Pearl Harbor. The Holocaust. September 11th. All tragic events throughout history that changed the course of the world. The rise of a Superman gone rogue was the next catastrophic event to plague society, the consequences and terrors yet to be seen in its entirety. The attack on the White House realized the world's greatest fear. Ever since the arrival of Superman on Earth, there have always been two sides to how he was viewed, the hero who stood as a symbol of hope and justice, formerly, and on the other side was skepticism and concern. An alien from another world with powers unimaginable to the human mind, was it wrong to entertain the idea of what would happen if he turned? What would become of Earth? Superman fought against those ideas and proved time after time where his morals lay. Nobody would have guessed the day would finally come. The greatest scare to the lives of billions, the threat of Superman.
Everyone in power was working harder than they ever had to figure out how to handle the situation at stake. Out of all things, finding a way to take down Superman proved challenging. Not only that, but his associates too had gone off the grid, raising more fear that they would follow in the footsteps of the Man of Steel. A.R.G.U.S, a government agency handling U.S responsibilities regarding Super humans and other duties, were working hard with officials of the Country to work out the best strategies. Man hunting teams were being shipped out to different cities to enforce martial law as safety precautions while also doubling the responsibility of seeking out the other heroes. Led by Amanda Waller, the imposing woman of power was closely on board with the developmental team in charge of assisting Lex Luthor. These were desperate hours, they would look to just about anyone for guidance.
Within the walls of the facility, everyone was on duty. Walking through crowded hallways in the building was one agent in particular, Steve Trevor. There was noticeable strain on his face, signs of exhaustion from all the weary work going on. Making his way outside, Steve quietly and sneakily navigated through the area until he was isolated alone near a loading truck that hadn't been in use yet. Steve took a last glance around to make sure nobody had caught on to him before he crawled into the back of the truck. Sitting inside the truck, draped in a cloak, was who he came to meet. "I really hope you didn't come in armor." Steve grunted, sitting down.
"It is my form of protection. You know better than anyone the importance it bears." The cloaked figure took off her hood, revealing the face of Diana Prince.
"If we were to get caught you know the trouble you would bring to the both of us. It's bad enough the public outcry Superman has brought on, which you still have yet to explain to me. You can't deny to me that it wasn't him. Everything about it points to him."
"I have told you Trevor, there is something more going on. That was not Superman, but an impersonator. I don't have the time to paint out every detail, what I need right now is your help. And if you don't trust me still, my lasso is right here. It always reveals the truth."
"Diana, I've been nothing but trusting of you from the start. I was one of the first to believe in you when people wouldn't. I-I trust you. What do you need from me?"
"Lex Luthor, he is working to make something that will take down Superman?"
"Not working, already has something. Some kind of mechanical machine fueled with shards of kryptonite. Says that he has been working on it in the case something like this ever happened."
Diana took in the information and thought about it. It had to be Amazo in some capacity, but wouldn't they recognize it as the same machine that wreaked havoc on Metropolis? It wasn't all clear. She needed to know more. "The machine, what does it look like?"
"A large humanoid robot in the simplest of terms. Some kind of chrome color if that has any significance. What I know and from what I've seen, it's just as tall as the both of us, and potentially just as powerful. Enough power to apprehend Superman so Lex says."
"That sounds just like the weapon we fought in Metropolis. It can't be a coincidence."
"It doesn't look the same though," Steve scratched his bread, thinking, "Are you sure it's the same?"
"With its capabilities, I don't have a doubt about it," and then it clicked, "It's taking a different form to hide it's true self. That's Lex's plan."
"What are you talking about Diana?"
"Lex's weapon, it has the power to copy and replicate our abilities. That's how he has a different form. It shapeshifted to become unrecognizable! Not only that, but Superman, it wasn't really him, it was the machine! Lex is trying to sabotage the image of Superman for his own delusion of pride and acceptance."
Steve ran his hands down his face and took a deep breath, "You're saying all of this was one big set up conspiracy by Luthor?"
"It is that exactly. What else have they discussed? They won't be able to find Superman."
"I don't know the full extent but, there planning on bringing in a reporter from Metropolis, Lex thinks she might have ties to Superman."
"Lois…" Diana stood up, "I have to warn Superman. How much time do I have?"
"Not a lot. Go now before it's too late. The world is counting on you. You've never disappointed though." Steve got to his feet and exchanged a glance with Diana. Their eyes met, brief smiles crossing their faces. A knowing look insinuating the history the two shared.
"You look tired. You should rest more." Diana brushed his hair to the side with a swipe of her hand.
"Once everything clears up I might just. Now, save the world Wonder Woman."
Wonder Woman made her exit and Steve returned to the compound. The agents guarding the entrance didn't greet him as normal. Steve didn't want to get consumed by paranoia and chose to ignore it, walking the hallways. "Agent. Trevor." A demanding voice sounded behind him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Waller. There you are." Steve turned to face the A.R.G.U.S leader.
"Funny, by that tone of voice it sounds like you were looking for me."
"Yes actually. Just looking to find my next duties."
"Well Agent. Trevor, do I have good news for you. You will take the lead of the operation in charge of bringing in Miss. Lane from Metropolis. Suit up." A sly smirk curved on Waller's face.
The difference between Gotham and Metropolis was day and night, once upon a time. The biggest blow the city could ever take was the revelation that their home sheltered hero was now a supposed power hungry tyrant. Metropolis looked no different than the dark and gloomy neighbor of Gotham that day. Skies of grey clouds, loud noise, people being cruel in the streets to each other, signs littering the streets and every building corner. 'We stand against Superman!'
'Menace to society!'
'Not my hero!'
'False God!'
"The end is near! Superman has declared us insufficient! Prepare for the apocalypse!" A man on the street corner waved his sign, preaching about the world's future demise. Maneuvering past the shoulders from the crowd, Lois Lane ignored the out pour, but that in itself became increasingly harder to do. Lois was another one who was impacted hard by the events, even though only a handful knew why. She hadn't seen Clark at all after the news broke. Whatever had really happened at the White House, Lois knew that wasn't Clark. A impersonator, mind control, she didn't know, but her heart knew that this was not the man she was in love with. Life had never moved so fast for her or anyone in the streets.
"Move along!"
"Everyone remain calm!"
"We are under martial law!"
A large crowd gathered around troops guarding off the once looked upon Superman statue, now tarnished and vandalized. The crowd protested against the troops, going back and forth verbally. Lois walked past and stopped, watching everything unfold. She didn't want to be there but something made her resist leaving. The troops positioned themselves in front of a railing that blocked off the mob from getting to the statue. One of the members in the crowd slipped under the railing and ran, chucking a brick at the statue in rage. "Get back!" An armored troop grabbed at the hooded man and jerked him aside. The man got physical and started punching the troop. Other troops rushed in to pull the man off and restrain him, the ensuing mob rushing the railing.
The protest soon turned into a full on riot. The troops and people in the crowd began fighting each other, gunshots ringing, pepper spray going off in the air, blood spilling on the floor. What was made to be a symbol of thanks for Superman from the city of Metropolis was now a remembrance of Metropolis's darkest hour. "No, no, no, no, no, no…" Lois murmured, visibly shaking. Her breaths grew sharper and frantic. Everything around her was becoming a blur and all she could feel in that moment was a pit in her stomach.
She needed to get out of there and that's what she did. Wobbling on her two feet, Lois carried herself away from the area and returned to her apartment, struggling to jiggle the doorknob open. The door opened on the other end and Lois ended up falling into the arms of the man on the other end. Superman. "Lois!" Superman scooped her up in his arms and gently shut the door with his heel, placing her down on the couch.
Superman knew something was wrong and quickly examined her. "Your heart is beating fast! What's wrong?" Clark softly held her hand and ran his thumb against her palm. It had always calmed her down before.
Lois stared at Clark, taking in his presence. There weren't enough words to describe everything she was feeling. "K-Kal El," she finally spoke, "Is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me, my love. I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner." Kal-El hung his head low in sadness.
Lois raised her hand to Kal's cheek and touched it delicately. "They say you've changed. Gone bad. But I still see the same man I know."
"There's a lot going on. What happened wasn't me and we are going to prove my innocence. I need to get you somewhere safe first."
"Somewhere safe? Like where?"
"I'm not sure, Batman has offered shelter in his home. If you'd prefer, the fortress no one will find you there."
"And for how long will I be hiding?"
"...I don't know."
"We can't hide away forever Kal. The people out there are becoming animals, savages, without you this city isn't the same. They need something to believe in, and if we don't get this resolved now, there won't be many left with faith."
The apartment shook for a brief second. The glass doors to the balcony opened up and Wonder Woman entered the room. "Thank Hera I found you."
"What's going on?" Superman rose up and questioned Wonder Woman.
"They're sending people out to get Lois. We need to return to the Batcave now, I have the answers we need." Wonder Woman warned the two of them. Lois grew concerned and looked to Superman for comfort.
Superman picked Lois back up and held her close, "Come on let's get you out of here."
The trio walked out to the balcony and could see over the ledge multiple black vehicles pulling up outside. The first to step out was Steve Trevor, leader of this operation. "Steve…" Wonder Woman uttered, panicked. This couldn't have been accidental, Wonder Woman knew it. A part of her wanted to get him out of there but that would only further complicate things. "May the gods protect you.." Wonder Woman whispered a prayer and took flight with Superman.
Steve led the group swiftly but cautiously through the stairwell, praying that Diana had already swooped in and made the save. Locating her apartment, the team burst through and fanned out. Extensively searching the apartment, there was nothing. A sigh of relief escaped from Steve, unclipping his radio from his belt, "She's not here." Silence on the other end for a long draw.
"Dammit Trevor! Return to base. We have other means of making this work.." Waller snipply replied, intimidating edge in her voice.
Back at the manor, Jason nearly leapt off the couch in the living room when he read the headlines in bold letters on the bottom of the screen. The two reporters went back and forth amongst themselves, the headline reading, 'Batman public enemy: the next threat to our country?' Gotham had always been wary of Bruce's crusade and how he handled crime, but in the midst of all the Superman drama, it grew to a worse position. Even Gordon was making statements to the public, alleging an active pursuit to bring Batman in.
Jason was never fond of the criticisms they would receive. In his mind, both of them went out there every night and cleaned the streets up so that nobody would have to worry about what danger would lay ahead. His fist clenched, eyes glued to the tv screen. "I don't suggest feeding into the media's depictions."
Hearing Alfred's voice, Jason turned off the tv with the remote. "It's not fair Alfred! After everything we've done for them this is how we get repaid?"
"Of all my time coaching Master Wayne, I've come to learn that sometimes it won't be fair. It's all just an effect of the hysteria, once the case is solved, it will damper down."
"I hope this case gets solved too. While we get shelved at home for something we didn't have any part in, there are mad men on the streets taking advantage of it! Guys like Joker, Two-Face, Freeze, why are we the ones who get looked upon as the bad guys?"
"It's not as simple, Master Todd. For our own safety, this is where we have to stay."
"I appreciate the moral support Alfred but I'm not growing any more patient. Sooner or later I'm going back out there, with or without Batman."
Jason walked past Alfred and retreated upstairs. A small sigh came from Alfred, understanding the emotional turmoil the young man was dealing with. It was a similar dilemma to Batman's early days. That rage, thirst for vengeance, would come around and mature in time. Feeling the ground shake outside, Alfred opened the door and let in the arriving trio. "Wayne manor? I thought you said we were going too…. Wait a minute, is Batman Bruce Wayne?" Lois connected the dots.
"We'd like it to stay that way, yes." Alfred tipped his head to Lois. "I hope you all bring good news."
"Where are Batman and the others?" Wonder Woman asked, nodding.
"Master Wayne is in his usual spot. I'm afraid the others left to attend their own ordeals but they'll come around when it's best. Come along now."
A wave of blue and green lights reflected into the face of Bruce Wayne, who was clutching an object in his hand while standing over the Batcomputer. A shard of pure kryptonite was slid between his fingers in a tight grasp. In their earlier days Batman and Superman developed a trusting bond. Superman granted Batman the piece in the event something happened to him where it was needed. Kal-El knew Bruce was the best person to hold onto it. The theory was Amazo not only took the powers of it's victims but its weakness as well.
If that was the case, this would be the best opportunity to utilize the kryptonite in his possession. Deep inside, Bruce felt overwhelmed, something he was too stubborn to admit too. He thought of the earlier days in his career and drew inspiration from it. That initial feeling of wanting to make a difference by committing to his oath of vengeance. Bruce wanted to feel something inside other than the anger, sadness, and guilt but it was damn near impossible. "The hardest part about having close allies are the risks you bring with it."
Batman set the kryptonite down and faced Superman, Wonder Woman. "Risks we take together as a team." Superman pat Batman on the shoulder. Normally Batman would knock it off but he didn't have the energy.
"Steve told me everything he knows. Lex is working with the government, he orchestrated the whole attack with his machine at the White House. He plans on using it against Superman once he finds him." Wonder Woman informed them.
"He won't be able to find me. He doesn't have anything to draw me out. How do we reveal to the world his scheme, however?" Superman thought.
"By bringing the fight to them," Batman had his eyes on Wonder Woman's lasso, "We get him to reveal the truth to the whole world. Then we destroy his creation and put a stop to it for good."
"Do we have the strength to fight again? Last time it didn't end well." Wonder Woman reminded, concerned.
"With a League we do. It's time to assemble and wrap things up." Batman moved back to the computer and began reaching out to the other Justice League members. Lex had thought he outsmarted them, but soon he would suffer a rude awakening. The fight would be different this time, Batman was sure of it.
The rowdy crowd swarming the Superman statue was cleared out, leaving a heavy MPD presence in the area. Cop cars and neon yellow tape set a border to keep the angsty citizens away. There had already been enough of an abundance of city wide hysteria for today.
Positioned on a blue crane, a worker scrubbed at the vandalized statue. Public opinions aside it was their job to clean the wreckage of painted hatred left on the former gift to Superman. The cleaner stopped abruptly, seeing a new sight in the sky. The silhouettes of Superman and Wonder Woman in the sky. The Dark Knight was crouched on the head of the statue looking over the city.
The workers stopped what they were doing and cleared the area. The police force took ignitive and stepped up with their weapons pointed. Martian Manhunter phased through the floor and stood in front of the statue. He was joined by the Flash racing up next to him and Aquaman who emerged from the water. Green Lantern hovered down last next to Batman.
"I don't know if I can do this…" Flash darted his eyes around the crowd nervously.
"We will handle this as a team. I trust Batman's instinct. Follow his lead." Martian Manhunter assured him.
"What should we be looking forward to?" Superman asked.
"I've already alerted the military of our presence. Prepare for the final fight." Batman could already sense in the distance the rotating blades of the helicopters in the air followed up by the military grade trucks pulling in.
The scene was setting itself. The military trucks and helicopters took up the area. Soldiers burst out of the vehicles armed with multiple different weapons aimed at the Justice League. The final truck rolled up and emerging from it was Lex Luthor in his green battle armor followed by a silver robot, Amazo in disguise. Lex strutted forward in front of all the troops, having Amazo at his side. "I don't quite see what the strategy was for this move. I will let you know if you all come in quietly we won't have to take any unnecessary procauctions."
Lex Luthor didn't know for once what the play was here. His plan had been falling into pieces like a stack of dominoes falling down one by one in perfect unison. What could the Justice League have against him? He knew there was more to this. It didn't make sense to him. Batman was smarter than to alert the military and give his position away, especially when he was at a lower minority of figuring his way around this. Lex couldn't let his frustrtes let up, he had to be sharp. This battle was like an unpredictable game of chess.
Batman locked eyes with Lex, already knowing he was trying to deduce the plan. It was eating him inside not being able to know. Batman knew Lex had wanted to achieve victory by any means possible, but hiding behind Amazo would only get him so far.
Wonder Woman flew down with her lasso in hand and threw it towards Lex. Amazo went to grab her but Martian Manhunter intercepted and extended his fingers into Amazo's head by phasing through. Amazo malfunctioned and reverted back to its true form, the monster that had attacked Metropolis just a little while ago. The lasso wrapped around Lex and held him down. "The lasso compels you to tell me the truth and only the truth. Tell the world what you have done to us."
The military were stunned and hesitant to fire off any weapons, listening to what Lex had to say.
Lex struggled against the will of the lasso and desperately tried to ignore its effects. He couldn't do it. A small little laugh came from the man, looking Wonder Woman dead on. "...We as a society have become soft. We don't put faith in ourselves but rather choose to put onto the shoulders of the ones above us. They all believe you are invincible. Incapable of no wrongs. I showed them a reality, my envisionment of why that is wrong. Project A.M.A.Z.O was designed to exploit your weaknesses and show everyone just how feeble you are. I coordinated the attack on the White House. It was all to show what could happen. How perception can easily be just as deadly. I've always seen Superman for what he was, and for a brief moment, it felt good that others could too."
Wonder Woman removed the lasso and several troops grabbed hold of Lex. "Lex Luthor, you are under arrest for terrorist crimes against the united states." Had it been that easy? No. The malfunctioned Amazo suddenly sprung back to life with red beady eyes glowing and threw himself at Wonder Woman. Superman flew in and tackled Amazo into the air.
"Shut it down Luthor!" A commander ordered.
"It's far too late for that. The day the gods meet their match has arrived. It's glorious is it not?" Lex smirked wickedly.
The Justice League sprung into action and began the final battle with Amazo.