Belatedly, he would realize that the Metropolis Police Department had formed a perimeter around the section of the city the fighting had occurred. Used to battles that involved Superman, the MPD tended to react by sealing off the area and evacuating as many people as they could while the threat was handled by a Blue Angel.
The flashing lights of the patrol cars were still distant, a sign of that perimeter, and the fact they could be seen revealed how much of the Suicide Slums had been leveled.
People's homes were gone. Apartment complexes decimated. Cars and other such vehicles were totaled. City infrastructure would require intensive and immense repairs.
It sickened Batman that he had to play a part in this.
Right now, it was damage control, and that meant rousing up any of the League members who were able to regain consciousness and were willing to work with them. They were good people, so anyone who might have had ill will towards any kind of infighting could put it aside. As for the Legion, their apprehension was priority one right now.
Those criminals were easy to round up if only because there was no intention of letting any of them regain consciousness right now. It would be easier to hold them and transport them to secured facilities as a result.
There was one other problem, though.
Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl were also unconscious, but for how long remained to be unseen. For the time being, requesting that J'onn keep watch over that was needed, and if necessary, he could keep them unconscious until they could decide how to handle them.
It was tricky; no one knew they were brainwashed, and they hadn't done anything too overt that would justify any kind of incarceration. Yes, the loss of his cave felt reason enough, but only those closest to either him, or the situation knew about that.
Lastly, there was that man, the android. J'onn hadn't been able to pick up anything that indicated thought that was normal for biological life. That meant it was robotic at heart, and in every sense of that phrasing. Much of the damage here had been caused by fighting it, and it had still resulted in a loss. The android had fled and they were having to pick up the pieces.
"I'm keeping the Legion of Goons here bound," Zatanna reported. "We shouldn't have any problems with them until we figure out what to do with them. What's your plan for that?"
Magic was proving to be invaluable in at least maintaining control right now. However…
"Anybody know what that thing was?" Black Lightning was making inquires of his own while carrying a Legion member. It was Star Sapphire and the black-skinned vigilante-turned-League member was placing her with the rest of her cohorts.
"Tough," Nightwing answered, keeping vigil.
"That goes without saying," Flash agreed. "What's weird is that it kept using powers, like GL's. Shouldn't only Lanterns be able to make those green things? And it was fast, like almost as fast as me, and I could swear it hadn't been before."
Just like how Zatanna described it when she encountered it. It was as if it could copy every power it came across.
The chuckle was out of place, especially here. Batman searched for the source and found Captain Atom moving nearby. He was carrying a Legion member, one arm over his broad shoulders. He recognized the bizarre-looking white gorilla with a bulging head: the Ultra Humanite. It hadn't been that long ago when he had encountered him in the Legion of Doom's hideout. Opportunity seemed to be knocking as Ultra Humanite was one of the few, if not the only, Legion member that was still conscious.
Batman left the sides of J'onn and Flash and marched towards the injured Ultra Humanite. Captain Atom noticed his approach and came to a stop, watching him warily. Batman ignored the attention, coming to a stop in front of the albino gorilla.
"What do you know?" he demanded.
Ultra Humanite only gave a laugh, one with amusement. "Even now, you still don't get it. I've heard about you, and your reputation, but that you haven't figured it out?" Eyes that were far too intelligent for an ape of any kind snapped up and locked onto the vigilante. "We've all been played, that's what's happened."
Batman didn't like the insinuation, but he would go along with it for now. What was more important was what Ultra Humanite knew. Based on the testimonies from the League, it seemed as if Ultra Humanite was the leader of the Legion, so he should be able to illuminate just what was going on here.
"You want to talk? Here's your chance. Tell me what you know." The Dark Knight leaned forward, bending slightly so that he created the impression of looming. If he was intimidated, Ultra Humanite didn't show it.
There was another chuckle. "Not that it matters at this point. Even if I told you everything I know, there's nothing you can do about it. Face it, all of you, you've lost. So have we, but you lot more so."
"Hey, what's that's suppose to mean?" Flash was at the vigilante's side, looking insulted. "I'll have you know that this ain't over, not until the fat lady sings. So how about you do what Bats' is telling you and start spilling."
Behind him, Batman sensed that other League members were drawing closer, also wanting to hear this. The same went for his allies, the need for answers outweighing the need for cleanup.
"He wanted you divided. That's the only way it could have been pulled off," Ultra Humanite remarked, looking away wistfully. "As he liked to put it, 'united we stand, divided we fall.' I played my part in making it happen, and I will admit I found some enjoyment from doing so."
"Who's 'he?'" Flash demanded, nearly imitating Batman's posture.
Batman, on the other hand, stood up straighter and stated, "Luthor."
Humanite didn't bat an eye. "Figured that part out, did you? Well, since it's so obvious, yes. Luthor was pulling our strings and yours by all appearances. Not that that does anyone any good now."
A heavy footstep turned attention to Steel who glared at the gorilla. "We'll see about that." His armor looked like it had seen better days, but the man inside of it still had some fight in him left.
"And do…what, exactly?" There was no panic, or fear, or even arrogance. Those words were spoken matter of fact and Batman didn't like it. His gut was telling him that there were still more, but if only that could get the gorilla to stop rambling vaguely. "Who do you think made that android, hmm? Guess where it's going? You go after Luthor, you will have to contend with that mechanical monstrosity, and as we can all see, none of you are currently in the condition to do such a feat."
He was right, but there was no need to verbally confirm it.
Humanite sagged against Atom, his bulbous head tilting back so that he looked up to the sky. "We're pawns. That's what the Legion of Doom is. Every recruit was picked out by Luthor. Oh, there's is no evidence of that, just what I know. We were always expendable; honestly, I should have expected a double-cross from the beginning. Now, the pawns are scattered from the board and the real fight begins."
"So what did he want?" Green Arrow's voice was loud and vocal, expressing impatience.
"Your powers. That's what this has been all about."
It was said so simply, so casually, and you had to blink away the stupor that came after. There was no attempt to be dramatic, just a statement of fact. Yet…from what he had learned, it seemed to fit the puzzle.
"Why would Luthor take the pain to set up a rival to the Justice League, to antagonize the League, divide it, and for what? Obviously, to make it easier to take possession of the various superpowers," Humanite continued mercilessly. "It's simple in hindsight. Create a big enough threat, make it existential enough that it can't be ignored, and let the involved personalities do the rest."
There was a feeling of insult, mainly because it felt as if he was included. The facts, however, indicated that he indeed was. There was one detail that needed to be cleared up.
"Since you seem to know so much, answer me this," the detective ordered. "Where does the Omnicron fit into this? Why were you in possession of one?"
That bestial face smirked. "Allow me to tell you I wasn't privy to all the details. Much of this is speculation, but the results, I believe, speak for themselves. He wanted added assurance that the League would divide. I was given the Omnicrons—" Batman's eyes narrowed at the plural, "—along with scripts. Some of the Legion were chosen deliberately to fit the scripts. It was all about bringing alternative versions of the selected heroes back from a dystopian future on the premise of correcting the present. That video that leaked out—you know the one—seems to be what was programmed into the Omnicrons. Ridiculous notions of time travel, transporting minds themselves chronologically backwards, so much science fiction…but our reeducated friends bought it all the same."
It wasn't them. Those future doppelgangers, it had never been them. This was the final confirmation. Now he could see it. His paranoia would drive in one direction, especially if he saw the signs of that horrific future coming to pass. Meanwhile, the brainwashed League founders could add to that paranoia, and pull in the other direction. The resulting divide as per Luthor's design would take hold and make them vulnerable.
And now that bastard was winning, if he hadn't already won…
No. No, it was not over yet. There was no way Luthor could be allowed to have any control over the League's powers. This had to be stopped.
So far, Luthor had proven to be quite the adversary. Always a step ahead, always with some kind of protection. Now he had the android that could fight them off. His own intelligence and foresight was able to halt the vigilante's normal tactics, and to top it off, thanks to that damnable footage, the Metropolis billionaire knew who he was.
"So if you knew all this, why did you agree to be part of it? That I don't understand." Flash was speaking up, and it broke Batman out of his musings.
Ultra Humanite shrugged the shoulder that wasn't being propped up by Captain Atom. "Opera doesn't pay for itself. It needs donations and sponsors. The financial capital I was offered was too much to resist and I have already given my contribution. I eagerly anticipate the broadcast."
That was enough to have Batman raise an eyebrow, but he dismissed his incredulity. Turning to J'onn, "We should take the Legion and hold them on the Watchtower. When the rest start waking up, we can get their accounts and see how it adds up. We'll turn them over to the proper authorities later."
"So you're in charge?" Steel asked, skeptically.
Huntress stepped forward, arms crossed. "You have a problem with that?"
"Now's not the time for this. It would be further playing into Luthor's hands," Batman interrupted, staring down Superman's more well known ally. "We can figure this out later. Right now we need to withdraw. It's only a matter of time until the Metropolis police and first responders decide to breach the perimeter. We have three League members compromised and who need treatment. We have a small army of super-criminals who require specific holding techniques to make sure they aren't a threat to the first responders. And right now, no one here is in any shape to do any kind of fighting, whether it's with fists, powers, or words. We can figure out everything once we're on the Watchtower."
Steel stared back at him, returning look for look until he backed down. Batman did a swift scan over the rest, searching for any other objectors. For the most part, everyone else looked too exhausted or beaten to try and offer any kind of challenge.
Then back to J'onn, "Let's move out."
For much of the night, Luthor had been smiling. Now he wasn't, a prominent frown marring his face.
Like every time before, everything had been performing to his liking, hell, even exceeded his every expectation. The thrill of finally getting one over the Boy Scout, no, eliminating that blue menace, had made him almost as giddy as a school boy. Amazo only became stronger and stronger with each passing minute, every fight, every victory.
So naturally a weakness had been discovered and his good mood ruined.
"Explain," he ordered Ivo.
If the professor was intimidated, he did a very good job at not showing it. "How many times do I have to tell you this: we are dealing with bleeding edge technology, one so advanced we haven't even begun to crack open everything it is capable of. Based on my data, the nanotechnology used as the core of Amazo's abilities does not just copy every strength of the metahumans it encounters, it seems as if it copies everything down to biology.
"Recall, after facing Hawkgirl, Amazo grew wings. Not just any wings, but ones identical to Hawkgirl. That should have been a clue. He's copied the same states as Captain Atom, that zombie, Grundy I believe its name is, Volcana, Killer Frost, the intricacies of Firestorm. It stands to reason that it would also copy the same biology of Superman, a Kryptonian, and that includes all the weaknesses therein."
Weaknesses, such as kryptonite. All that power, and a small, green, glowing rock undermined it all. But wait, did that not mean that the other weaknesses of the rest of the lot, both League and Legion, were also copied and incorporated? How many weaknesses did the android have now? How many of them could the League exploit?
"Fortunately, it seems that Amazo was able to copy enough powers that some of them are able to counter the myriad of weaknesses it also obtained," Ivo continued. "Fire and ice, the enhanced durability and staminas of the various participants all go a long way to either cancel, or remove most of the weaknesses."
A silver lining, but there was still something to address.
"Can you remove that weakness?" Luthor questioned, his tone of voice somewhat dark with repressed anger.
Looking away from the computer terminal, Ivo returned Luthor's expression with a neutral one, his eyes looking over his glasses at the business mogul. "I can see what I can do. With some updates and patches, I should be able to correct for the unforeseen development. I'll be running diagnostics as soon as Amazo returns to see where I need to start."
Taking a deep breath, Luthor worked to calm himself. It wasn't a loss yet. He still had the android in his possession, under his control, and corrections could still be made. Amazo wasn't a pile of scraps yet, so it could be salvaged yet. Future weaknesses could be prevented altogether, so going forward was still in the cards.
"Do it," he ordered. Standing up from his seat, he began to take his leave, passing by Mercy who was ever at attention and keeping watch. "I have business to attend to. I want progress made before I announce Amazo's debut onto the world stage."
"Pardon?" Ivo was blinking, obviously confused. That was a first.
"We're entering the next phase," Luthor stated, not bothering to turn and look the scientist in the eye. "I have the power of the Justice League in the palm of my hand. There are many individuals who would be most interested in that. I have a presentation to finish and then a conference to attend. We're entering a new age now, one in which the Justice League is obsolete."
Because this was the final blow to deal to gods. Undermine, set the public to questioning them, and then finally propose an alternative. Like so many pantheons before them, the Justice League was about to enter the realm of mythology, consigned to be tales of morality, or some such shit, and forgotten about because they were no longer important.
A new god would be rising, and Luthor was positioned as its messiah.
He would forgo the carpentry, though.
"Send word if there are any complications, but I want Amazo to be attending the conference with me. There's a lot to do, and not enough time to get it done, but we will anyway." Those words of challenge issued, Luthor took his leave, Mercy following after.
Exiting the lab and letting the security protocols secure everything behind them, the ride up the elevator was silent. For a time, until, "Is it smart to be moving so soon?" his bodyguard asked.
Luthor glanced at Mercy, then back at the elevator doors. "What is the point in waiting? The League is still alive and you can be assured they are planning a counterattack. Now is the time to strike while the proverbial iron is still hot. The details can wait. Every second we waste is time the League has to unite and strike back. I refuse to give them that chance."
That was the one caveat when dealing with gods: they tended to have multiple aces up their sleeves. Some kind of last minute dues ex machina that would place them on top. Also, considering the pantheon involved, retribution was a very common occurrence. No gods liked being shown up by mortals.
It was perhaps the only aspect he shared with those extinct divinities.
It felt strange being back on the Watchtower. At what point had it ceased to be a source of comfort and security? The underlying tension that had festered within these halls; the battle that had raged throughout the satellite; all of it made it feel like it was no longer home.
J'onn gazed down at Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl, all of whom were restrained to medical tables. Those were mostly for show considering just who they were being used against. Hawkgirl may have trouble initially with them, but they would not keep Superman at bay for long. That was why IVs had been inserted into their arms and a powerful sedative was being pumped into their bodies. That would keep them chemically restrained, though the effects on Kryptonian and Thanagarian physiology would determine how effective they were.
The revelations from Ultra Humanite had been alarming, if not leaving the Martian feeling distraught. This entire time they had been played by a master tactician and it had worked. What was concerning was that it was these villains with plans that had the most success against them. First, Batman and his countermeasures, then the Joker and his own twisted mechanizations, followed by Vandal Savage's plot, and now Luthor. None were physically imposing threats, but their minds had overcome the combined forces of the Justice League. It left a bitter taste in the mouth.
In the room with the Martian was Batman, Flash, Diana, and Zatanna, all of whom were staring at their restrained comrades. J'onn had to pause at that descriptor: comrade. Were they really allies after everything that had transpired? He did not know and was actually concerned what that answer was.
"I don't know about you guys," Flash spoke after what had seemed like an endless silence, "but I feel messed up. Like I'm a horse led around by a carrot. I gotta say, it sucks."
"Well said," Diana replied in quiet agreement. She was subdued, staring sadly at their…fellow heroes. "It was all well-plotted, preying on our concerns and worries."
"Not us, me," Batman countered. "It was my paranoia that was used against us—and it worked," he added grimly.
It was hard to deny that, but Batman was hardly one to accept the full blame. J'onn had advised him at various times that the League be informed of the dystopian future, but had allowed Batman's desire for secrecy to reign. He could have been more insistent.
"What's done is done," Zatanna said then, drawing the attention to her. "What's more important is where we go from here."
"Agreed," Diana responded. "We cannot allow Luthor to get away with this."
"What do we have on him that can stick?" Flash asked. "This isn't a guy we can just go punch. He's got money and lawyers and knows how to get out of trouble. Supes can attest to how slippery he is—you know, if he was awake."
"Flash is right," Batman agreed. "We don't have much. We can prove that Luthor owns Slaughter Swamp, but we have no records of his building the Legion of Doom's headquarters. We do have records of communication between the Legion and LexCorp, but Luthor could easily claim it was an employee of his as he has already done with the future broadcast."
"What about that virtual reality thing?" Zatanna questioned. "The one you picked up at that base in Slaughter Swamp?"
"The Omnicron," Batman supplied the name. "It is the new model that hasn't gotten out, but again, that could be spun to an unreported theft, if not a disgruntled employee smuggling it out, only to have one of the Legion stealing it from them. I can come up with more scenarios that paints Luthor in a good light no matter what we have."
"Of course you can," Zatanna groused. "What, do you millionaires share a brain or something? An evil brain?"
"Billionaire," Batman absently corrected.
"Speaking of, could you loan me a few bucks?" Flash asked. "All of this Luthor business has kept me from my day job and I'm certain my next paycheck is going to be light."
"We do have the Legion themselves," J'onn pointed out, not allowing their conversation to veer off. "We could see what they know."
"I rather doubt any of them outside of Ultra Humanite knows much about the Luthor-Legion connection," Batman replied. "It seems the Legion was concocted by those two and everyone else was used for their mutual dislike of the League."
"So then we go heavy on this Humanite guy," Zatanna said. "Surely he'll cooperate with us if only to get a lighter sentence."
"That is something to consider," Diana agreed. "If anything, it gives us something to work with while we try to make a stronger case against Luthor."
J'onn couldn't feel the dubiousness in Batman's mind, but he could see it in the man's body language. Still, the dark-clad man was a pragmatic and he wouldn't leave any stone unturned. "It's something," he admitted.
"Then I suggest a more extensive interrogation of Ultra Humanite," J'onn declared as he turned to their former comrades—that sounded more fitting than just comrades. "I will see if I am able to undo the brainwashing on Superman, Lantern, and Hawkgirl."
"Do you think you can?" Flash questioned hopefully.
"He was able to undo what they had done to me," Diana responded. "I have faith he can help them all."
"We can only hope," Zatanna muttered under her breath.
J'onn chose to ignore the others as he turned to face Superman. He was the greatest danger here, so it was of utmost importance that the brainwashing was undone on him first. Raising his hands, he placed them on either side of Superman's head, his orange eyes glowing brightly as he entered the man's mind.
Blackfire stared out at the body of dihydrogen monoxide that happened to have a concentrated level of sodium chloride mixed in it. No, it did not taste good at all despite being cold, not that she would be looking for anything cold on this freezing planet.
It was just an idle thought to have right now, especially since her people were returning from their attempt to capture Koriand'r and bring her back. No, they would not kill her because there was still this favorable adoration of her younger sibling, but some harm could happen if only by accident. They were a warrior race; fighting was in their blood and with fighting came the possibility of injury.
The reports of failure had reached her before the actual informants had. So now there was a problem on her hands, but first she needed to know how big of one it was. Would Koriand'r's escape be problematic, or was it something that could be ignored?
"Please, forgive us for our failure. We were unable to secure the princess," the first returning Tamaranean said, bowing and saluting and somehow making it work. His words had the Grand Ruler looking over her shoulder at the male, which allowed her to marvel at the sight for a moment.
Returning her gaze to the…ocean, "What happened." She did not ask but ordered an explanation, and her tone gave that away.
"The princess fought back, as expected. She was…using these…odd plasma blasts, but she did not have a plasma rifle. She was able to disarm some of us, but we were able to outflank her. Then we were attacked—"
Right here, Backfire tuned out the report. She could figure out who these attackers were. They had to be those humans that Koriand'r was boarding with. The short stint at the odd-shaped tower had not provided her with the intelligence on what they could do, though she could hazard a few guesses.
The Earth female that she had acquired language from, that one was a fighter, borderline warrior. Close up, hand-to-hand combat was expected. The cyborg was another easy one. The rest, there wasn't enough for her to even try to guess. There had not been enough time to associate and therefore gain that kind of information.
The one with the red cape, he was the leader. Whoever he communicated with had some sort of authority, and the human male's behavior tended to match what pieces of conversation she was able to pick up. There was also the unconscious deference he was given, the kind that was always given to leaders.
Regardless, they had followed and lied in wait. Koriand'r had clearly made her way to them to allow their intervention. Everything after that was predictable. She would tell them what she had learned and the human male with the red cape would inform his superior.
Suddenly, she frowned. "Repeat that," she ordered. Though she had tuned out much of the report, one key component of it suddenly stuck out to her.
The Tamaranean male complied. "In the midst of the fighting, we were confronted with a nightmarish beast. Black in color, it resembled a bird, but its war cry was…unnatural. It was enormous and our plasma rifles held no effect over it. One flap of its wings…so many of us fell. It broke apart our ranks and made us easy targets. We had to withdraw soon after."
A curious development. A massive black bird that had appeared out of nowhere, nightmarish and frightening, and enough to scare her people away. So far, she had not encountered any power or force like that, and now for it to show up—
Her breathing stopped as her eyes widened, horror and realization dawning on her. Time itself seemed to slow down as her dread increased.
It couldn't be possible.
But let's go over the facts. A terrifying presence that was immune, or showed no signs of being affected by their weapons appeared with no warning, or even a noticeable approach. Plasma rifles were useless, she assumed her people tried hand-to-hand combat and seeing how many had returned with defeat on their faces that had not worked either…
Was this what the Kalanorians had encountered? Was this what Despero himself faced and fell to? Had her sister miraculously stumbled upon the mysterious force that had turned this insignificant planet into a world of terror that galactic empires did their best to stay away from?
All the evidence was pointing in that particular direction…and of course another realization occurred to her.
That mysterious force was close by, within physical proximity of the World Engine. It was here.
No, oh no, this could not be. No, no, she was not going to allow all of this hard work to go to waste. There could not be failure here, not now, not ever.
With a voice harder than titanium, "I want everyone on high alert. Get our ships into the air and take up defensive positions. Protect the World Engine at all costs. We start now. And tell me where that Psion is. There is no time to waste."
There were salutes and then activity as everyone around her began to fulfill her orders. Blackfire had turned away from that ocean, dark in color from the lack of sunlight and was moving through the disintegrating crowd. Her feet lifted off the sand and her cape whipped behind her as she flew, not waiting to receive word of the Psion's whereabouts.
She was going to find that reptile, and he was finally going to earn his keep. Her black eyes swiftly scanned through the encampment, searching for the one individual that stood out. So many orange-colored bodies, so many spacecraft, so much weaponry, but where was…green…over there.
Her flight trajectory changed and she zeroed in on the one true alien among this gathering. "Psion!" she called out, not caring what his X'hal damn name was. "The schedule is changing," she continued as she landed in front of the reptilian alien. "Start up the World Engine now, I don't care if it isn't at full power."
The Psion expressed nothing, staring at her and wasting too much time for her liking. "You do know this will lengthen the process—"
"Time is up. We're in danger, so start it up," Blackfire interrupted, glaring at the Psion. For emphasis, her eyes flashed angrily.
"Whatever for—"
"We've been discovered. The very thing that conquered Despero knows we're here and who knows how long until it arrives. We have one chance, and that chance happens now, or not at all. You love this machine so much, so give its time to shine while we still can."
There was a little fear in those eyes, but other than that, the Psion expressed nothing. Giving a show of a sigh, "Fine. Have your soldiers take me to the Engine and I will begin the terraforming process immediately."
Finally, something she wanted to hear. Gesturing for two nearby Tamaraneans, she issued her new orders to them and watched as they guided the Psion away. Once he was boarding one of their spacecraft, the Grand Ruler turned her attention to the land bordering them.
Somewhere out there, that force, that creature, whatever it was, was waiting, or worse, seeking them out. There was no way to know when it would arrive, or how. So no chance would be taken.
For the salvation of Tamaran, the time for action was now and its Grand Ruler would not delay.
To Guest: Whatever it is they decide to do, they have to do it quickly. Heroes only stay unconscious for plot convenience lol
