The internet was so sensitive. Every day it was blowing up about something. That kind of chatter was something that Victor had figured out how to block out long ago. If you were constantly being disrupted by the latest thing to offend people, you'd never get any sleep.
However, there was always some topics he wanted to stay on top of. First and foremost was anything happening in Jump City. This was home turf and they were entrusted to the city. Having the Justice League broker some kind of work release, land-lease, or whatever kind of deal with the city to allow them to help out with law enforcement had to be taken seriously. Plus, how would it look if they let the city go down the toilet? Yeah, you needed to filter anything involving entertainment and for the most part politics, but other than that keep the city monitored.
Which led to the other topic that he liked to keep track of: the Justice League itself. These were the guys who were paying the bills, supplying this fancy-schmancy tower, and more importantly feeding them. So if anything was happening in their circles, that was important.
Such as all the fighting they were doing recently.
"Guys, you are not gonna believe this," he announced from his spot on the circular couch. When he had sufficient attention, he continued, "There's this bunch of guys challenging the Justice League. Get this: they're calling themselves the 'Legion of Doom'."
There were some chuckles from further down the couch, and guess who they were coming from? Grass Stain and the Blonde Twig primarily. Hey, they got his sense of humor, and that was what mattered.
"What, they can't find the Super Friends, or something?" Garfield chortled out.
From the other side of Victor, Bart shrugged his shoulders. "It's not the worst thing out there. Back when I couldn't figure out how the time traveling machine worked, I found myself in the thirtieth century. They have a bunch of guys and gals running around called the Legion of Superheroes."
"No way!" Green Bean exclaimed, sitting up and inadvertently pushing Terra away. "Couldn't they come up with a better name?"
"I don't think it's that bad of a name," the speedster shrugged. "Legion of Doom, kinda grabs you after a while, you know? I mean, they're what? A bunch of this era's biggest bads getting together to try and beat up the Justice League? I'm kinda surprised it didn't happen sooner."
"Maybe it's because this era's biggest bads are too self-important and egotistical to put aside their differences long enough to have a successful counter to the Justice League." Surprise, surprise, that surprising opinion came from Raven over there at the kitchen bar. Eyeing them from beneath her hood, pulled up probably because of an allergy to the sun she may, or may not have, she added, "This Legion of Doom may be functional now, but give it time and it will fall apart. None of them have what it takes to maintain that big of an operation with such individuals involved."
"Yeah, sure, spoil the ending why don't you?" Garfield grumbled a little, but the smile he wore gave away the sarcasm.
Leave it to Raven to give some comforting logic that also acted to kill any hype for the latest League situation. Victor knew he needed to come up with some counter if only to keep up the healthy debate. A quick look—with an incredible amount of filters on—found him perhaps the best retort he could find on the internet.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," the cybernetic teen drawled. "About a few weeks ago there was all that business going down in Gotham. Big bads teaming up together and making it work. Caused a lot of property damage and people got hurt."
"Is that not the same conflict where each of these 'big bads' fought one another?" Raven retorted simply.
Well, yeah, they were, instead of, you know, teaming up to take down Batman and...oh, the whole self-important and egotistical stuff Raven mentioned earlier probably went into play here. Still… "Two teams of bad guys fighting each other, yeah, but they didn't turn on their same team, right? So, I mean, under the right circumstances, bad guys can team up with one another."
Raven looked away, shaking her head. "I said nothing about them teaming up. I pointed out the likelihood of them remaining a singular, functioning unit. This Legion of Doom is doomed to failure."
You could hear the seconds tick by as silence reigned only for Garfield to break it. "Did you just make a joke? And a pun?"
Now that he thought about it, it wasn't a bad one.
Throughout the back and forth, arguments and discussion, Kori sat there between the cyborg and the two younger teens, watching them, her green eyes like ping-pongs as they bounced from speaker to speaker. It was sometimes easy to forget that her knowledge of this planet was limited and her understanding about all the little things about it even more so.
But she was a curious girl and there was no holding that against her. With a polite tone of voice that most here seemed to forget was an option, the Tamaranean asked, "Who are these bads of big and what threat do they pose?"
Victor found himself glancing over to the extraterrestrial, blinking a bit before resisting the urge to smack himself on the head. She was not the type to surf the internet endlessly. Sure, it was a tool, but you needed to know how to use it so that you could, you know, avoid some of the more questionable content you could find.
Fortunately, he could find out the answers. There were quite a few videos on the net, some of which some certain sites were trying to take down, but you know, internet. See, even though a person's life could be in mortal danger, there was always that one group of people whose reactions were so predictable; it made you wonder if humanity had a shot of not winning that uncoveted Darwin Award.
There was some kind of ritualistic sacrifice thing happening, and somehow, some of the people there had pulled out their phones to record the whole thing.
Oh yeah, sure, your life was in danger, but damn it, you just had to record the whole thing so that you could post it later. Hashtags and everything.
But that meant there was on-the-ground footage.
The League had shown up in a big way, but then someone created some kind of portal, perhaps magic, Victor didn't know. That part wasn't important. What was was that a big group of bad guys came out of it and one called them all the Legion of Doom, which was why that name was blowing up the internet and all. Of course, their backs were to the cameras, but once that fighting started, it gave the chance to scan some faces and look them up.
There were some big bad guys here.
Giving a whistle, "Whoever the Legion is, they know how to recruit. They got Metallo there."
"Metallo?" Kori echoed, and damn it, she just had to tilt her head that way. Reminded him of a puppy, to be honest.
"Just a guy who can duke it out with Superman," he shrugged his shoulders as he answered. "There's been a few fights between them and man, that guy can take a hit. Superman too. Kinda freaky that he's using all the fake skin, though."
"You know anyone else?" Bart cut in promptly, already at his side. "Any guys from Central? A Rogue? Two Rogues?"
"Give me a second," Victor grumbled, picking through all the amassed info there was on this Legion, ignoring Bart's complaints about a second being too long. "Okay, no idea who this guy is, but does Girder ring a bell?"
Their resident speedster looked thoughtful. "Metal guy. Really tough and can take a hit. Grandmother makes some delicious brownies. Yeah, I know of him. Haven't met him yet, but Flash doesn't think he's too bad of a guy. Just gets himself into a lot of stuff, bad stuff, you know?"
Interesting detail there about the brownies. Did it compare to Grandmama Stone's? Off track, but brownies were brownies and that was something he took seriously.
Still, "There's some newbies who did something in Gotham recently. Shade, Felix Faust—who names their kid Felix nowadays?—and...Dr. Alchemy. Really going for the bottom of the barrel there."
"Alchemy? Like from that one show?" Terra asked, perking up.
"Beats the hell out of me," Victor replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Not a lot on him, so I don't know if he has to clap his hands, or not."
"Will these be foes we will have to engage?" Kori asked thoughtfully.
A good question, but one that someone unexpected, yet totally expected, answered. "I wouldn't worry about it." Looking up, oh hey, it was Red. "This is a Justice League matter, so I expect they'll handle it. I don't think they'll drag us into it."
Raven peered over at their little leader. "You sound very confident about that."
"The only way we get involved is if this Legion comes here," Red told her and them as well. "We'll be on our guard, but it's like Cyborg points out. Some of these guys are heavy-hitters, and like you pointed out, Raven, they have egos. Why would any of them take the time to mess with us? We're only targets if they think we're a way to strike at the League, but how many are going to take the time out of their day to come after kids? Some don't have qualms, like Killer Frost, so definitely keep an eye out for any ice."
"That's very specific," Victor commented, raising his only human eyebrow.
Red flashed him a wry grin. "Gotham has never forgotten the Night of Ice."
It took a second and a quick search to remember what that meant. Now, he was about to either give a sweet comeback, or change the topic, Victor hadn't figured out which one he wanted to do, when the klaxon rang out.
Then a notification popped up right in his robotic eye. "We're getting a transmission," he reported immediately, dropping any and all fun in his voice to get serious.
"From who?" Red asked, already in professional mode.
It wasn't just the internet he was hooked up to. It was also every device in the tower. The last few months had been very educational for him, letting him learn so much more about this body of his. The big question was becoming what he couldn't do with it instead of what he could do.
So he was already assessing the transmission. Where it was coming from, who was sending it and—weird.
"It's coming from space," he stated.
"Is it the League?" That came from the Grass Stain since it came from his left.
Maybe Red had spoken too soon. Maybe the League wanted to bring them in for this Legion business. But wait, no, that wasn't right. The tower did have a connection with the Watchtower, but the Watchtower wasn't stationary. To keep in orbit around the planet, you had to be moving at an incredible rate of speed, but not too fast either, otherwise you fall back down to Earth, or get sent out into the endless void of space.
Speaking of, the Watchtower was not in the right location from which this signal was coming from, meaning it was coming to them from that endless void that was space.
"No, someone else," the cyborg answered. "I'm gonna see what I can read from the transmission's code. Give me a sec."
By now, everyone was standing up, or fully alert. Something unknown was happening and they were going to get themselves ready for whatever it may be. Bodies were becoming tense, either from uncertainty, or from getting pumped, who knew?
So who was sending this transmission to them? Why them? Why not the League, somebody else, Batman? Okay, he didn't quite recognized some of the language being used here and his translation programs weren't having much success—say, was that a name right there?
"Koriand'r," he said out loud.
"Is it for me?" Kori spoke up, and oh yeah, that was her full name. Koriand'r. He had nearly forgot that, though his memory banks hadn't.
Still going through the transmission, Victor could only answer, "Looks like that way. It's calling for you."
For a second, Kori looked worried, but then she stood straighter, letting her face become a little blank, maybe her way of showing her game face. "Answer the transmission."
Sharing a look with Red, who simply nodded, Victor nodded to the Tamaranean, and answered the intergalactic call.
The hideout of the Legion of Doom was a massive place. There were corridors and rooms that quite possibly had never been seen before, much less used.
It made for having a private conversation quite possible as long as the intended parties kept low and didn't draw attention to themselves.
Felix Faust cast a spell that would prevent anyone listening in to hear them, or even see them. Whatever this Ultra Humanite guy was up to, it was quite possible he didn't trust a single person here, so he would make it to where he could keep tabs on every Legionnaire here. "You wanted to speak with us?" the mage asked once he had secured the room.
It was just the three of them, the Pantheon. The Shade looked from Faust to Dr. Alchemy, who stood close by expectantly. If there was anyone he could trust here, it was these two.
"Something's rotten here," Shade reported as he placed both hands on top of the jeweled head of his cane, planting its end on the floor in front of him.
Faust raised an eyebrow in response. "Care to explain yourself?"
"During our last fight with the League, I ended up with that Volcana chick," the master of shadows explained. "Big freaking mistake on my part cause every time I tried to use my shadows, her damn fire kept putting them out. Anyways, during the fight, Green Lantern knocked out that winged girl, Hawkgirl, then turned to Volcana and told her to help him with her."
Faust and Dr. Alchemy shared a look with each other. As of right now, both Hawkgirl and Superman were in the company of Ultra Humanite, the white ape doing God knows what to them. He was being secretive about it too, only involving certain people in the project.
It went without saying that neither of the three of them had been invited.
"The Legion seems to be up to something with them, but are keeping it quiet," Dr. Alchemy observed. "Even from members within its ranks."
"And didn't we capture Green Lantern before?" the Shade pointed out. "And now he's back with the League. What gives?"
Faust narrowed his eyes. "It seems we need to be treading quite carefully. Until we know what the Legion's ultimate plan is, we cannot make any missteps."
That went without saying; the problem was what their goal was. They had been helping the Legion out because they had seen to the return of their enchanted powers. In a way, they owed them, but as far as Shade was concerned, that only went so far.
"It wouldn't hurt to have a contingency plan of our own," Dr. Alchemy then said, something Shade found himself agreeing with.
"What kind of plan?" the thin man asked quickly.
"Perhaps if we could align ourselves with a third party, or another within the Legion. That way we can have early detection what this organization is up to, so we can act accordingly."
"Like who? That Volcana chick is unstable. The others don't seem to care for us one way or another. Then there's that Grundy thing; it's not the most intelligent thing around and I wouldn't trust it with anything other than hitting something hard."
"Shade does bring up excellent points," Faust agreed. "The Legion itself doesn't provide us any opportunities, so someone outside would be preferable. John Dee perhaps?"
"No offense, Professor, but I wouldn't trust that bastard as far as I could throw him," Shade bluntly responded. "Even if we could give him his powers back, I wouldn't give them to him. He's got no loyalty to us, so he could backstab us at any time."
"This is true," Dr. Alchemy seconded. "Our options are limited, it seems."
That wasn't what Shade wanted to hear. But then, what could he expect of an academic and a business executive? They didn't know how to deal with people of ill reputations. He did though. "The first rule," he stated, earning himself the full attention of his comrades, "is that we stick together no matter what. We always have each other's backs. We do that, we can make it through this mess in one piece and get back to business."
"I find that agreeable," Faust said, Dr. Alchemy nodding his acceptance.
"Then the first thing we do is stop being the goddamn bait for these ambushes," Shade said. "Sooner or later, we're going to get nabbed and that's one less person to watch our own backs. It's time these other Legion guys carry the weight. We keep our eyes open for any weakness and we exploit it hard.
"We're the Pantheon. We were gods once and damn it, we'll be gods again. No way should we be used as someone else's pawns."
There was a difference between wouldn't and shouldn't. John was struggling with it and had to keep reminding himself of what the difference was.
Had this been his League, the one that had ushered in twenty years of peace, having both Superman and Hawkgirl captured by a cabal of super criminals would have never happened. That it had happened to this more younger, more naive incarnation meant that it shouldn't have happened.
But it had.
Never mind his own role in the creation of the situation, this was no little thing. To John, this was the abduction of two comrades, brothers-in-arms, and one of whom held his heart in her hands. It was both professional and personal. He had been doing this long enough that he could keep a lid on things, but the anger was still there. The need to fix this demanding to be satisfied.
The other founding members were able to hold meeting to discuss these new developments. That left these new recruits. They would not be participating, though that would have to change, he reflected. Some of them were faces he recognized, future comrades who would join the cause. There were new to this, not the fighting crime and forces of evil, but to the kind of life that came with being a part of the Justice League.
Of being part of something bigger than themselves.
Some were more confident. Others weren't. They all happened to be gathering in a rec room, and that was where he approached them, listening in.
There were complaints. He could hear Captain Atom being the most vocal. Maybe it was their shared involvement with a military force, but he understood where Atom was coming from. There were uncertainties, which also stemmed from frustration. There were a couple voices advocating for cooler heads; that did reflect some of these new recruits could hold up under pressure. He wasn't able to place the voice yet of one of the more prominent ones.
Deciding that this was not the time, or the place, for anyone to be expressing doubts, the Green Lantern entered the rec room and took in the sight of the recruits, all in various states of postures and stances. You could pick out who the complainers were, those who were uncertain, and the ones demanding everyone to calm down.
Atom and the guy called Green Arrow were standing across from one another, practically staring one another down. It looked like a bit of an argument that was either happening, or it was about to. Many were scattered around, though a few, like, hmm, Black Lighting and the woman in leather—right, Black Canary—had placed themselves strategically close to Atom and Arrow.
This wouldn't do.
"Are we about to have a problem here?" he called out, drawing much of the room's attention towards himself.
Atom looked towards him, his posture immediately straightening up. Green Arrow leaned back slightly, though his body was still tense, like he could spring into action at any time. "None. Just a debate that got close to getting out of hand, but nothing we couldn't figure out."
John knew that kind of phrasing. Someone was trying to be diplomatic. He got enough of that with the Guardians.
Scanning over the room, he took a second to gather his thoughts before he began speaking. "I know things haven't been going well. Let me tell you, this is not the first time we've had issues like this. We have faced enemies that get the better of us and it happens a lot more than you think. The League is not perfect. We are not perfect. We have made mistakes before. Many mistakes.
"We have faced madmen, terrorists, and invaders. Not everything went smoothly. We lost battles, but losing battles is not the end of it because all that really matters is that you win the war." He could see more a few heads nodding at his words. Some wore expressions that spoke of hope, others were more stone-faced. "Right now, this Legion could not have picked a better time to rear its head. The League itself is changing, but that was always going to happen. The League can't survive with just six people. Growing the ranks was necessary and inevitable."
That his younger self, no the younger selves of the League had waited to do such a thing for so long spoke of overconfidence and inertia. It was obvious from the beginning that expanding the ranks had to happen. That an evil reflection under the name Legion of Doom just happened to come calling was coincidence, but it underlined the necessity.
"So what if we mess up now?" he continued. "We will grow, we will learn, we will improve, and we will continue to do so until the day we bring down the Legion once and for all." As he opened his mouth to continue with his next words, someone else interrupted him.
"But they took Superman and Hawkgirl. They did it right under our noses. How are we suppose to win over people who can do that?"
The Green Lantern's jaw tensed, teeth clenching as he recalled how Shayera had been captured. It was for her own good. For everyone's own good. Her younger self would be kept safe while his Shayera would take up her mantle and continue the good fight until everything was set right again.
Their younger selves would understand with time. They would agree this was all necessary.
"Mark my words, we will get them back. What is the take away here?" His voice was soft, maybe a little too quiet, but the steel in them was clear for everyone to hear. "We get better and improve so that it doesn't happen again."
"Green Lantern is right," Captain Atom agreed, arms crossed in front of his chest. "We need to rise to the challenge and learn from our shortcomings. The world will be better for it."
There were nods to this, though John did notice that a few heads weren't. Green Arrow was watching Atom, his head still and stone faced. The lack of agreement meant there might be some resistance from this vigilante in the future. Right now, there was nothing he could do about it, but he would keep an eye out and take his first chance to address it later.
They all needed to be on the same page.
"We'll need to know how each other works and fights," Vixen pointed out. "I know many of us have been in the fight by ourselves, sometimes literal lone wolves. We need to remember we're not alone, that have each other's backs, and we need to be willing and able to count on one another. Going at it alone against something like the Legion isn't going to work."
"We need to stick together at all times, never alone," Ice agreed to that sentiment. "They can't capture one of us if there's always two together."
That brought back memories, memories of why he and Shayera were typically together on any assignment. Their strength was greater than apart. Only in those random and unexpected incidents would he find himself without any backup.
He was serving as a one-man backup when he first encountered Batman after his twenty year death.
"There's a phrase I've come across, one that I tell myself whenever something bad has gone down," he spoke above the rising voices of the League's new recruits. Holding a fist in front of himself and clenching it tightly, he declared, "Never again. Never will the League be weak enough for one of us to be taken against our will. Never again will we be beaten by any servant of evil. Most importantly, never again will a member be struck down in this fight. It's us altogether to save Earth, so never again."
Some were mouthing those words in agreement. Others nodded their heads to show their approval. The same heads that had remained still before remained that way; this time he noticed Black Canary as another one of those.
There was one never again he hadn't said, but it was one that John felt could not be said right now. In his mind and heart, he told himself this as a promise.
Never again would the Justice League be divided.
"This is most troubling," J'onn said, his eyes unfocused as he processed what he had been told.
"That's what I said," Flash chimed in, for once not slouching in his seat. He was upright, leaning forward with his hands clasped together, resting them on the table in front of him.
That seemed to be the general consensus upon hearing about this Legion of Doom. Supervillains uniting to take on the Justice League was practically unheard of. Most had egos that wouldn't allow them to join forces with others to accomplish their ultimate goal. While it was always a possibility—after all, everything was possible given the correct circumstances—it seemed rather unlikely.
Batman liked to think he was the most experienced of the entire League when it came to such situations. He had just dealt with a similar thing with Hugo Strange and the Joker rallying the denizens of Arkham to their respective sides and went to war with each other. Gotham was still recovering from it.
However, that conflict largely involved deranged psychopaths. This Legion was made up of meta-humans, each one with an axe to grind against at least one member of the Justice League. These ambushes were starting to make sense now.
A pattern was starting to emerge. The former members of the Pantheon would stir up trouble, the League would immediately respond, and then get blindsided by the Legion. How he hadn't seen that annoyed him. It was an excellent tactic, especially considering the recency of the Pantheon's activities. So concerned were they with apprehending them, they blinded themselves to the true purpose of these attacks.
The doors opened, John Stewert striding in. Flash had said the Lantern was making sure the rest of the League was handling this situation alright. "What did I miss?" he asked as he headed for his chair.
"We just finished with Flash's report of the incident," J'onn told him.
Lantern took his seat. "Great, so now we need to come up with our next move."
"Locating Superman and Hawkgirl should be our primary concern," Diana said. "Assuming they have been taken by the Legion. We had believed you had been taken before discovering your broken comm link and the fleeing Star Sapphire."
"I suppose you have a point," Stewart acknowledged. "But aside from the damage we caused upon entering the museum, we didn't find any additional exit points. Neither Superman or Hawkgirl are that subtle at leaving, especially if they're chasing someone."
That was a good point too. Batman had seen many of a fight where the League had demolished the building they were in. It wasn't a subtle thing. "I'm more concerned about this Legion," he brought up.
Stewart's green eyes locked in on him, his face hardening into a scowl. "Why them and not our own?" he demanded heatedly. "We have MIAs here; we should be trying to save them."
"And we will, but we need to take into consideration why so many meta-humans have joined forces," the vigilante countered. "We do that, we can find them, and potentially Superman and Hawkgirl."
The Lantern nodded his acceptance. "What more do we need to know?" Flash questioned. "All of these people either want us dead, or revenge, or both. There's not much more to consider."
"Except why they decided to join forces now," Batman pointed out. "We don't know how long they've been at this either. It could be weeks, or months, maybe even years. That speaks to a larger motivation. Most of these metas have largely kept to themselves rather than join forces. So why have they begun so now?"
"Maybe they're getting paid?" Flash suggested. "When I ran into Girder, he said he had a job. Maybe they're getting hired for something?"
That was another avenue to consider. Perhaps monetary incentive was at play, which meant there was a mastermind behind the situation.
"If that is the case, then they must have a place they gather," Diana added. "And even if they aren't, there still must be a place so that they can plan their operations."
"And it's likely there that Hawkgirl and Superman are being kept," Stewart finished. He seemed to have settled down from his initial anger with the Dark Knight. "So where can a group of supervillains hide out?"
That was a question, one that unfortunately did not receive the attention it deserved. Static filled their ears, coming from their comm links. There were visible winces from everyone, their heads jerking in a vain attempt to move away from the sound.
Then the static stopped, though it was clear the line was still one. "Someone mind telling me what's going on?" Flash asked, earning himself several shushes in response.
Finally, a voice emerged from the receiver. "Attention, gentlemen and ladies of the Justice League," it said. It was masculine, indicating a man. "As I'm sure you've noticed, you're missing two of your members—and rather important ones at that."
"That sounds like Metallo," Flash said. Normally he would have exclaimed that, but he was keeping his voice down.
"I second that," Lantern agreed.
"I have no doubt you are doing your best to locate them and while I would love to watch you bumble around, there aren't enough hours in the day. So here are your options: you can either listen to me, or you can expect to find two dead heroes lynched from the Midway Memorial Bridge.
"For those of you still listening, you'll want to follow the GPS inside of your companions' communication devices. I'll be certain to leave them on so that you cannot get lost locating them."
Immediately, Batman commanded, "Computer: locate comm links of Justice League members Superman and Hawkgirl." Instantly, the holographic projector beamed down light from the ceiling, a map of the world appeared within it. The map began to zoom in on the North American continent, closing in on the United States.
"You'll want to hurry," Metallo added. "There's no telling how much longer your friends will last. In fact, I may finish off the job of killing Superman if you don't arrive soon. It has been long overdue."
The map continued to converge on the location, closing in on an area outside of Midway. It seemed the Legion hadn't gone far. Finally, the image stopped, a red dot appearing. Considering there was only one and not two, it was likely both Superman and Hawkgirl were being kept at that location.
Or at least their comm links anyways.
"This is clearly a trap," Stewart announced, even as he stood up.
"That goes without saying," Flash agreed. "So how do we want to do this?"
"We send in everyone," Batman said. "We form groups of three and no one leaves their groups for anyone. New members form a perimeter and keep a lookout for the Legion. Original members go in hard to get the hostages. It's time we stopped with the kid gloves and show that we mean business."
There were a number of lakes outside of Midway. They were small ones, but each was connected to the other by creeks, giving off the impression it was all one system, which it was. These lakes were a popular place for families to spend the day on the water, picnicking on the shore, and so on.
According to the GPS signal, they were heading for the northeast most lake. There weren't a lot of people around the water system and that became even less as they closed in on the location. That was clear of a sign as any that access was being restricted.
The Justice League arrived via Green Lantern's construct, and as they closed in, Batman began forming teams, having them dropped off as they began to circle the area. Clearly the vigilante had been given this some thought during the journey to Earth. Soon, the only ones left were the original members plus Captain Atom. They wanted power and he was perhaps the strongest and most experience of the newer members, his military experience being a factor.
As they closed in on the signal, a two story building came into sight. The dirt and grim on it indicated some level of neglect and the overgrowth of vegetation meant it had long been forgotten. More likely discarded. What it's original purpose was unknown to Diana.
"J'onn, Captain Atom, and Green Lantern will take the front," Batman said as they began their final descent. "Make as much noise as you want; any guards there will be drawn there. Diana, Flash, and I will enter the second floor and search for Superman and Hawkgirl there."
"And if they're on the first floor?" John questioned.
"Then we'll secure the second floor and join you."
The dark-skinned man nodded. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"
Batman glanced through the construct towards the building. They were practically hovering over it. "Here is fine. Diana, if you would."
The Amazon immediately stepped to the Dark Knight, Flash moving next to them. She wrapped an arm around the waist of each man, holding them tightly to her. John created an opening within the round construct, much like he had done for the previous members. Diana then took to the air, carrying her comrades and controlling their descent to the building below.
They landed shortly after, John taking his team to the ground in front of the building. As Diana released her friends, Batman strode towards one side of the roof. "We need to get some intel before we breach," he said.
"On it," Flash responded before he knelt down, getting on hands and knees. He suddenly began vibrating before he pressed his head down on the roof. His head sank into the cement, disappearing from sight. He was like this for several moments before he pulled his head back.
"I saw Superman and Hawkgirl," he immediately reported. "And a big ol' shark guy guarding them."
"How did they look?" Diana questioned instantly.
"Hard to tell. They both look like they're out cold. There are chains tying them up to chairs, though Supes' has green glowing ones. I'd guess kryptonite."
"We wait for Lantern and his team to make the first move," Batman said then. "Diana, you take down this shark person, I don't care how you do it. Flash and I will get Superman and Hawkgirl out of there."
Before Diana and Flash could nod their acknowledgement, there was a loud blast that rang out, shaking the building they stood on. "I guess they started," the speedster remarked.
Once again, Flash began to vibrate, sinking into the roof from the feet up. In the meantime, Batman pulled out his grapple gun and fired it at a corner of the roof. He allowed a few lengths of the cord to slide out of the grapple before he leaped over the edge. Diana had already taken to air by then and floated over the edge, which gave her an excellent view to see Batman swing himself into a grime-covered window. He stuck his legs out in front of him, slamming his feet against the glass. The window shattered as he entered the building.
Diana then charged forward flying through the broken window. Batman had landed on the floor, kneeling so that she could fly over his head. The shark man Flash had seen had snapped his head to look at them, but that was all he was able to do. Like a missile, the Amazon charged at him, crossing her arms in front of her face. She rammed her crossed forearms into the shark, the force of their collision picking the shark man off the floor and carrying him through the air. She rammed them into the wall and burst through it, leaving a cloud of dust and debris in her wake.
The dark-haired woman continued their flight for a few more seconds before she let up, stopping her flight and allowing momentum to carry her foe away. She watched as the shark arced downward before he crashed onto the ground below, disturbing leaves, bushes, and broken sticks as he skidded across the earth.
Diana slowly lowered herself to the ground, but never touched down, choosing to hover a short distance above it. She could hear sounds of combat behind her, indicating John and his team were in a fight. Once she was done here, she would go join them.
The shark man forced himself up, snarling at her with a mouth full of sharp teeth. "You're gonna pay for that," he growled.
"You can try...whoever you are," she responded.
"The name's King Shark and when I'm done with you, you'll just be chum in the water," he shot back.
At least she had a name now, though she had no clue why he was involved in this matter. She wasn't aware of any shark man the others had fought and she certainly hadn't encountered one in her adventures.
King Shark then charged at her, hands held out as he opened his mouth, a clear indication he wanted to bite her. Diana waited a moment before she began to draw back, slowly raising her arms up. King Shark lunged at her, snapping his jaw at her, which he missed. That was when he threw a punch at her, something she easily blocked. There was some power behind his blow, but nothing she was concerned about.
Over and over, King Shark punched at her, driving her further and further back. Diana allowed this until she was certain this man had no other tricks up his sleeve. He seemed rather straightforward in his attack. Blocking yet another punch, she finally countered as she threw a punch of her own, nailing the shark man in the face.
His skin was surprisingly soft, if not rubbery. She felt her fist sink slightly into his face, but then the force of her blow kicked in and King Shark was sent hurling backwards through the air, only stopping when his back hit a tree. There was a loud bang! upon the collision, but the tree did not break and fall over.
Diana then leaned forward and raced towards her opponent. Drawing a fist back, she threw it at the last second, hitting King Shark against his chest. This time she hit the man through the tree, snapping it in two as the shark burst out the other side. The top of the tree toppled over, forcing the Amazon to one side to avoid it, though she never took her eyes off of her foe. She caught sight of him landing and bouncing across the ground until he stopped near the shore of the lake.
Pressing her advantage, she charged forward, though this time she drew a leg back. The moment she was within striking distance, she leaned back and swung her kick. King Shark was pushing himself up at that point and the toe of her foot connected with his chin.
Once again, he was sent flying up into the air, Diana punting the shark. He soared until he began to fall, this time landing in the lake, a large splash sending water flying high into the air.
For a moment, Diana wanted to give chase, but stopped herself. The mission was to get Superman and Hawkgirl, not defeat the Legion. While she was certain removing one of their members from the board would help in the long run, if she ventured any further, she could be ambushed, something the League wanted to avoid. Staring out into the lake as it began to settle, she began to rise up into the air before heading back for the abandoned building.
There were quite a few shouts and crashes coming from downstairs. Batman wasn't certain who it was Lantern and his team were fighting, but they were being quite loud about it. Diana had removed the only guard up here, leaving only the hostages left.
For a moment, he wondered why there was only one guard, but he had seen the shark Flash had mentioned. He imagined the Legion figured the League would go through the front, fight their way up, and the shark would be there to surprise them.
Something about that thought didn't seem right though. Batman wasn't certain why that was. It was something to think about later once they removed Superman and Hawkgirl from this place.
Flash was behind the two heroes, undoing the chains that held them down. There was a rattling sound and the chains around Hawkgirl fell to the floor around her. This caused the redhead to begin leaning forward, which the speedster was quick to stop as he wrapped an arm around her. "I got this one," he said. "Think you can get Big Blue?"
Batman moved around the room to join Flash behind the two Leaguers. There were a couple of standard padlocks, to which he took his lock pic and easily undid them. The chains slackened around the Kryptonian and the vigilante went about pulling them off of him.
He paused then. Looking at the chains, he saw the familiar green of kryptonite. However, he could feel they were rough. Most kryptonite he had encountered was smooth, polished even. It didn't help that some had been mistaken as jade and used to make statues and jewelry, though it would end with the kryptonite becoming polished. It was strange to handle some that was rough to the touch, even through his glove.
That was when Diana reappeared, flying through the hole she had knocked the shark guard through. "Diana," the vigilante called out, waving her over to him. She seemed to know what he wanted as she went right up to the Kryptonian, picking him up like he weighed nothing.
Alright, they got what they came for, it was time to pull out. "We have the hostages," Batman announced over the comm link. "All teams report to the rendezvous point."
As long as things went their way, which they appeared to be, there was a point where all League members were to report upon the success of rescuing Superman and Hawkgirl. It was time for all of them to return to the Watchtower with their teammates.
Flash immediately took off with Hawkgirl, Diana carrying Superman out the same hole she had made earlier. That left Batman to follow, but he paused. He still held the kryptonite chains in his hand. His grip tightened on it.
Something wasn't right about this, he could feel it.
John had gone in guns blazing. Perhaps not literally, but he was firing his ring off the moment he entered the building.
The first one he struck was a metal man by the name of Girder. He vaguely recognized the guy, recalling he had been someone Flash had duked it out a few times with. That was perhaps the only reason he had been extended an offer to serve the Regime and he had been smart enough to take it.
The problem was, this was the past and an altered one at that. John didn't know if Girder was aligned with the right side and Volcana and Killer Frost had made no mention of him. Watching as he took the brunt of the green beam, his arms crossed in front of him to protect his face, he felt that if there was anyone that could take a hit from him, it was this guy.
"We got company!" Killer Frost shouted as she held up both hands. A barrage of icicles fired from her hands, but not at the Lantern. Instead, they were aimed for Captain Atom, who copied Girder by crossing his arms in front of him for protection.
A white beam shot over the captain's shoulder and struck Killer Frost on the chest, causing her to cry out as she stopped her attack. Seeing this, Captain Atom took to flight, charging at the pale woman before ramming her with his shoulder. His blow sent her flying into a wall, a yelp of pain coming from her mouth before she dropped to the floor.
Tearing his attention away from Frost, John spotted J'onn flying by him, the source of that white beam. He had forgotten about the Martian's Martian Vision, but then it had been quite some time since he had seen him. Being a traitor to the cause had a tendency to end badly.
John, unfortunately, didn't get to see who J'onn engaged with as Girder had chosen that time to rush him. His metal fist slammed into the Lantern's face, knocking him to the floor as he let out a surprised cry of pain. Girder raised a leg then before he stomped his foot on his back, crushing him to the floor.
The Green Lantern willed his ring to buff up his defense, his aura glowing brighter in response. The next time Girder stomped him, it didn't hurt as much.
He then rolled to his left, Girder's foot hitting the floor where he laid a moment later, the cement bursting into a web of cracks. Shoving himself up, John extended his ring hand out and unleashed his boxing glove construct. It slammed into the metal man's face, knocking him off balance as he stumbled backwards.
Pulling back his arm, John changed the boxing glove into a long staff. Kneeling down, he then swung the green staff from one side to the other, taking out Girder's feet from underneath him and sending him falling to the ground.
There was a flash of blue then, causing John to tear his eyes away from his foe. He found part of the wall had been flashed frozen, ice covering it like a curtain. Captain Atom was staring at it, as if trying to figure out what to do with it. Faintly, he could make out light filtering through the ice, indicating a hole had been made in the wall. It was quite possible that Killer Frost had chosen that time to make an escape and walled off her exit.
That was fine by him; he needed Frost free. Girder suddenly moved, drawing the Lantern's attention back to him. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down," John warned him.
"Piss off," Girder growled back as he began pushing himself back up. Immediately, John formed an anvil construct and slammed its flat end on the man's face, knocking him back to the floor. He drew his arm back and then threw it, doing this over and over as he pounded Girder's head into the floor. Cracks were forming in the concrete, growing bigger after every hit.
Stopping after awhile, John stared down at the metal man. Impressively enough, Girder was still conscious, though clearly dazed as he tried to push himself back up.
Now that simply wasn't going to do.
John moved his arm in front of himself, and subsequently his anvil construct, hovering it in front of Girder's face. He then changed the construct, forming a large drill bit, one that began spinning immediately. He then forced it into the man's face, sparks immediately erupting as Girder screamed. A shrill sound filled the air as the drill bored into metal.
Faintly, John heard someone shout, "What are you doing?" He wasn't certain if it was J'onn or Captain Atom, it was hard to tell. What he had no trouble figuring was a black hand grabbing his wrist and pulling it up, and subsequently the drill construct.
Suddenly, John found himself being shoved away from Girder until he hit a wall. "Have you lost your mind?!" Batman snarled at him as he shoved his forearm up against his throat, pinning his ring hand to the wall as well.
The Lantern scowled back at the vigilante. "Let go of me," he growled back.
Batman didn't pull back, instead shoving his face closer to his. "Why were you trying to drill a hole in that man's head?" he demanded.
"Nothing else was working, so I had to make a point to him," John replied, moving his face closer as well. The arm against his throat was uncomfortable, but he wouldn't be intimidated. Batman didn't scare him in the least, no matter how much of that fear gas he made. "If he had surrendered, I wouldn't have had to be so hard."
J'onn was suddenly at their side. He placed a hand on Batman's shoulder and pushed the dark-clad man back. He must have used some of his strength too as Batman didn't seem all that willing to pull back. "Both of you, calm down," he ordered.
John raised his free hand and grabbed Batman's arm at the wrist, pulling it away from his neck. "I will when the 'Dark Knight' gets off his high horse."
Batman's face hardened, but J'onn purposefully placed himself between the two. Incidentally, this forced the vigilante to let go of the Lantern's ring hand, which he allowed to drop to his side. "You must admit, your last construct was rather extreme."
The Green Lantern turned his attention to the Martian, ready to remind him of their oath when he recalled that this J'onn was different. He didn't know about the Regime, what with their past being corrupted by the very man behind him. Things were different and if he wanted to restore everything to how it needed to be, he needed to play this smart. So he shrugged his shoulders, dropping his head in surrender. "Perhaps I did go too far. I couldn't help it, not with knowing Hawkgirl was his prisoner."
"Then you'll be happy to know that she is safe," J'onn told him gently. "We have done what we came to do, so let us leave this place."
John then eyed Girder, who was laying on the floor. His chest was rising and falling, indicating he was still breathing, but he wasn't moving. "What do we do with him?"
J'onn looked over his shoulder. "We take him into custody and see what we can learn about the Legion of Doom from him."
Captain Atom overheard this as he stepped next to the metal man. "I'll take him to the authorities," he volunteered.
"No, the Watchtower," John told him. "We need answers from him, so it'd be best if we got them first. Then we can turn him over."
"Agreed," J'onn replied. Captain Atom stared at the two before he nodded, carrying the fallen man out of the building.
It was a couple moments before J'onn followed him, leaving John and Batman alone. Batman was giving him a hard stare, one that the Lantern returned in kind. He was the reason things were different, that they weren't the way they were supposed to be. In time, that would be fixed, but they were going to have to do something about him. Batman had already shown his allegiance was not for them, the Regime.
It would be stupid of them to think they could change his mind, in this timeline, or any other.
To Invincible Fan: Thanks for reviewing! It's always appreciated when someone reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying this series as well. AV and I have more stories planned for the series, so it'll be awhile before we come to an end. We know how we want it to end, but so long as we keep coming up with ideas for stories, it'll continue. We hope you continue to enjoy our stories!