The skies over New Jersey. 31 miles above the surface of the Earth.
Maxwell Lord.
For years, he led the Justice League's International team. Lord came out of nowhere and wrested away leadership of the League from Batman. He held a deep contempt for the metahuman community and sought to take them down by keeping them close. At some point, Max became one of Checkmate's highest officials—it's Black King—and increased his own power over the organization in a criminal fashion. From his connections to the Justice League, he managed a coup.
In secret, Lord obtained data files from the Batman, virtually from right underneath his nose—detailed dossiers on the entire super-hero community. Second, he stole Booster Gold's futuristic android counterpart, Skeets, and used the robot's circuitry to spy on heroes via Ted Kord's goggles in his Blue Beetle suit. But Max went too far when he began sabotaging Kord's private ventures, vicariously draining Kord Omniversal of its assets and brining Kord himself to the brink of destitution. Concerned with the mysterious actions in his life, Kord began an investigation that inadvertently revealed the spyware in his goggles. To that end, he tracked Lord to Checkmat'es European installation in the Swiss Alps.
Kord had found out the extent of Lord's machinations—partially through examination of Checkmate's computer systems, and partially because Lord himself owned up to everything. Lord's intention was to recruit Ted Kord to his cause—to help Lord save the world from metahuman threats. When Kord refused, the Black King shot him.
What's Max Lord doing behind this OMAC shell? The question is…vague. Wonder Woman doesn't have an answer. Her mind entertains several possibilities. Ted Kord's arrival at the Watchtower not two months ago, and his subsequent discussion with her about his woes—and his untimely death. Superboy's attack on the Teen Titans, and the destruction of the Brother Eye satellite. The attacks from the Society at Goodwin Airport. All of them orchestrated—manipulated by two men.
Max Lord and Lex Luthor.
Was Kord in the way of their plans? Were the two of them working together against him? Or possibly even the entire League? The evidence is damning…but without physical presence, it's little more than a lead.
Why was Max Lord prisoner to his own creation? Who put him up to this?
"Diana."
Wonder Woman hovers in the air, miles above the surface of the Earth. She turns to see Superman a few feet away, his red cape draped tightly around the body of a man. No, she thought. Not any man. A Superman. Invulnerable, untouchable…and as human as any of them.
"Clark," she says quietly. "Where is Zoom?"
"The Bikini Atoll," the Man of Steel replies shortly. "Considering his options."
Wonder Woman looks down at her hands, and realizes she's still holding Max Lord. The OMAC armor hasn't switched off yet; the blue shell still covers Lord, except for his head and just below the collarbone. His black polo shirt crumpled in her fists. She stares in Lord's glazed eyes, and they stare beyond her, into the vastness of space.
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know." The Amazon's voice is calm. "He came out of nowhere, attacked me at Goodwin. I thought…if I brought the fight up here, I could stop him."
"He was an OMAC?" Superman asks.
"Yes," Wonder Woman answers.
Superman's eyes narrow. Wonder Woman has seen the expression too many times not to know what he's doing—scanning the body with those powers of his. "His pulse is weak. I can tell even from here."
"Is he dying?"
"Dead and brought back is more like it." Superman approaches Wonder Woman. She picks up Lord and cradles him in her arms. "X-ray vision's picking up burn marks on his chest. Lots of scar tissue at the base of his skull." Superman's eyes return to Wonder Woman. "Somebody killed him, Diana. And now he's back."
"Why would they do that?"
"Wrong question. What we should be asking…is who could have done this?"
Wonder Woman stares away, at the Earth far below her. Rolling blue oceans cutting into lush greens and browns and, dotted across the landscape, spikes of black on the land. Cities. She looks back at Superman. "There are maybe three people we both know—and that's a big maybe—who know how to reanimate…things. It's a question of technology. Who has a lab large enough to pull this off?"
"Luthor," Superman says pointedly.
"You're jumping to conclusions."
"Am I?" The Man of Steel turns to Wonder Woman. "He has means. Opportunity."
"What opportunity? Why would he kill Lord just to bring him back?"
The Man of Steel stares up at the darkened sky, glittering with billions of stars spread across the ecliptic. And staring at the stars—their simplicity, and beauty—it comes to him.
"It's a foil," Superman says. His voice is airy—stunned. "He's distracting us."
Wonder Woman hands Lord over to Superman slowly, delicately. He stares down at Lord's face and the dried blood underneath his nostrils. "I'll take him to the Watchtower—"
"What?" Wonder Woman questions. "He killed Ted. Do you understand that?"
"A man's life is on the line, Diana. I'm going to at least try to help him. Go back to Goodwin. See what's going on. And Diana?"
"Yes?"
"Get help."
Wonder Woman spares the Man of Steel a glance, as if to silently ask him to reconsider. But he won't, and the Amazon knows this. Clark Kent is too altruistic for his own good.
"Please," Superman says.
The Amazon turns away from Superman promptly and turns away, flying back to the surface.
Max Lord shot Blue Beetle at point blank range, killing him instantly.
Doesn't that mean anything, Clark?
"Help Max, will you," she chides to herself. "Why didn't you help Ted?"
It took Arthur Light twenty minutes to work up the courage to enter the hangar. After all, he was—even given his talents and his mean streak—less powerful than anyone in that hangar, with the possible exception of Dr. Elliot.
For those twenty minutes, there had been isolated fights between the Leaguers that had shown up, and the members of Luthor's Society. Kid Flash and Hush were the first to go down, followed by Prometheus. Catman and Green Arrow fought off and on—when one was worn down enough, the other left him alone, until further provocation prompted another fight. Deadshot had been beaten by Connor Hawke and Hawke in turn dispatched by Deathstroke. Scandal and Cheshire stand in the middle of the room like wide-eyed schoolgirls, gawking at the action happening around them. A meter ahead of Light, Parademon regards the gold-colored strap in his hands, and lifts into the sky through a hole in the hangar ceiling.
Dr. Light stares around the room in a haze. Catman's going at it with Green Arrow again. Deathstroke swings his sword at Hawkman, and the winged warrior parries with his mace. Deadshot, having somehow found his way back to the fight, and Connor Hawke are in a straight-up fist fight. Scandal and Cheshire stand in the middle of the room like wide-eyed schoolgirls, gawking at the action happening around them. Ragdoll's fighting—and losing—against Robin. The Boy Wonder pulls electrified batarangs from his belt and slaps them against Merkel's chest. A second later, they go off, covering Ragdoll in blue-white bolts of electric power. He cries in agony and falls to the ground.
None of the fights are self-contained. Catman kicks Green Arrow in the crotch and the archer rolls into Robin's legs, knocking him to the floor. Scandal takes the opportunity to pin the Boy Wonder to the floor by jamming her wrist-mounted blades into the ground on either side of the boy's wrist. But the Boy Wonder doesn't stop to look for his enemy. He forces his head upward, ramming Scandal in the jaw. Dazed, Scandal falls back. Her blades pull from the ground, freeing Robin. In another lightning-bolt movement, Robin lands four punches in Scandal's abdomen, and two more on each side of her face. He throws one of his legs out behind him, and catches Cheshire in the stomach. The green-clad assassin falls to the ground.
Two down.
Deathstroke flashes his sword in the air, trying to draw Hawkman's attention. The Terminator draws his sword close to him, and promptly jabs at Hawkman's chest. The edge of the sword clips Hawkman's rib cage. Blood trickles down his chest towards the waistband; Carter Hall ignores it and keeps up a defense.
Twoo minutes into the fight, Deadshot's fortunes turn. A calculated roundhouse kick to Deadshot's face—where Lawton shielded his face with crossed arms—destroyed the Colts mounted on his forearms. The pieces fell to the ground, and Floyd Lawton stared at them for a second afterward, unbelieving. He brings his head back up to face Connor Hawke, and meets a solid right hook to the nose.
Floyd Lawton falls to his knees, his nose broken. Hawke lifts a knee and jams it in Lawton's chin for good measure. One down.
Green Arrow catches Catman in a bear hug and flips him in the air—over Queen's own body. Catman falls to the ground flat. His vision cuts out momentarily from the impact on the back of his head. When the world around him becomes clearer, Catman finds himself massaging the throbbing pain at the base of his skull. He gets to one knee slowly, and sees the shadow on the floor in front of him. Green Arrow. With that impressive bow of his in hand. Green Arrow doesn't waste any time. He grips the bow firmly and swings it across Catman's face with a resounding thud—the sound of composite fiberglass impacting and shattering Thomas Blake's cheekbone. Green Arrow watches Catman fall to the ground.
"You were never warning me," Arrow says quietly. "You were baiting me. What a waste."
Deathstroke swings his sword up behind his head and brings it back down on the Nth metal of Hawkman's mace. Neither one of them can gain an upper hand. Deathstroke forces his sword closer down on Hawkman's mace, grunting as he exerts the effort. Hawkman grits his teeth. Without explanation, Deathstroke pulls the sword away and raises it over his head. Hawkman stands away from Deathstroke and tightens his grip on his mace. A small persistent buzz in his ear catches Deathstroke's attention. He raises one arm and taps his ear, saying nothing, keeping his eyes on Hawkman and his sword ready to strike. The voice in his head is Luthor.
"Pull back," Luthor says succinctly. "We'll be down shortly."
Deathstroke taps his ear again, terminating the connection, and back steps—away from Hawkman. Underneath his mask, Carter Hall frowns. Something doesn't fit.
"What now, Slade?" he asks. "You're out of tricks."
Deathstroke holds his index finger to his mouth. "You'll see."
Hawkman felt it, actually. First, at the top of his skull, then traveling down his spine to his legs and fingertips. A tingling, burning sensation. A thunder from the sky. Electric fire in his very body. Everywhere and nowhere, and as fast as it had come, the electric shock had passed. Hawkman's mace fell from his hand, and he slouched in place, though still standing. Carter Hall's head sinks to stare at his hands—blistered and tingling. When he looks back at Deathstroke, Carter Hall sees two more bodies ahead of him. A man in green armor hovering in the air behind Deathstroke's right shoulder, and gaunt robot standing next to the Terminator. Luthor…and Brainiac.
"Did you really think you could beat him, Hawkman?" Luthor laughs. He's extremely amused by the situation. "That you could defeat Deathstroke, of all people?"
Hawkman says nothing. His breathing is slow and laborious. The lightning strike—if indeed that's what it was—has left Hawkman's abilities at far less than considerable.
"The fusion output from Brainiac's ship is more than enough to deal with you," Luthor chides.
Hawkman inhales sharply and wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Go to hell," he mutters weakly.
"Your arrogance blinds you, Carter. Now you will experience the consequences of the life you choose."
Luthor raises his arms, decked out in green and purple gauntlets. And Hall feels another fire in his body. Luthor's power beam—or something like it—eating away at Carter Hall—destroying him.
"Luthor!"
Luthor's head snaps to the right. To Wonder Woman, the Amazon. And Zatanna—the witch—standing beside her.
"Diana," he says calmly. Almost…amused. "Have you come to witness the repercussions?"
"Of what?" she asks pointedly.
"Your super-heroics." Luthor's voice is flat. Behind him, Brainiac peeks his head out furtively. Observing the situation with a scientist's scrutiny. Dr. Light glances at Luthor and Wonder Woman—unsure. "Because every action has an equal and opposite reaction, Amazon."
Half of Luthor's mouth curls into a smile. "Arthur, she's yours."
Dr. Light cocks his head in Wonder Woman's direction. He pulls a fist back, and launches himself at the Amazon. She sidesteps his attack with ease, lets him pass by her, and grabs a tuft of his cape. She hoists him off the ground and pulls him close to her face, staring straight into his eyes. Few people can stare down Wonder Woman convincingly. Arthur Light isn't one of them. He swallows the saliva at the back of his throat and raises an arm. The Amazon's free arm catches Light's in mid-air and snaps it with one swift motion.
"Unwise," she says. Light tries to hit her with his other arm. Before he can, she throws him to the ground—hard. Wonder Woman crouches, rips off Light's helmet, and pulls his head up to face her.
"You're the one—" The Amazon punches Light across the face once. "—who raped Sue Dibny."
She punches him again.
"Monster," she says. Light has all but given up; he's gone limp in her arms, barely cognizant enough to hold his head up. It's...too easy.
"No!" Light manages in a momentary show of force. His voice calms again, and he pleads with the Amazon. "Please…"
Wonder Woman is unmoved. Her mouth forms into a scowl. She lets Light drop to his knees, and places her hands around his neck in a loose circle.
"You stole her dignity…" the Amazon trails off. "And you got away with it."
Wonder Woman punches Light again. His cheekbone shatters; blood and teeth spew from his mouth. Luthor, Brainiac, and Deathstroke watch from mere feet away. Luthor seems to be the most engaged.
"Good, Diana, Good!" he enunciates, and chuckles. A wide, wicked smile crosses his face. Luthor speaks again, this time more sanguine; relaxed. "Kill him."
Light's head snaps towards Luthor, aghast. His eyes are wide, brow furled in confusion. His lips are pursed as if about to speak. But the words don't come. Wonder Woman's head rotates to Luthor slowly. She seems to tune him out.
"Kill him now," Luthor says calmly. Light's head turns away from Luthor, to the floor. He shrinks a bit.
"I could finish this now…if I cared to," Wonder Woman says quietly. She seems to be thinking aloud. Considering the outcome. What can be lost? What would be gained? Would it matter? What was it Clark's father always said? When the fox gets in the henhouse, you have to kill it, unless you plan on losing more hens.
Sometimes, monsters have to be dealt with.
"Again. And again, Diana," Luthor says. "The courts will send them to prison or to Arkham. They will escape. And you'll have the same problem. Again, and again. You know the system is flawed. That justice belongs to the judge—the qualified, most capable party."
"Diana." Zatanna says her name, and lays a hand on the Amazon's shoulder. "Don't do this." Wonder Woman's head ratchets around and stares at Zatanna, stopping the magician dead in her tracks.
Wonder Woman tightens her grip on Dr. Light's neck, and grits her teeth.
Yards away, Batman's eyes flutter open. The scene before him is blurred—a dream world. Wonder Woman throttling Dr. Light, with Luthor, Zatanna, and Brainiac looking on.
"Do it," Luthor says, his voice more guttural this time.
Wonder Woman's hands quickly meet each other, crushing Arthur Light's cervical vertebrae between them. His body spasms for a few seconds after the fact, and then falls to the ground in a huddled mass. Dead.
Connor Hawke saw it, and thought it was about time.
Robin saw it, and came to a similar conclusion.
Oliver Queen saw it, and cursed under his breath.
Luthor saw it, and smiled.
Brainiac saw it, and noted that objective 219 had been fulfilled.
Arthur Light was dead, and Wonder Woman had killed him.
Continued...
Author's Note: see
if you can guess which movie I homaged the Dr. Light death scene (for
lack of a better description:)) to. You might be surprised. Or not.
Cheers.
