Land of Heroes: DC Style comes from Harbinger of Kaos. I just write the reactions, and I still down own any of the characters.
Hope you're ready. Things are about to get crazy as the league learns of the mysterious Spartan's true origins.
Chapter 5: origins revealed
The group was, for lack of a better world shocked into silence, upon hearing that revelation.
"No way! I have seen a lot of things in my time, but alternate realities?" Flash says in clear denial.
"It's not as farfetched as it seems, a friend of mine actually travelled to an alternate Earth once, there she met a different version of me." Superman said to the group.
"That is a parallel reality, what they are talking about is something far more different." Batman added.
"How so? It has been often theorized that the existence of alternate realities is just as feasible as parallel ones." Cortana spoke from her holo tank.
"She does raise a valid point, even the Guardians, have something on file regarding to pocket dimensions and such, hell that maniac Sinestro got his ring from an Anti-matter universe." The Green Lantern spoke.
"Wait, that's how he got the yellow ring?" Flash asked, their resident lantern with a shocked expression.
Lantern nodded and said, "Yeah. After his crimes were reported, he was banished to a pocket dimension. There he learned how to harness yellow energy and became the same psychopath that we all know and fear."
"We are not lying when we tell you this, we have nothing to gain from it, and in fact we are hoping you can get us back home to our reality." Miranda said to them.
"Us?" Shayera asked.
"The information we obtained on you shows some connections to facilities that have dabbled, in inter dimensional travel, such as this STAR labs, we are hoping that you can aid us."
"Even if we could, there is still the matter of trust, you helped us during the invasion, but you still remain unknown to us, for all we know, you could be some advance invasion force or something else." Batman said in his dark tone.
"Leave it to bats to be the person to put a pin in everything," Flash said, crossing his arms.
J'onn then said, "However, he has a point. We do know next to nothing about this man and we are bound to make mistakes
"How can you say that? If they wished us harm they could have done so as soon as they met us." Wonder Woman says in their defense.
"And leave it to Wonder Woman to take the political route to defend out new friends," Flash said earning an appreciative smile from Amazon and a deeper scowl from the resident knight.
"I am only stating the obvious, nothing more." He replied.
"He is right, you don't know about us, but that is why we have brought you here, to tell where we come from, and for that I will require your aid Mr. Jonzz." Keyes said to the Martian.
"How may I help you Commander Keyes?" the man said in his monotone voice.
"Please in view of the circumstances call me Ms. Keyes or Miranda, which goes for all of you, now it is my understanding that you are telepathic?" She asks.
"Yes I am, and I believe I know where you are going with this, Ms. Keyes." He says to her.
"You want him to act as a lie detector." 117 says in tone that shows it's not a question.
"Good way to make sure he's telling the truth," Batman said, "J'onn has no reason to lie to us and with his input, we would know that he was telling the truth. If he is trying to earn our trust it is certainly working."
This brought a few nods from the rest of the group.
"Yes, can you do it without going into our minds? We do carry military secrets after all."
"But why? It's not like we're going to be telling anyone, who would believe us?" Flash said.
"Because even though our organization does not exist here, we are still honor bound to upholds its laws and ideals to the best of our abilities wherever we are." 117 says with conviction in is voice.
And they could tell he meant those words.
This brought nods to the more militarily inclined members present. They knew that they had to uphold the laws and the codes given to them, and in some cases drilled into their skulls by their superior officers in training.
"The Chief is right, he, Cortana and I will always act as we would in our home reality, even if it leads us to our deaths, it is through these actions that we honor those who came before and after us and the sacrifices they made so that humanity stands tall, so Mr. Jonzz can you do that for us?" She asked again.
"Yes, with your permission I shall scan your surface thoughts, that way I can tell if you are being untruthful, is this acceptable?" he asked them both.
Both the Spartan and the Commander agreed.
"Now to understand what you are dealing with we have to give you a bit of a history lesson on what happen in our Earth, for starters how the UNSC came to be, naturally we can't go into specifics so will just give you the textbook version." She spoke as the lights dimmed and holo emitters came on line.
"During the 21st century of OUR Earth, space exploration and colonization efforts progressed to the point where international assistance was needed to be conducted effectively." Cortana spoke as she showed images of many talks in the UN assembly.
"Makes sense, such endeavors require massive funds and resources no one country alone could provide without serious backlash to the public." Superman said.
Superman nodded at his counterpart's words.
Batman also understood what this meant. Having his own aerospace division in Wayne Enterprises he knew that a large amount of money would be needed to do some of the things that they could. Even with his vast wealth, the most he could build with was the satellite orbiting earth and a few space ships, nothing like the size the UNSC could produce.
"Indeed, and for this the International Society of Civil Engineers was formed in 2021, with large contributions into the fields of space engineering elevating the quality of space based projects. While this occurred, National conservative ideologies gave way to International progressive ones, this led to the need to an overall change in the political landscape to meet the demands that came from this space colonization efforts, the UN was the one to provide this, National governments lost their political influence and all military branches were merged into the UN forces." She said to the astonished heroes, or at least those who understood just how a big step that was."
There was a surprised whistle from the rest of the group, shocked beyond all words at how big a step that was. The members of the united nations almost always seemed to be arguing over something, at least it seemed that way.
"Incredible, our UN could never pull of such a massive endeavor, let alone have all political figures agree to give total control of their military forces." Stewart spoke.
"Why? Do they not work to achieve such an outcome?" Diana asks as she has no understanding of the political scene in man's world.
"Allow me to explain princess, may I call you that?" Miranda asks having never dealt with royalty before.
"Doesn't help she can snap me in half." She thought.
"Please call me Diana or Wonder Woman, there is no need for formalities between us sister." The Amazon replied.
"Oh, yeah, forgot you used to call a lot of girls sister back in the day," Arrow said,
Due to her culture Diana wound up calling a lot of people sister. This lead to a few problems until everyone realized it was part of her culture and a sign of respect.
"O…kay…" she says in response to the sister comment "… what the Green Lantern means is in this world the UN, though striving to achieve world unity and peace, often has to work in accordance to the rules that govern the individual nations, for example they cannot simply go into a nation that is need of medical supplies without the consent of the ruling government, or if there is war and there is someone caught in the middle who aren't involved, they cannot simply send troops in for that would be taken as an act of aggression, making them a target for those involved." Miranda says to the heroine.
"But then how do they plan to accomplish their goal? If all they do is talk while there are those who could benefit from their aid."
"Simple, they don't, politics shall always be a dangerous game, one false step and you risk losing everything, and in their positions, they carry the weight of their nations on their shoulders, all they can do is try the best they can, remember their only human, and as such they carry their flaws, but they can learn from their mistakes and continue on their chosen path." 117 replies to her question, she takes in their words and nods in understanding.
"I always did hate politics," Lantern said, earning nods from the group.
"What were the immediate results of the colonization efforts?" Batman asks intrigued by movement from individual government to collective one.
"By the mid-21st century humanity, under the leadership of the UN, began the colonization of the solar system starting with our sister planet Mars..."
"You made it habitable once more?" J'onn asks in a slightly higher tone.
J'onn's head immediately shot up upon hearing that his home world, destroyed by the invaders all those years ago, even in another universe, was habitable again. A slight tinge of hope appeared in his eyes as he gazed at the box. A quick glance towards Batman was all that needed to be said as the caped crusader nodded at the unsaid message.
"It took some time but eventually they succeeded, afterwards came the colonization of the Jovian Moons as well as the surrounding asteroids and satellites." The UNSC A.I said to the group as she showed them images of the colonies.
"Hey were there Martians there too?" Flash asks.
"No, evidence could not be found of it ever sustaining life, however that those not mean we did not encounter alien life, but I am getting ahead of myself, besides you have to take into account that our reality is different from yours, for one thing we have no metahumans, except maybe the Spartans, there are no Kryptonians, no masked vigilantes, no Green Lanterns, just us and…others." She says.
Batman notes they don't seem too comfortable talking about aliens races they encountered.
"I do not like the sound of this," Superman said, "It looks like they may have some bad blood with aliens."
"Well, we've all had some bad blood with certain aliens," Batman said, "That is bound to have some bad effects on potential interactions."
This was a testament met by the rest of the league. Aliens had been a touchy subject for some of them. While not all aliens were bad, some were very bad and earned a very bad reputation.
"Weren't there problems with the expansion?" Hawkgirl asks Cortana.
"Indeed there were, like with any period of change there will always be those who seek to implement their own agendas whether they are accepted or not, in this case since the UN change the global economic system from Earth based capitalism to Space capitalism, this brought the resurgence of certain doctrines, led by elements from the extremes of the left wing of the political scene…" she said as she showed images of rallies, protests and such.
"Why can't anything every go smoothly?" Lantern asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Hey," Arrow said, "We're talking about some serious change here. Remember, when we all came out of the woodwork in our hometowns…or when we formed the league?"
Everyone had to admit the emerald archer had a point.
"At the lead was the movement led by the Russian born revolutionary, Vladimir Koslov, who formed a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla armed force named after him, the Koslovics. With a possibly Maoist or Stalinist undertone, the new group of communists aimed to dismantle capitalist systems and corporate power on Earth and in newly-occupied space territories, putting a particularly strong emphasis on liberating orbital installations and orchestrating so-called "worker's crusades" or armed campaigns against their foes on the opposite end of the political spectrum." She says as this time the images show violent terrorist acts against corporations and resource plants.
The league looked shocked at the sight of the various attacks on the facilities. The sheer violence was horrifying. Even Batman, with his stoic personality, couldn't help but feel sick at the sight.
"The Frieden military movement, based in the Jovian Moons and sponsored by corporate powers in the Unified German Republic, reacted once this upsurge of communism became obvious and Koslovic revolutionaries began attacking their infrastructure, they drew their philosophical origin from twentieth-century Fascism and National Socialism, the Frieden's ardent anti-Koslovism and anti-communism convinced them to adopt revolutionary ideals as well." Now she showed the images of the opposing side as they attacked the Koslovics, but also UN sponsored facilities.
"As you can see, among their primary objectives was gaining corporate independence by seceding from UN colonial administration and establishing a self-contained Jovian state. Frieden propaganda claimed that in order to reach a peaceful and independent Jovian nation, the UN, an advocate of internationalism, was to be driven out of the Jovian Moons and destroyed around the Solar System, including on home ground. "
"So, you had Neo-commies and Neo-Nazis battling for the right to tell people that they should follow them right?" John speaks disgusted by the selfishness of those two groups.
"What did the UN do?" Superman finds himself asking.
"What else does one do in the face of tyrants and oppressors? Fight back, the UN followed International democracy, and could not allow either one of this groups to destroy all that was achieved for personal gain."
"So basically, it was the civil war, mixed with the cold war, and world war 2," John said, "now I'm glad we didn't make that kind of headway with the UN."
This was meth with nods as they now saw that the expansion while good in the long run had led to a lot of problems with a three faction war between them all.
"The first salvo was fired by the Frieden's on March of 2160 on the moon of Io, they attacked UN colonial advisors, Earth responded by sending in the space based navy, engaging in a three-month ship to ship orbital and zero G battle, sadly the results showed that the Fascist were not down yet, worse the campaign led to colonies on Earth to take up arms in a war by proxy, whether for personal or colonial gain, leading to arms mobilization." She spoke sadly as the images showed Earth nations battling one another.
"My God!" Flash spoke in shock.
Lantern couldn't help but flash back to the war zones he saw back when he was a marine. They had all seen some semblance of war and extreme violence. However, the sheer madness that had enveloped the Spartan's world was shocking and somewhat terrifying.
"It got worse, 2162 all three parties prepared to engage one another in South America, this would later be called the Rain Forests Wars, this came to be because of the abundance of resources there, the two groups believe whoever controlled it would tip the scales in their favor, the UN engaged them to defend the territory, but the result were devastating to both sides, human casualties, especially infantry were high, and many resources were lost, this led to famine on a global scale." Showing the devastation wrought upon the once beautiful land.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Hawkgirl spoke, and that was saying something because her culture.
"And this is coming from the battle hardened soldier from another planet," Flash muttered, "And I agree with her, tha tis messed up.
"Finally the UN adopted a the forgotten Blitzkrieg strategy, after forcing both groups on Mars, they deployed the first space-deployed contingent of UN Marines in December of 2163 on a mission to crush communist infantry encampments in the basin of Argyre Planitia, marking a turning-point in space warfare through dedicated utilizations of Marine forces in ground assaults and ship-boarding operations that would follow during the war."
Stewart was silent but internally he was giving a good "Hurrah".
Lantern joined his counterpart in the internal "Hurrah".
"The offensive was an incontestable success for democratic UN militaries, and as a result, military theory and strategy implemented the use of Marines in high-priority missions as a baseline for successful operations, especially within the context of larger conflicts." Now showing both men and women fighting against the opposing forces.
"However, the most important consequence of the anti-totalitarian campaign was of both political and military nature, the United Nations presumably did not control a dedicated space-military prior to the Argyre Planitia Campaign, a lacking element which it would replace with a special emergency military force that would come to represent humanity's overall military might. The United Nations Space Command, or the UN Space Command, as it was initially known, was created." She showed the insignia of the eagle over the world.
"Well that explains how their military and the UNSC came into existence," Superman said, "So that answers one question. Now I want to know what happened to create the big guy."
Batman continued, "If this continues as it is, we are bound to find out."
"The psychological victory the Mars campaign provided, helped by the massive televised propaganda, boosted civilian support and brought on a massive influx of volunteers from all known military branches, they answered the call to put an end to the totalitarian factions, and in one final campaign, the UNSC sent extraordinary divisions on the enemy strongholds on Earth and in space, this would last 6 years and with the support of the people the UNSC became the defense against all those who wished to repel rebellious factions, and after 10 long years, it came to an end on where it all began, with the signing of a treaty by the rebel leaders and the UN." She showed the many victories achieve over the fascists and communists.
The members of the league couldn't help, but grin. They saw the multiple victories and they couldn't help, but be filled with pride for the victories of their home planet, even if some of them were adopted by the planet.
"In 2170 saw the creation of the first multinational and colonial representation of democracy in space, the United Earth Government or UEG."
"It would be logical maneuver; the planetary infrastructure was weakened by war and required an overhaul to compensate while it healed so to speak." Batman spoke.
"Very good, you get cookie." Cortana joked; he just raised an eyebrow, though the others did chuckle.
Batman grumble under his breath as his fellow league members couldn't help but chuckle themselves.
"Moving on, the world was overpopulated and over militarized, a solution to this problem did not come until the creation of Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Drive, named after Dr. Tobias Shaw and Dr. Wallace, with it ships could travel vast distances in less time, we shall demonstrate later on." Miranda spoke before nodding to Cortana to continue.
"With this new discovery, in 2310 the UNSC sends out colony vessels with both civilian and military personnel, solving the two problems, to the nearest planets and systems, forming the inner colonies." This time she showed fleets of vessels moving from Earth and into the unknown, planets being changed and colonized.
"Beautiful," Diana couldn't help but mutter.
This sentiment was met with the others, seeing planets being given out, allowing people to live their lives and the people prospering. It was utterly awe inspiring.
J'onn couldn't help, but imagine Mars going through something similar. His home planet being brought back to life, with creatures and human from the cosmos finding it and building their lives, the red planet brought back to life after it had long since been dead.
"By 2490, humanity had colonized over 800 worlds in the Orion arm of the Milky way galaxy, from planetary strongholds to small settlements, the Inner colonies became the political and economic backbone while relying heavily on the raw materials provided by the Outer colonies." This time she showed and image of the known galaxy, with blue dots representing the many worlds inhabited.
Lantern and the others couldn't help, but be impressed. It no doubt took a lot of guts, sweat, and tears to make all of that work, for the earth to spread like a vast empire of the stars.
"This is amazing! I wonder if we could reach that level?" the Flash asks.
"Only if humanities will is strong enough to move forward in the face of such challenge, trust when we tell you it was not an easy road." John speaks to the crimson masked man.
Flash looked towards the lantern and asked, "What do you think the other you meant with that?"
Lantern rubbed his chin and said, "Well, knowing expansion, it would probably run into some bad places. Not to mention, there are some species who don't look on humans very favorably being considered inferior…or a delicacy. Depends on the species."
This last remark brought looks of shock and slight disgust to the group.
"This expansion must have caused some problems as well did they not?" J'onn asks.
"You would be correct in that assumption." Miranda says as the presentation continues.
"Saw that coming," Batman said.
"As mankind expanded, the political and military power that the UEG desired to maintain began to diminish, and sentiments of reform and political independence spread among the colonists; as the Colonies began to separate themselves from Earth, the UNSC took every step necessary to keep its grip on the Outer Colonies that were developing during this time. By the 2400s, Outer and many Inner colonies soon began to question the often-draconian interference of the UEG in what was originally intended to be a confederation of independently governed worlds."
"And then they started fighting back," Lantern said, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched.
"Let me guess they started fighting back?" Stewart spoke.
"Is there an echo in here?" Flash asked, earning another bat slap to the head.
"Yes, rebellion and civil warfare erupted, but this was also the catalysts for the rebirth of project created back during the interplanetary wars, back then the ONI or Office of Naval Intelligence, started a program for bioengineering protocols to produce better soldiers, the initial results failed, and the project was shelved, however with the latest advancements of the time it was reactivated, it was called the ORION project or sometimes referred to the Spartan I program."
At the mentioned of that al of the heroes turn to John.
"Looks like we found out where he got his skills," Arrow said.
"I was not part of the initial program, if that is what you are wondering, but I am a result of it." He replied to their unasked question.
"Sounds like a black op to me." Stewart said.
"If they had black ops like this guy, the world probably wouldn't even need us," Flash said, earning a few nods. If a few groups were as skills and strong as the Spartan, the league probably wouldn't even be needed."
Arrow nodded in agreement with the speedster.
"It was, I can't tell you what was done or used, but 65 volunteers were subjected to a series of training and bioengineering operations that turned them in exactly what was needed to fight the Insurrectionists, these Marines were the pinnacle of the military at the time, and an additional 100 volunteers were introduced, their first mission was retaking and orbital platform, they succeeded with only one loss of life."
"Only one person?" Lantern asked, "Given what we've seen from the Spartan I'm not surprised."
"But the problem was that the more rebels the Orion's took down, the more cropped up, they got smarter, some being led by former military personnel and often raiding military installations and space ports, the super soldiers could only do so much, and age was starting to affect some of the older ones, side effects started appearing both mental and physical, and eventually they were retired or sent back into regular military, they did leave a noticeable mark as their training was used to create a special branch of the military, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers." Miranda spoke as images showed the ODST'S in action.
This brought nods from a lot of members. Despite being as powerful as they were, everyone knew that time would eventually come for them all. No matter how powerful they got, age would eventually work against them.
The bit about the orbital shock troops really got their attention.
Everyone was in shock at seen this people literally drop out of the sky in what could only be describe as suicide runs, since some of them did not make it down alive.
The group stared in absolute terror at the sight.
"They did that willingly?" Lantern yelled, shock apparent on his face.
"It would either immense courage, or insanity to do such a thing," J'onn said.
Diana nodded and said, "Well they are soldier. They took the job knowing the risks, but not even my people, despite their pride and courage, would not be able to do something this crazy."
"Good God! And they did this willingly?" Stewart asks.
"Yep, they were quite the bunch those Helljumpers." Cortana spoke.
"Helljumpers?" Diana asked.
"It was another name they received for their company motto "Feet first into hell", since they literally went through hell to get to that level, not everyone can become one, and those that do, aren't guaranteed to have a long life in that line of work." Miranda replied.
"Feet first into hell," Lantern said, "not bad motto given they were in war. They probably saw it every day."
This was met with nods, as they had all experienced war, in some way or form.
"I see." She replies. "I must give credit to this people; they were ether very brave or very mad to through such an experience." She thought privately.
"Back to the topic, things were going terrible for the UNSC and UEG, more and more insurrectionists were popping, stronger military actions were being taken, and lives and resources were being lost." Miranda said sadly as her father often told of the things he had seen during those days.
"Why didn't you just give them want they wanted and be done with them?" the Flash asked.
"Kind of a stupid question there Wally," Flash said crossing his arms with an annoyed expression.
"He is your ward after all," Batman said.
This was met with a few surprised look, followed by some chuckles.
"Because that would mean losing resources that were need at the time, right?" Batman says.
"Correct again, analysts had projected that if things continued as they were, there would be a full on civil war, in 20 years unless drastic military force was used to quell the rebellions, things looked bleak until a radical solution was given by one of the ONI´s most brilliant minds, Dr. Elizabeth Catherine Halsey, the creator and founder of the Spartan II program, John you want to explain this, or should I?" Cortana asks.
"I´ll do it, since I am the subject of conversation." He replied to her before looking at the heroes.
"Spartan II?" Lantern repeated with surprise.
"He did use the phrase Spartan II when he was introduced," J'onn answered, "Most likely it was a more advanced version of the original Orion's program."
"First of I have to warn you that this subject shall be offensive to you, second I cannot tell you some things as they are top secret, all that you are about to hear happened because it was the only available solution at the time, and it would later prove to be of great importance." He said to the people involved, who were a bit disturbed by his words.
"This program like its predecessor, was designed to create an elite fighting force of soldiers who could quell the factions in their infancy, to do this Dr. Halsey implemented several radical changes to accomplish this goal, the three most were, one the recruits were to be meticulously selected through a series of tests on the genetic level, two they were to be outfitted with equipment that surpassed anything the current military forces had, and three they would be subjected to a series of augmentation procedures more advanced than the previous class of Spartan I´s." he said to them.
"But selecting recruits in such a way would mean they had to have something in them that made them stand out from the rest of the population." Superman spoke, the others nodding in agreement.
"Kind of sounds like how the Lantern rings choose their wielders," Lantern muttered to himself glancing down at his ring.
Batman had his own flashback to his time trained with the league of shadows, and his other teachers. Not all of them would accept anyone, and they need to have the right stuff.
"And that is the other legacy of the original Spartan´s, the soldiers who survived at the end of the program still carried their augmented talent´s into the population, meaning that those who had children passed on this talents to them, rough estimates indicated 300 hundred of them had done this, however due to budget constraints only 75 were found, I was one of them."
"Wait, so a member of his family tree was one of the original Spartans?" Flash asked.
Diana nodded and said, "No wonder he is such a powerful warrior. Fighting is in his blood."
"What made you so special Chief?" Diana asks.
"I was six at the time when I was personally selected by Dr. Halsey to be part of the program, at that time I was a head taller than most six-year-olds, I was more proportioned physically and I had superior reflexes as well as a need to win." He replied, but before he could continue Cortana added something he failed to mention.
"You forgot to mention that you were also very lucky." She said with a grin.
"Lucky?" Hawkgirl asked with some visible confusion.
This was something that almost every single hero in the room understood. When in a life and death situation, it seemed that only blind, dumb luck is what saved them.
"Yes you see Dr. Halsey gave him a final test to determine if he was truly a worthy candidate, she took out and old coin flipped it, he caught it and correctly predicted its outcome." She said with pride as that event mark the beginning of his new life and their eventual meeting.
"Get out town! He really did that? Can he show us?" the Flash asked in childish excitement.
Flash face palmed and muttered, "Seriously, Wally. Seriously?"
Arrow chuckled and said, "Hey, he's your sidekick."
"Do you have a coin on hand?" She asked him.
"No…but I´m sure bats does in his belt, right bats?" he asked.
"No I don´t." Batman replies in his brooding tone.
"Really?" Diana asked, "During the incident with Circe, you had the right money to give to give the ferryman, yet you don't have a coin on you?"
Batman looked at her with a surprised expression and princess answered, "Zatanna told me."
"Aw, I really wanted to see that."
"We can use mine." John said, as he pulled out his dog tags, and next to them was the very same coin that changed him.
"Is that…?" the A.I asks.
"The very same." He replies as he hands the coin to the man.
"What's so special about that coin?" Superman asked.
J'onn answered, "My guess, is that it is the same coin that Dr. Halsey used to test his luck all those years ago."
"Okay let´s see what you got!" as he flips it and catches it with his super speed.
"Heads."
Flash looks at the coin, and indeed it is heads.
"One more time." He says as he flips it.
"Tails."
Again it is correct, this time he flips it again.
"Tails."
"Man you did it again! Hey wanna go to Vegas sometime?" He asks.
"Oh, man that guy would probably become public enemy number one there," Flash said, "He'd probably run a casino out of business before getting run out on a rail."
Everyone imagined the Spartan being chased through the city and everyone couldn't help, but chuckle. Except Batman, whose mouth slightly upturned to show his mirth.
"I´m sorry but UNSC regulations do not permit the partaking in gambling, legal or illegal." He replied in his even tone.
"Dang it," Flash muttered, "I was hoping we'd see that.
"Back to the story gentlemen." Miranda spoke do she was amused by the scene between them, which made what he was about to say all the more sour and bitter.
"Very well I and the others who were selected were then taken to primary military shipyard as well as home to many of the UNSC´s military branches and their training facilities there…"
"Wait, sorry to interrupt but did you get a say in this? I mean I mean sure they looked at you as a kid, but afterwards when you could understand the implications you must have had doubts right?" Flash asked unaware that the answer would alter their perceptions of this man.
"I don´t understand the question?" he replied.
Any mirth in the room immediately left. The gravity of the man's words hitting everyone almost immediately.
"He means that as an adult you must have been given the full information of what this program involved." Superman clarifies.
"…"
"They did not ask me to join, I was covertly kidnapped and replaced with a flash clone that would eventually die, and in essence I was drafted, at age six." He said in all seriousness.
Thankfully no one was drinking anything otherwise they would have spit it out in absolute shock. The man was a child soldier?! Taken from his home at a young age and forced to become a soldier.
Batman flashed back to a case earlier in his crime fighting career, when a man, calling himself the sewer king, grabbed runaway kids and trained them as pickpockets to steal food and supplies.
"…you´re joking right?" Flash says
"J´onn he is lying about that right?" he asks the telepath who has his eyes glowing and wide eyed at the same time, the others sharing equally shocked expressions, some to the point of imitating a fish.
"No he is not." He says evenly though he is still shocked.
"B-but he was just a kid, they were all just kids, and they had families and friends." The hero speaks as he feels quite disturbed by such an action.
"Yes we did, but all that was gone the moment we were chosen and brought into this life, our family names were replaced by a number, the clones used to replace us quickly died off, ensuring that for all intents and purposes we no longer existed in the eyes of our families." He spoke.
"And you just accepted this! They basically stole your future and put in whatever the hell it is they wanted." Stewart says in outrage.
"Surely the concept child soldiers were illegal there as it is here?" Superman asks.
"Yes it was, that´s why it was the most top secret operation to ever be carried out, even when our existence became public, the full details were never disclosed, only that we were enhanced soldiers made to protect humanity and its governing bodies from all threats." 117 replies.
"But children…?" Diana asks.
"Not even the ancient Spartans were denied family, so what could have inspired this woman to something so cruel to children." She thought to herself.
The group of heroes had to take a moment to pause the movie let their brains catch up to what had been said and what was going on. To know that the warrior before them, as well as others, had been used as a child soldier was shocking.
The group had seen issues with child soldier, growing up having seen things that no ordinary man should and they had been utterly horrifying. After a few moments to get things settled down and, slowly, they managed to get their job back.
"I realize this offends you, but please let me finish, as this story takes an even darker tone, one that may provide you with the understanding as to why our existence as Spartans would be pivotal for the human race." He says receiving nods all around.
"Oh, this had better be good," Lantern muttered to himself, wanting to hear how this man would say to justify the actions his government took.
"Once we were taken to Reach, we met a man who would shape us into the soldiers we would become, Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez, from the moment he saw us he decided that we would be pushed to the limit and beyond, regardless of age or gender, we received a training regimen equal to that of veteran Marines, to many his methods were seen as cruel and brutal, yet effective nonetheless." 117 pauses as he goes through the memories he has of the man who made a great impact in his life.
"Yet he also taught the values of teamwork, loyalty, honor and discipline, something he found lacking in the regular forces, he was tough to make sure we survived anything that was thrown at us, he was to many of us our father figure." He paused to let them understand that before continuing.
"Sounds like one of my old drill sergeants back in the army," Lantern said.
"Sounds like my mother during my training days," Diana said.
The others thought back to the various teachers they may have had over the years who had impacted their lives, and who can be able to make a large impact on their lives that would help mold them into the way they are.
"Then there was Dr. Halsey who oversaw the project, she made sure we were educated in many fields to balance our physical training, she took care of our injuries and occasionally talk to us in an effort to remind us of our own humanity, that we were more than just living weapons, she suffered through much guilt for what occurred to us, and always sought means to ensure our survival, she was our mother, and the only civilian we would accept orders from, the only one we would to everything in our power to protect even if it led to our death."
"She sounds like a very compassionate person," Diana said, "Trying to make sure that these super soldiers would still have their humanity, and not become mindless drones."
"What happened next?" Batman asked, though a part of him did not really want to.
"At age 14 we had completed the physical and mental aspects, what came next was to makes even better, to achieve this they augmented our bodies in a manner similar but more advanced than the original Spartans." The Spartan pauses to collect his thoughts on how best to describe the benefits…and consequences.
"Were there side effects to these procedures as well?" J´onn asks.
"Yes, 30 of us died from them, 12 were crippled and sent to other branches of the ONI until a way could be found to rehabilitate them, which left 33 healthy and fully enhanced." He replied.
"Dear lord," Superman muttered to himself.
"Oh, my god, I just realized something," Arrow said, gaining looks from the rest.
"This guy," Arrow muttered, "He's like an enhanced version of Deathstroke."
There was a moment of silence as everyone realized he had a point. Military trained, enhanced armor and weapons, biologically enhanced to perfection. He was like Deathstroke. Many imagined Deathstroke with some of the Spartan's gear and the through alone was terrifying. It also made them wonder who would win in a fight between the two. Maybe if they kept watching they could find out.
"And what were the results of these enhancements?" Hawkgirl now questions, while ignoring the pit in her stomach about 33 dead children.
"Our eyes could see over much greater distances and much better detail, we also gained a form of night vision, our reaction time was clocked in the 20 millisecond mark, we ran faster than normal humans, and could lift three times our body weight, which due to increased bone mass and muscle was around 600 lbs, we shared a form of telepathy with each other knowing how the other would act and vice versa, our intelligence and creative grew, our bones were near indestructible and enhanced healing, which has since been further enhanced by Redeeming´s predecessor." He finished, leaving them astounded by what he could due.
"Damn," Arrow muttered, "Where's the serum they inject with him and where can I get some?"
This earned him a slap to the back of the head.
"And all that without the armor." Cortana added taken some childish glee from their expressions.
"Wait a minute, you mean your armor makes you even stronger?"
"Yes, this was another part of the changes made to the original program, the MJOLNIR series power armor."
"Mjolnir? As in Thor's Hammer?" the Amazon asks garnering looks from the others.
"My people have studied other cultures from our vast libraries."
"Yes, and like the legends surrounding his hammer only Spartans were meant to use them, anyone else was rather severely injured or killed." He said to the heroes.
Batman paused the movie and proceed to find an info button. Showing the different layers and allt he augmentations shown and the enhancements it gave. There was also the weight, which was about half a ton.
"Dang," Flash said.
"I can see why it can only be worn by the Spartans. The weight of the armor alone would kill anyone else," Batman stated as the closed the stats and the movie resumed.
"Because only your bodies could withstand them I assume." Batman showing once more his analytical skills.
"You are good." Miranda compliments the man who remains stoic. "Though he is a bit of a stick in mud."
"Too true, too true," Arrow said with a smile, earning another bat slap to the head.
"Yes, our armors were designed was to augment our enhanced bodies even further, while providing use better protection, however what began as a plan to stop insurrection change to a fight for survival."
"Oh great, what else could possibly go wrong," Lantern asked, rhetorically.
He would soon wish he hadn't asked.
"On October 7th, 2525, humanity learned they were not alone in the universe and what's more that we would be in the fight for our lives, for that day we met the alien combine known as the Covenant." She spoke as Cortana showed them the moment the war ignited.
"By the Goddess!" Diana cried out upon seeing the glassed world of Harvest.
Diana shared the thoughts of her counterpart, seeing the once beautiful world burned down to a large chunk of glass.
They had all witnessed planet sized destruction on multiple occasions, but this was a first. The mere thought that a group could do so without remorse and with no value of life, made a terrified shiver run up their spines. Even the normally stoic Batman couldn't help, but shiver slightly.
"They came and burned the planet into a lifeless ball of glass, something they would due repeatedly during the war, this was the message they delivered."
"Your destruction is the will of the Gods…and we are their instrument."
"No god would want this," Superman muttered to himself.
"From then on it was one battle after another, one loss after another, in space we were no match to them, we outnumbered them 3 to 1 and still whatever victory was achieved was a hollow one as we would lose a third of ships." She spoke as images flowed showing the devastation the Covenant inflicted on the fleets.
"The Covenant the prideful lot that they are assumed the same in their ground assaults, that we would just bend over and take it, but they soon learned just what it meant to face us there." Images now showed the military forces fighting with everything they had against the aliens, the ferocity and brutality of which made the Covenant learn that victory over one facet of war was not the same in another.
"Hurrah," Lantern muttered.
Then came the Spartans, when they came into the fold, things really took a turn for the worst for the invaders, though few in numbers, the sheer number of casualties they inflicted on the Covenant forces was staggering, they noticed that the weak willed ones would scream in terror and run in fright screaming demons and other such names in their presence, the more braver ones would charge into them hoping to claim fame by killing them, only to suffer horrible deaths at the merciless super soldiers.
Diana scoffed in disgust at the cowardly actions of the weaker aliens. Though another part of her was glad that the Spartans were able to strike fear into the invader's armies.
When they saw images of John rushing head long into battle they noticed the Covenant forces were especially keen on killing him, Cortana explained that John had been responsible for many victories against them, some resulting in the loss of facilities of great importance, earning a lot of hatred and in some cases respect from the Covenant.
They explained the significance of each member of the Covenant, the caste system, and what roles they played during the war; they were particularly disgusted by the Brutes, Jackals and Grunts when they ate people, Flash threw up in the corner at that.
Flash proceeded to do the same his sidekick's counterpart. He rushed out of the room in a red blur, the sound of retching could be heard, and then he rushed back, looking slightly pale, but looking better.
The others also seemed disgusted. However, Batman, having dealt with the cannibal Killer Croc was not as disgusted…though he was still disturbed.
However, after seeing the Spartan in action, and seeing the victories he brought their sprits back up.
Lantern couldn't help, but wonder which of the elemental spectrums he could bring out. He would probably be yellow, green and blue. Green for his will power, blue for the hope he inspired, and the fear he instilled in his enemies.
One scene in particular showed the bravery of the soldiers of the UNSC.
It was when John and his team mates Fred and Kelly as well as a contingent of Marines were sent to aid evacuations on Regulus V; the Covenant forces had already bombed out the cities and were looking for survivors, the local military numbering in the 100,000's was on its last legs, many were just fighting to buy the whatever civilians still alive time to escape.
As they made their way the saw the burned and mutilated corpses of military and civilian alike, some of the marines giving of swears and plans on what to do to any Covenant forces they encounter.
As they passed near some ruins they saw a small contingent of Elites, as well as Brute, many Grunts and Jackals, the also saw the Brute manhandle a wounded soldier, his left arm had been seared off at the forearm, his right leg looked broken and his left looked as if an animal had chewed it.
The heroes looked shocked at the sight of the man's wounds. They all had a feeling how he got them, but only one of them had the guts to ask about it.
"Oh man, do you think one of those grunts got their hands on him?" Flash asked.
"I think I can agree that we do not want to know," J'onn said.
"I agree with you there, Martian Man," Arrow said, looking horrified at the man's wounds.
"Sir, what are your orders?" One of the marines asked John over the private comm.
"Snipers on point, target the Elites, Fred take a third the men and move to NW side, Kelly take the other third to West side, when I give the signal, Snipers will take their shots and weaken the shields, we fire for effect and don't stop until they are dead, now move marines."
"Yes sir!" was the chorus of replies.
He turned back to the scene before them as his orders were carried out, his helmet providing him with every detail of what was being spoken.
"Well human, you certainly have provided my men with proper entertainment, and soon proper nourishment, he he he." The Brute spoke as the Grunts and Jackals grew restless.
J'onn paled slightly, as he flashed back to a time when Mars was alive. He remembered hearing one of the invaders say that to a downed Martian soldier before being dragged off to one of their prisons.
"Enough Lo'Nek! Get the information we seek and be done with this farce." One of the Elites yelled at the ape like creature, only to receive a backhand and threw the wounded soldier at broken wall near John's position.
"I am the commanding officer here Sangheili, not you! And I will get the information we seek, but if you attempt to undermine my authority again, it is you who shall be fed to this miserable wastes." The creature spoke as the others started to get angry at the Brute.
While they argued the soldier looked to the side and saw the soldiers, he actually managed to smile through the pain.
"S-sir…civilians…hold up…in bunker…2 clicks west…from here." The man said as blood dribbled from his lips
"What's your name soldier?"
"Jacob…Roberts…Lieutenant…Junior Grade…Sir…I need…a grenade." The man requested.
"Make it count." He said as he gave the dying man a frag grenade.
"Make…them pay…For this." Was his last request.
Lantern's thoughts went back to the old war stories his father and grandfather told him and his own time as a marine. He felt a sudden feeling of sickness at the sight of a comrade being left behind to fight some aliens alone, armed only with a grenade.
"You two go get the human!" The brute yelled at two Elites, who begrudgingly did as asked, making the soldiers hide in silence, while Jacob pulled the pin with his thumb and held the now armed weapon.
The Elites came and grabbed him not noticing the weapon.
"Were it our choice human we would have granted you a less painless fate, despite your heretical natural." One of them said.
"Fuck you…you split lipped…bastards."
"Oh, that had to hurt," Flash said with a smirk at the insult to the alien.
"Even in the face of the death you remain defiant, it is truly a shame you are not part of the Covenant."
"Enough nonsense!" The Brute yelled as he grabbed Jacob by the neck.
"Where are they hiding!" he screamed.
"…"
"What was that human?" he asked making the last word seem like a vile curse.
"Choke on it bitch!" he yelled and rammed the grenade into the aliens mouth.
"NOW!" John yelled just as the explosive went off.
Soon all elements came into action as the Snipers shots took down the Elites shields, and were gunned down before they could even react; the others soon joined them as humans struck swiftly and brutally.
"Hurrah," Lantern said out loud crossing his arm.
"The few, the proud, the marines," Arrow said, "You think they got the training methods for these guys? Our teams would really benefit from it."
Lantern turned towards Batman who simply quirked an eyebrow.
John surveyed the damage and made sure there were no survivors, he then turned to the body of the Lieutenant, his arm was blown off, he had shrapnel stuck to his chest, yet his eyes were open and a smile was on his lips, he walked towards the man's lifeless body, closed his eyes and took his tags.
"Rest easy soldier, you did your job." He spoke to him then turned to the men.
"Men, the Lieutenant provided us valuable Intel, Fred take your group and confirm civilian presence, if it's intact, secure until my group's arrival, we shall clear the area, Kelly find us an LZ, move it soldiers!"
"Yes Sir!" They yelled as they went into action.
"Medic, check his body for personnel effects, make sure their kept safe." He ordered as he turned away to lead his group.
"Were they alive?" Diana asked quietly, the others equally somber by the man's noble sacrifice.
"Yes, we managed to get off the planet before it was glassed; he was awarded the red legion cross."
"The what?" Diana asked, confused at the medal.
"It looks like a medal given to the groups," Lantern said, "like when a soldier is decorated. My guess is that it is given to those who have performed great acts of heroism."
"The war continued, and sadly we were being pushed back, already the Outer colonies were destroyed, and the Inner colonies were being overrun, however everything changed with the discovery of an ancient installation called Halo." John said as the next images showed the massive weapons platform, and from then on the war took on a whole new meaning, as the saw the secrets it revealed and the horrors it contained.
Images of the Flood brought on a whole new wave of sickness as it infected the dead an living alike, the purpose of the facility horrified the heroes, as the thought of galaxy wide genocide as a means to stop the creatures was abhorrent to them, the fact that this time there would be no one to reseed the galaxy made it all the more shocking.
"Holy crap! That looks like those black heart robots on steroids!" Flash yelled out in shock.
"I think we now know what would have happened if the invaders from so long ago, would have happened if they hadn't been stopped," J'onn said, a morbid and slightly horrified tone in his voice, "An unending horror, a mass genocide on unprecedented levels."
Images flowed, showing Guilty Spark, the Gravemind (all recoiling in disgust, and giving Cortana looks of sympathy as she had endured such torture from it), the revelation of the Prophets lies, the alliance WITH the Elites, Miranda's death (Which personally made her shudder as she could still feel the impacts, she promised later to explain how she could still be here.), the Ark, Johnson's death and final words, and finally the victory over the Flood and the means by which they came to this reality.
"By the goddess," Diana said, horrified at the sight Cortana being tortured.
The sight of all of the Spartan's victories only made them glad that he was on their side and not working with others. The gravemeind send horrified chills through their bodies. They saw the worst and best of the UNSC and their best fighters.
In the end, they had no doubt of what kind of man the Spartan was. A great warrior, a capable soldier, and a man who would not bow to anyone who stood in his way.
They were silent as they saw all they went through, however one thing remained to be explained…
"Why did these…Forerunners choose humanity as their successors?" Batman asked.
"We don't know, but maybe our friend here can, Redeeming Bias, why did they choose us as the reclaimers of their legacy?" Miranda asked the monitor.
"Because your race was the only one to viewed as their equals as well as to atone for their mistake." He replied.
"That…that doesn't make sense, fossil records show that humanity did not have any level of technology during that time, and what do you mean to atone?" Keyes asked, John and Cortana sharing a look of confusion on their face.
"The reason you had no technology was because it was one of the punishments issued upon you, you devolved after that." He replied.
"All right, what was humanity's crime? What did we do to deserve that?" She asked.
"To understand this you must realize that the Forerunners believed themselves the protectors of all life, as in accordance to the will of their predecessors the Precursors, beings far more advanced than anything they could come up with, it is theorized that they ascended to higher plan of existence, leaving behind the Mantle to them." The A.I spoke.
"What is this Mantle?" Superman asked enthralled by this tale.
"It was their highest belief, both politically and spiritually, they believed in promoting peace in the galaxy, and making sure to protect those under their wing, this would latter prove to be a mistake."
"How could promoting peace be a mistake?" Diana asked,
Given her title as the ambassador to Themiscyra, she knew that peace was something that could be achieved. Why was it a misake?
"Why?" Hawkgirl asks the monitor.
"Because this protection limited the advancement of military growth and created dependency on the Forerunners, however two species did not accept this, you were one those species." It said pausing to let understand that fact
"Who was the other?" Cortana asks.
"…"
"The San'Shyuum or Prophets as you known them."
"Well that explains that," Lantern said, "I don't think a lot of people would be happy being so dependent on antoher race, unless they were the ones in control. I've seen it before."
"But then why did they seek our destruction? Why did they try to kill us? Why!" She demanded.
"Again the Forerunners form of punishment; you see the alliance between you allowed you to research Precursor technology, making you forge an Empire equal to that of the Forerunners, eventually though you came into conflict with them, however they misinterpreted your intent, your civilization conquered several colonies, not out of greed or malice but desperation, you see humanity was the first to face the Flood, and what's more defeat it." It replied adding yet another piece to the puzzle.
"However your war with the Flood left you weakened by the end and eventually you and your allies lost, you were stripped of everything, and the Prophets placed in quarantine, until a member of the council, used them as test subjects for the Halo, he was executed for treason, and they in turn reverted further back."
"Then the Flood came back and wiped them out, but not before they used the Halo's, right?" Cortana added.
"Correct, in the end they realized they terrible mistake they made, they knew you were a violent race but also you had a thirst to grow and stand on your own, and that you took the Flood for what they were and succeeded where they failed, in the end they chose you to be the guardians, leaving behind the tools for you to rise and meet those challenges head on and not suffer from their mistakes." It finished.
"Dang…that is a lot to take in," Flash said.
"It looks like they are taking it well, at least," Superman said.
"Give it some time," Arrow said, "They'll probably react badly to it later."
They all were quiet after that the UNSC personnel was going over the revelations of their ancestry, while the heroes reviewed all they had heard, it was definitely and eye opener for them, then there was their opinion on the Spartan and all he went through.
Superman was at first quite troubled by the man's induction into this life, then there was what he faced off against, those images brought up painful memories of when Darkseid brainwashed him, but the courage he showed, the trust he inspired, and his refusal to back down in the face of overwhelming odds made him think they were quite similar.
Superman agreed with his counterpart. Given the man's courage in overwhelming odds, he was a great fighter. He didn't agree with the methods that were used to induct him into the life of a soldier, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and in his long life he had seen people do crazy things in desperation.
Batman was of the same opinion, he may not like his methods of using guns or lethal intent, but after witnessing his life, he could not find fault in them, he was a soldier after all, they would address that issue with him, but a part of him hoped he joined them, he resolved to see the mission through resonated with his own.
Batman agreed with his counterpart as well. The Spartan may have used lethal intent, but he couldn't fault him for relying on what he was trained to do. He shown resolution that, at times, he had seen in himself, and his fellow league members.
Stewart, was conflicted to say the least, at first, he hated this man's guts, he saw him as some hot shot rookie, but after seeing the horrors he faced alongside fellow soldiers he realized he was a better soldier than he was in his time in the Corp.
"Hell if it weren't for his willingness to kill, he would make a damn good lantern, just hope he doesn't pull rank on me." He thought privately.
"Knowing how I can be, He is bound to pull rank," Lantern muttered ot himself.
He also couldn't help but wonder what it would be like having him in the Corp. He imagined the Spartan his armor glowing with the green lantern symbol emblazoned on his chest, or on the rank marks on his shoulder. He imagined him creating his weapons out of the color of will, from his handgun to the MAC cannon, even a small group of his fellow Spartans to fight against the members of the Sinestro Corps., or the Red Lanterns.
Hawkgirl was in a different quandary, she was sent as an advanced agent of her people, to help in the conflict with the Gordanians, she never expected she would join up with this bunch to stop an invasion, then there was the Spartan, this man reminded her of Tallak, unwavering and unrelenting in pursuit of victory for his people, only he wasn't as nice as him when it came to dealing with his enemies, he was a soldier who used any means to win, she did not want this man as an enemy.
"Thank goodness my people aren't seeking to conquer this world." She thought unaware of their plans for the planet or the consequences they would incur for her and them.
Nervous glances were exchanged. The Thanagarian invasion had been something none of them had expected, and by the sound of things, it was going to happen here as well. Shayera was no doubt going to be on the receiving end of one of the Spartan's plasma rifles.
Wonder Woman only had respect and sympathy for this man, he had led a tragic life filled with blood and solitude, finding only comfort in his fellow Spartans and their handlers, he was bred for but one purpose to fight and win, how he did not break in the face of such terrors was beyond her, if any of her sisters lived through such a period they would have broken long before they reached the end, she may not know much of men, but this one was special.
"Perhaps I can aid him in some way, help him find purpose in peace as I was taught." She thought.
Diana agreed with her counterpart. The man had known nothing except violence, pain, rage, and battle. No doubt in times of peace, if it ever came, he would be hard pressed to move on and that could turn him into a monster itself. An image of Ares flashed through her mind briefly before she banished it. She truly hoped that her counterpart could help him.
Flash however voiced his thoughts on the matter.
"Chief, I think I can honestly say that if I had to pick anybody to watch my back, I would safely say you are that first choice." He said with a smile.
"Aren't uncomfortable with the idea that I have killed?" He asked in his even tone.
"Listen, I know that you are a soldier, and with it comes the need to choose when to take a life, a friend of mine told me so long as he doesn't take joy in the act and uses it as a last resort, then they can't be judged for it, you're only human right? Besides I'm sure between all of us, will make sure that never has to happen." The speedster says.
Flash blinked and said, "Wow, Wally really did a lot of growing up."
Lantern said, "Yeah, it looks like he's more mature than you at this age."
Flash nodded and said, "Yeah."
After a moment, Flash realized what Lantern had said.
"Hey!"
A wave of laughter came over the room.
"And if it does?"The Spartan asks him, giving him a piercing gaze.
"Then I guess will have to look at situation from all perspectives before coming to a decision, let's face it guys he isn't likes us, so we can't just judge him for something he has had to deal with all his life, no matter how wrong it may seem to us." He speaks while the others are surprised by the man.
"What? Is there something on my face?" He asks.
"No… it's just you usually don't come off as insightful." Superman replies.
Another wave of chuckles came across the room.
"Laugh it up, people," Flash muttered, crossing his arms, "laugh it up."
"Hey what can I say I know a guy who's cop who asks himself this question sometimes, and I think we should give him a chance, besides I think he can do lot good in the League." He says.
"League?" he asks raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Yes, the Justice League is what we're calling it; Superman convinced us that together we can safeguard this world more effectively together than individually." J'onn spoke.
"Still think it sounds corny?" Superman asked, the scarlet speedster.
Flash just rolled his eyes and said, "I'll admit it got catchier over time."
His opinion was the same as the others, this man had faced horrors similar to his own, and won, but not without cost, he too was an outcast, even among his own kind, yes he was human but he was not like them, yet he would still defend his people regardless of his status.
"We are hoping you'll join us John, I think we would benefit from your experience and knowledge, as well as that of your companions." Superman spoke.
"I do not know, this decision is not an easy one, for one thing we still wish to return home, and many of my tactics are not suited from minimal force if at all, the public may not react well to me and my style of combat."
"We could come up with a cover story for you John, like you're some soldier from an alien world." This came from Cortana.
"Give how some people are," Batman said, "I can see them not agreeing with the Spartans more…brutal tactics."
Not a lot of people were satisfied with his scare tactics in Gotham.
"Though, I'm not sure that they'll buy the alien soldier bit," Lantern said.
"You want in on this?" He asked his friend.
"Yeah, I have gone over their files and these people come into contact with a lot of weird stuff, something is bound to come up and help us, besides it beats you moping about at home." She smirked earning some laughs.
"I do not mope Cortana." He replied to her, but with no malice intended.
"I agree with her, we might as well be useful while we're here, and I think this could be a rather interesting experience, just try to keep the body count low Chief." Miranda says to him.
"All though I do not have a firm grasp of the nature of this world I find myself fascinated by it, if you so choose to aid it Reclaimer, I shall endeavor to provide aid as well." The Forerunner A.I spoke.
"Then it would seem that I am in as well, I make no promises about how I shall act but I will strive to not to let you down." He said as he got up and went to them.
They followed and shuck hands, Miranda explained how she was brought back, how they could aid the league, what technologies they could give, and so forth, this was just the first step for the UNSC crew, but it would definitely be an adventure they would not forget.
Arrow crossed his arms and said, "Okay, I might as well, come out and say it. Was anyone else think that the man's backstory was a bit…dark."
J'onn said, "While I am not entirely sure about the use of child soldiers, desperation has made many people do things they would not normally do. Something I am, unfortunately, familiar with."
Batman nodded and said, "He was trained from a young age to fight like a soldier. We can't deny that. Plus, he has shown admirable courage, skill, and tactics."
Batman pressed a button and shut the box down.
"Now that that is out of the way, "I believe it is time we have other matters to discuss."
With that Batman turned on the box and sifted through files showing formulas and blueprints. With that, he put on his corporate business face and he and the league began to go about the work.
Cut! Okay, here's that. I hope you all enjoyed. Next chapter, won't contain any of the story, but rather an effect of the knowledge they gain from the box and how it will be dispersed. Criticism is accepted…flames will be ignored.
