had tucked into his backpack. As he made his way back downstairs, he passed Felicity who was heading up to her own room.
"I'll see you in Chicago." She promised, kissing him once more.
Bart smiled at her affection as he made his way back into the living room, only to find Joan sobbing in the middle of the room. "Aunt Joan?" He dropped his bags and went over to comfort her. "Aunt Joan, what's wrong?"
Joan said nothing at first; she just put her arms around the young man she had raised and hugged him tight. "I am so proud of you." She whimpered, happily. "And Jay would have been, too."
Bart put his arms around her in response, shedding a few tears of his own. "Thanks, Aunt Joan. But I owe a lot of who I am to you."
"I love you, so much." She sighed, sadly.
"I love you, too." Bart replied before picking his bags back up.
JLA Headquarters. A few hours later…
The five young heroes sat, patiently, in the meeting room, waiting for their mentors to explain why they had been summoned. At last, Hyperman, Thunder Woman, and the Flag entered the room, along with an unfamiliar dark-skinned man in a purple suit. "Hello, my name is Zebediah Lord." He greeted, warmly. "Perhaps a few of you have heard of me?"
"The Zebediah Lord?!" Tim gasped. "As in, the founder of Purple Labs?! The world's leading pioneer in neuropsychology?!"
"The one and only." Zebediah smiled. "But I'm not here to talk about me, I'm here to talk about all of you."
"What do you mean, Dr. Lord?" Karen asked, politely.
"Well, my dear, in contrast with the general public, I am fully aware of your hand in saving this world from those cosmic invaders." Zebediah explained.
"What? But how?" Ronnie blinked in surprise. "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. declared that a matter of national security?"
"Well, they did." Zebediah chuckled, heartily. "But recently, a team of my best and brightest scientists detected an anomaly in the time-space continuum. All over the world, people have been experiencing deja vu,resurrected loved ones, and lapses in memory. My friends, Dr. Ralph Richards and Dr. Arani Storm and their team had been studying a new form of cosmic energy during the crisis while inside a pocket dimension they call the Negative Zone. Or, the N-Zone for short. But I digress. The N-Zone somehow protected them from the reality altering powers of the Infinity Rings, and thank god for that."
"What do you mean?" Ronnie spoke up.
"Well, we managed to trace all the changes in history back by three years maximum." Zebediah elaborated. "Three years ago, Captain Benjamin Steele was going through chemotherapy. His disease went into remission and he made a full recovery. If he hadn't been piloting the ship when the Infinity Rings reversed history, he might have been reverted to his pretreatment state as many others around the world have."
"Oh, god…" Ronnie slumped down in his seat. After he freed everyone from the Anti-Life Equation, he hadn't fully considered the consequences of his actions.
"And unfortunately, when you put everything back to normal that included human nature." Zebediah placed his laptop down on the table and connected to the projector. The screen flashed over the blank wall, displaying pictures of the Midwestern American states. The teenage heroes watched as picture after picture of domestic violence and police brutality flashed before their eyes. "As you can see, crime rates have steadily risen across the country. We have Emerald Man's Avengers in New York to watch over the East, and the Flag's Avengers to safeguard the West, but not even two Justice Legions are capable of being everywhere at once. Which brings me to my point."
Zebediah typed away at his keyboard, bringing up an image of his company building in Chicago. "I have consulted with S.H.I.E.L.D. and both Justice Legions, and we all agree that a third Legion would be most beneficial to the safety of this country. I have been informed of your plans to go to college, and have already arranged for you all to study under Dr. Richards if you will agree to work with us. I will provide for your tuition, room and board, and of course my own facilities will be at your total disposal. Within reason."
"Wow… Dr. Lord, I… I don't know what to say." Tim rubbed his forehead, taking in what he had just heard. "I mean, this is all so sudden. We'd have to cancel our own college applications-"
"I can take care of that for you, Knightwing." Zebediah promised. "And I'll pay for the moving companies as well. I can have you moved into my building by the end of the day. Of course, you may have to share rooms with Dr. Richard's team."
"Wait, so we'd be living with members of your staff?" Speedster-Man asked, skeptically. "I mean, no offence, but what about the whole secret identity thing? What if we compromise-?"
"Bart Parker." Zebediah pointed at the young speedster, startling the group. He then went down the line, listing their names as he did. "Tim Lopez, Karen Danvers, Ronnie Powell, Delta-Ray Donna." The group fell silent as the businessman continued. "This isn't something I came up with today, my young friends. I've been partnered up with S.H.I.E.L.D. long before the first Justice Legion existed. And I, myself, am a very intelligent man. I discovered your secret identities a long time ago, and I've kept them safe for quite a while. As will Dr. Richards' team if you choose. Additionally, two other young heroes who helped you during the crisis would be joining your team; the telepathic alien Jihnorama, and the human Green Nova Kyle Alexander. They have already moved in and are already onboard with my plans. My friends, I believe we can do some real good if we work together. So… what do you say?"
The young heroes shared a glance amongst each other, silently contemplating his offer.
Chicago, IL. The next day.
Zebediah rode with the heroic quintet all the way to his building in his private jet. Once they arrived, they were given all-access cards to the entire facility just before being directed to their rooms to unpack and settle in before dinner. The rooms were kept fairly close together like a hotel, so the group decided to split up and check out where they'd be living for the unforeseeable future. Jihnorama and Kyle were already there when they arrived.
Bart found his room near the end of the hallway; he unlocked the door and stepped inside. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the stale stench that filled the air. Dirty clothes and Playboy magazines littered the floor, leaving a trail to a bed on the far end of the room. A young man around Bart's age slept, soundly, with another magazine over his face and one hand in his pants. Bart awkwardly set his belongings down on the other bed before clearing his throat.
"Huh? What?" The young man jolted upwards, sliding the magazine off of his face to reveal his spikey blonde hair. With a sniff, he got up from his bed, zipped up his pants, and finally noticed the other person in the room. "Oh, hey, man. You must be my new roommate. I'm Larry Storm."
Bart looked down at Larry's hand before reaching for his wrist to avoid contact with his palm as they shook hands. "Uh… Bart Parker." He replied. "Uh, yeah, I'm your new roommate, I guess."
"Cool, Ben was starting to get on my nerves, but I miss the company." Larry remarked. "Uh, sorry about the mess. Oh! Couple ground rules; number one, all these mags are for my eyes only. And number two, if I got a sock on the doorknob, do not come in."
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, I gotta go." Larry looked down at his watch as he grabbed his jacket and made his way to the door. "I've got a hot date who doesn't do late. Seeya later. Make yourself at home."
With that, Bart was left alone in his new room. "... this is gonna be interesting." He told himself.
Meanwhile, next to his room, Tim's roommate had yet to arrive so he went ahead to unpack. Just as he heard someone unlocking the door behind him, he quickly stashed his Knightwing costume under his bed before turning to face the dark-haired man behind him.
"Tim?" His roommate smiled. "Tim Lopez?!"
"I don't believe it! Peter Payne?!" Tim laughed and brought his old friend in for a hug. "I haven't seen you since middle school, man! How've you been?!"
"Well, after you moved to New Gotham, I kept playing around with my chemistry sets." Peter explained. "And then, junior year? I made a breakthrough. A new adhesive substance that can temporarily alter a person's appearance for up to twenty-four hours! I submitted it in the science fair, and who could've guessed that my dad used his connections as mayor to invite Dr. Lord to the fair?"
"Holy shit!" Tim held the sides of his head, excitedly. "And he liked your project?!"
"Hell yeah, he did!" Peter laughed. "He brought me here, and made me a part of his biochemistry team so that I can iron out the kinks."
"'Kinks?'"
"Uh, y'know." Peter waved, dismissively. "Just minor side-effects. Headaches. Nausea. Itching on the affected areas. But once I get that taken care of, Dr. Lord says I can patent it and sell it as a makeup compound for all those practical effects artists in Hollywood. Imagine; we could finally get a decent remake of Dimitri Karlo's Pasteface!"
"Still think that's the best horror movie of all time, eh?" Tim shook his head. "I keep telling you, Halloween II is-"
"Don't! Don't even try to bring up Halloween II!" Peter protested, humorously. "Just face the facts! Halloween II was a rushed project! John Carpenter didn't even want to do it! And you can clearly tell that Jamie Lee Curtis is wearing a wig!"
"Agree to disagree." Tim shrugged. "So your dad got you to meet Dr. Lord? That's pretty cool."
"Heh, yeah." Peter smiled, half-heartedly. "Bastard finally did something nice for me."
Oh, man. I'm sorry." Tim replied. "Are you two still-?"
"Have been ever since mom died." Peter nodded. "Sometimes I feel like he blames me for her death. If he wasn't mayor, he probably would've disowned me a long time ago."
"Aw, geez, Peter. I-" Tim caught a glimpse of what looked like an arm inside the closet. "Uh, Pete? Are you… hiding a dead body in the closet?"
"Huh? Oh, no! That's just Helena." Peter slid the rest of the wooden door open, revealing a full-sized mannequin behind it. "She belonged to my mom. Dad wanted to get rid of her, but I kept her hidden. She's pretty much the only memento I've got of my mom."
"Okay, but, uh…" Tim smirked, playfully. "I'm pretty sure these rooms aren't co-ed. I don't want you getting us into trouble."
"Oh, stuff it." Peter rolled his eyes and pushed his childhood friend in a playful fashion.
In the next room, Karen nearly jumped out of her skin when greeted by her roommate. "Hey, girl. I'm Raquel Rambeau." The African American woman greeted, warmly. "You okay? Ya look like you seen a ghost."
"Uh, sorry…" Karen shook her head in disbelief. "You just, uh, you look like someone I know."
"O-kay." Raquel's brow furrowed. "Since we're gonna be livin' together, I'm gonna hope that ain't a race thing."
"Oh, god no!" Karen held up her hands in a calming manner. "She was a friend of mine! And you really do look-" Karen cut herself off as she felt her foot bump into something on her way inside. She looked down and spotted a twenty-five pound dumbbell sitting on the floor. As she surveyed the room, she spotted more exercising equipment scattered across the floor including a barbell set on the other end of the room and an elliptical machine right next to it..
"Oh, sorry." Raquel clicked her tongue. "I know I shoulda cleaned up before you got here, but I had just got off the phone with my foster dad. He's coming to visit in a couple days and I just wanted to get all the details of when to pick him up at the airport. I swear, I'm gonna clean up, I just-"
"No, i-it's fine." Karen set her bags on her bed. "I like to workout, too."
"Oh, yeah?" Raquel smiled. "Well, you can use my equipment if you want. But for now, you must be tired after your trip. You should get some rest before dinner tonight. Then maybe tomorrow we can break in my karaoke machine."
Karen's eyes lit up.
Ronnie and Kyle shared the room across the hall. The Green Nova officer didn't own many possessions so he didn't take up much space. Ronnie, on the other hand, had managed to reclaim a few of his family's belongings after the crisis was over. Such things as his father's fishing cap, his mother's origami book, and his grandfather's Bible were placed on top of his dresser while he unpacked. "So, what exactly does a Green Nova do?" Ronnie asked.
"The Green Nova Corps is the first and last line of defense to the known universe. It is a responsibility reserved only for those who have the ability to overcome great fear." Kyle explained, proudly, as he used his ring to mimic human clothing. "Each of the three-thousand six hundred space sectors have an assigned Green Nova officer responsible for safeguarding that sector."
"Oh." Ronnie nodded, casually. "So it's like a beat cop for every district."
Kyle blinked, put off by the oversimplification. "Um, yes, in a way. But it's much more complicated than that-"
"My dadwas a cop." Ronnie smiled.
"That's great, but-"
"He'd take me on ride-alongs when I was thirteen. Used to let me turn on the siren. Nice guy."
Kyle grumbled and dropped the subject.
Donna and Jihnorama also shared a room. The Corbinite had tried to reach out to the Braalite, but Jihnorama hadn't said a word since the crisis; choosing to meditate, quietly. After a few minutes of silence, Donna finally spoke. "Why did you not return with your companions?" She asked. "Surely, they would still look after you."
"I couldn't…" Jihnorama replied without looking up. "They had already done so much for me. After so many years of looking for my father, staying with them would be too painful."
Donna hadn't tried to speak to her for the rest of the day.
A few hours later, the original five Avengers met up in the lobby to discuss their current thoughts about the day. Karen was the first to speak. "Did anything weird happen to you guys, today?"
"Well, I ran into an old school friend of mine." Tim shrugged. "And he keeps a mannequin in the closet."
"Uh, okay, that's kinda weird." Karen blinked. "But I meant more like-"
"I swear it wasn't me!" Bart denied, quickly. "It was probably my pervert roommate!"
"What?" Karen blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, I thought someone else had seen you naked, again."
"What?" Tim blinked before turning to his friend. "You saw her naked?"
"How could you dishonor her like that?!" Donna growled, angrily.
"It was an accident. It happened back when we went to Vermont." Bart explained. "I just opened the door, and she was changing. It's not like I was sitting across the street with a telescope and a box of tissues."
"Okay, just drop it!" Karen barked, irritably. "That's not what I was talking about anyway! I'm talking about… have you guys seen any of the Paragons we ran into during the crisis?"
"Huh?" Ronnie quirked an eyebrow. "You saw a Paragon?"
"Well, no. I think it was her doppelganger." Karen explained. "Raquel Rambeau; the Paragon of Honor. But she was, like, way younger. She's an engineer, here. She doesn't have any powers."
"Whoa! For real?" Tim gawked. "Whoa. Wonder if there are other doppelgangers here?"
"I don't know." Karen shrugged. "But it made me wonder if some other universe goes through the same thing we did?"
"Then they can count on us to help them." Ronnie smiled. "Right guys?"
"Indeed!" Donna stood up from her seat, proudly. "After witnessing the generosity of the Paragons, it would be unjust for us to do any less!"
"Yeah!" Tim agreed. "The multiverse can count on… uh… what're we gonna call our team?"
Bart rubbed his chin. "Hmm, are we just sticking with Justice Legion of Avengers three?"
"Nah, we should have our own name." Ronnie rubbed his chin in thought. "Like, how about… the New Defenders?"
"Eh, that's kinda weak." Karen replied before snapping her fingers. "Oh! I know! How about the Cosmic Conquerors?"
"Hm, doesn't really work." Tim shook his head. "I mean, we're not really here to conquer."
"Actually, the marketing boys have already come up with a name." Zebediah stated, startling the others, "Aheh, sorry. I couldn't help but overhear."
"What do you mean the marketing boys came up with a name?" Ronnie was the first to ask.
"Well, your mentors did have a hand in choosing the name, but it was my idea." He replied. "We were thinking that - because you are all under twenty-one years of age - you would appeal to today's youth groups and encourage them to partake in nonviolent activities."
"Okay, so what's the name?" Tim asked.
"You will be known as… the Young Justice Avengers." The group groaned, much to Zebediah's dismay. "Now, now, I know you all think that you're old enough to be considered adults. But this will give you a chance to appeal to the country's younger demographic."
"... I guess it's not that bad." Tim relented, and everyone else silently agreed.
"Excellent. Then congratulations!" Zebediah praised, happily. "Look out, world! Here comes the Young Justice Avengers!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city
Eugene Driscoll twiddled his thumbs as his chauffeur drove him through the city. A few hours ago, he was sitting in a juvenile detention center when an anonymous visitor paid his bail and offered him a new job. At last, they arrived at the building where he was greeted by a man in a neat, white suit with playing card tattoos covering his skin from head to toe. Eugene gulped. "Um, are you, Mr. Jeremy Harrow?"
"Most folks call me Black Jack, kid." The crime lord shuffled a deck of cards with one hand while extending the other in a welcoming manner. "What do you say we take this inside?" As Black Jack led Eugene into the workshop, they both failed to notice the silhouetted figure spying on them from the building across the street.
"So, how do you feel about the Flag, my boy?" Balck Jack asked as he stopped shuffling to offer one card to his guest.
Eugene nervously took one card from the deck, studied it, then put it back. "The Flag? You mean that superhero?" Black Jack nodded as he started shuffling the cards again. Eugene scowled. "He's kind of a liberal sellout if you ask me. Coddling those dirty foreigners who wanna come into our country and going easy on those wimpy snowflakes. It gets annoying."
"I couldn't agree more." Black Jack chuckled. "That's why the Big Man sent me to you. He thinks you're just the kind of guy this country needs to protect the sanctity of our country."
"Really?"
"Yeah, kid. You stick with us, and we'll turn you into a real hazard for those foreigners and snowflakes." Black Jack promised. "What do you say we go meet the doctor?"
The crime lord led the young man further down the hallway until they came upon a laboratory run by a single man. The scientist wore a winged helmet that covered most of his face, a dark green bodysuit, a white trench coat, and protruding from his back were four mechanical arms that allowed him to perform multiple tasks at once.
"Dr. Nemesis, we have your new patient." Black Jack announced.
"Ah, you are here for the procedure, yes?" Dr. Nemesis used his mechanical limbs to lift himself into the air and stomp towards the test subject.
"Yeah. I'm your man." Eugene nodded.
"Very well." Dr. Nemesis nodded and led the young criminal over to his work station.
While still shuffling his cards, Black Jack made the call to the client his employer had reached out to. "Yeah, it's me. You wanted an update on your project? Well, we've found a candidate. But my boss' bank account is looking a little low."
["We've been over this, Black Jack."] The mysterious client replied, their voice disguised by a synthesizer. ["If the experiment is a success, then you'll get your money."]
"Hello? Is this thing on?" Black Jack asked, sarcastically.
The client sighed, heavily, before transferring the funds. ["Fine. But tell Mr. Lincoln that I will be very unhappy if the experiment fails."]
"Hey! Easy with the 'L-word!'" Black Jack snapped. "Call him the Big Man!"
["If you insist. Just give the boy the communicator if he survives. We'll stay in touch. Take care, Black Jack."]
"I always do." With that, the crime lord hung up and went to check up on Eugene. Dr. Nemesis had the boy strapped to a gurney and rolled into a glass cylinder.
"Hundreds of scientists have tried and failed to recreate Patricia Erskine's super-soldier serum." He cackled. "But I have created my very own serum; one that is not as bland as to only grant the user super-speed, but gives them unique abilities based on their own physiology."
"That's great and all, doc, but can we speed this up? We ain't got all night."
"If you insist, Black Jack." Dr. Nemesis replied, beginning the sequence to expose Eugene to the serum's gaseous form.
"Oh, wait, wait, wait! Before you do this..." Black Jack stopped the glass door from closing and held up the seven of diamonds. "... is this your card?"
Eugene shook his head, meekly. "Uh, no. It was the five of clubs."
Black Jack looked back at the card and shrugged. "Meh, guess I gotta work on it some more." The crime lord released his grasp on the glass door, sealing Eugene inside.
Meanwhile, back outside on the roof tops, a certain archer had been listening in through a bug she had planted in the lab. "So, the mystery mob boss has a name." Black Arrow noted to herself as she removed her headphones. "So who is Mr. Lincoln?"
To Be Continued!
Justice Legion of Avengers - Justice League/Avengers
The Flag II aka Wally Barnes - Wally West/Bucky Barnes
Gargoyle aka Mathew Wayne - Batman/Daredevil
Emerald Man aka Tony Jordan - Green Lantern/Iron Man
Thunder Woman aka Diana Blake - Wonder Woman/Thor
Hyperman aka Kent Milton - Superman/Hyperion
The Young Justice Avengers - Young Justice/Young Avengers
Speedster-Man aka Bart Parker - Impulse/Spider-Man
Captain Hyper aka Karen Danvers - Supergirl/Captain Marvel
Knightwing aka Tim Lopez - Robin III/Moon Knight
Thunder Woman aka Delta-Ray Donna aka Donna Olsen - Donna Troy/Beta-Ray Bill
Firehawk aka Ronnie Powell - Firestorm/Darkhawk
Moon Dreamer aka Jihnorama - Dream Girl/Moon Dragon
Green Nova aka Kyle Alexander - Kyle Rayner/Sam Alexander
Zebediah Lord - Maxwell Lord/Zebediah Killgrave
The Black Arrow - Arrowette/The Black Cat
Cissie King-Hardy - Cissie King-Jones/Mary Jane Watson/Felicia Hardy
Larry Storm - Larry Trainor/Johnny Storm
Ralph Richards - Ralph Dibny/Reed Richards
Arani Storm - Arani Desai/Sue Storm
Ben Steele - Cliff Steele/Ben Grimm
Rhea Amaquelin - Rhea Jones/Crystalia Amaquelin
Peter Payne - Preston Payne/Peter Petruski
Raquel Rambeau - Raquel Ervin/Monica Rambeau
Black Jack aka Jeremy Harrow - Double Down/Hammerhead
Patriot aka Eugene Driscoll - Cody Driscoll/Flash Thompson
Dr. Nemesis aka Dr. Otto Clariss - Edwin Clariss/Otto Octavius
Author's Notes: Should I have Bart change his name to "The Flag" or keep him as "Speedster-Man"?