It was truly bizarre. That was the best way John could describe it.

The Green Lantern was sitting on the edge of the table in the Med Bay, his legs dangling over the edge. Shayera was still unconscious and Superman seemed to be in a daze himself.

All three of them, the subject of brainwashing.

If you had asked John if it was possible, he would have refuted it. He would have said there was no way three members could be brainwashed. Yet, they had been. It had been done with little resistance. Had it continued, it would have been more than three. He could understand one person getting captured and brainwashed, maybe two, but they had been dangerously close to getting a majority of the founding members of the League.

While the reality of it was disheartening, what was messing with John was that he effectively had the memories of two different people. He had his, but he had this other person, this other John who had felt that killing people was a reasonable alternative. As a former Marine, he understood there were situations where death was unavoidable, but with a Lantern power ring, such situations could be mitigated, if not prevented entirely.

The things he had done…

He could remember feeling it justified in knocking Shayera out, to join him on this Regime's side. He could remember being on board with removing Batman as an obstacle. He could remember wanting to kill Girder and Shade, the first because he was in his way, and the second for being a constant threat to others.

What was perhaps worst was that he could understand the logic of it all. He could see how someone came to those conclusions, justifying them. He had made those justifications in the heat of the moment.

But now, he could feel how wrong those thoughts were, those desires. Even now he felt a piece of him still wanting to restore the future, its true future, and the rest of him rebelled against it.

His rational side recognized that it would be some time before he accepted that he had done things that he did not feel proud of. He recognized that it would be some time before he could stand tall as a respectable role model. The more emotional part of him, however, was in disbelief he could have fallen so far; that he willingly resorted to such methods was eye-opening and sickening.

It would take time for him to work through this; how much he wished it was already over.

John could still feel the version of him in the back of his mind. In a way, he understood where the man was coming from. He had experienced a world where bad guys committed heinous acts and received the punishment that was effectively a slap on the wrist. Such anger, such outrage was understandable.

And there were people out there that could never be rehabilitated to fit into a normal society. Perhaps it was because of the legal system that effectively rendered these people little choice outside of committing crime. Perhaps some people were wired so wrongly that they could only commit evil; every person deserved a chance to change themselves, to better themselves, even if the odds were against them.

Yet, such an option could only be offered for so long before other choices had to be made. This future counterpart had made the decision and had taken it to its logical conclusion.

Could he make the same decision? Would he make the same decision? John honestly couldn't answer that and that disturbed him most of all.

At any given time, he could say with confidence what he would and would not do. If presented with the choice of killing a man, or apprehending them, he would always pick the second. That was his role as a Green Lantern, one that promised that a man would receive their day in court, to be judged appropriately. That he could become judge, jury, and executioner while using the very power that had been entrusted to him was appalling.

So where did he go from here? Did he live with the thought that he could harm another person until they were maimed or killed? Did he have to consciously make the decision to arrest others now?

He needed to find that answer out, sooner rather than later. John knew that he would come into a scenario where he was presented with such a choice, and where he was sitting right now, he wasn't certain what he would pick.

And that…that was what scared him most of all.


The World Engine had hung up in the air like a monolith, just floating there with its three legs spread out. Ominous to anyone who looked at it, it was clear that it had a malevolent purpose to it.

Then a virtual army of spaceships ventured all around it, setting up a defensive net. As this was happening, the once inert alien machine began to move. At its center was a spherical bulb from which the three long legs were connected. This center began to rise up into the air and the legs that had stretched out from it moved inwards.

Higher and higher it rose until the three legs of the machine were now directly under that center, dangling without movement. There it remained, over the vast ocean that was the Pacific, the smaller alien spaceships continuing to take up their defensive positions.

From where they watched, the Teen Titans stood there, no one sure what to do. For his part, Red Robin doubted there was anything they could do. Having managed to save Starfire in the nick of time, they had been trying to figure out just what their next move was when all the activity at the Tamaranean camp suddenly went wild.

Like a swarm of ants on an anthill, the alien race was moving about with purpose, arming themselves, getting into their ships, and then everything else happened. Now they saw the machine that was the World Engine towering over everything and supplied with ready defenders.

"Alright, anybody have any ideas what we're gonna do?" Kid Flash asked, breaking the silence.

Always count on Kid Flash to speak his mind first; yet, right now that was needed. Turning to Starfire, Red Robin asked, "What do you make of this? It looks like they're getting ready for a fight to me, but could they be getting ready to leave?"

A fool's hope, but the possibility had to be voiced and considered first before being cast aside as no way in hell. Considering their luck, this was the prelude to all-out war for all they knew.

Starfire, looking sad, shook her head. "They are preparing for battle. My sister is expecting us to try and interfere."

"Sooo…when this World Engine starts looking like that," Cyborg began, gesturing out to the massive machine, "does that mean it's getting ready to, you know, turn on and start terraforming the planet?"

"I do not know. I have heard only stories and this is the first time I have seen it with my own eyes," Starfire confessed, clasping her hands in front of herself. "I am like you and lack illumination about the situation and all that is involved."

"But could your sister be leaving too? Maybe they're getting ready for a fight to protect that thing before leaving with it?" Kid Flash suggested, suddenly at Starfire's side and looking hopefully up at her. He was carrying on Red Robin's train of thought, one that the teen vigilante himself was already believing not to be the case.

Shaking her head in the negative, she replied, "Blackfire is not one to give up easily, nor is she willing to surrender without conflict."

No sooner had the Tamaranean said those words that the underside of the World Engine's spherical center began to light up with a bright white light. The intensity of the brightness only seemed to increase with every passing second, killing off any hope that this was indeed some mass exodus.

"That definitely does not look good," Cyborg commented grimly.

As if channeled by the three descending legs, the white light fired downwards in the shape of a beam, piercing into the ocean below and sending untold amounts of water sky high. The crash of this terraforming energy with the salty liquid gave out the sound of a roar, and seconds later they could feel the tremors under their respective feet.

Terra abruptly fell into a crouch, her hands pressed to her head. "Terra!" Beast Boy exclaimed, already at her side and putting his arms around her shoulders.

The slight blonde was grimacing, struggling to hold back any sounds that were trying to escape her throat. Eventually, a gasp slipped out, and blue eyes cracked opened. "I…I can feel it. The earth, it's…it's changing down there. And it's growing."

A pulse fired down from the World Engine, following the path that the white beam of light created down into the ocean's depths.

"...growing…"

A second pulse was emitted, and sure enough, you could figure out there would be a third, then a fourth, and so on.

"...and growing… I can't explain it, but I've never felt anything like this before."

Confirmation. The stories about this thing were true. Red Robin grimly glared up at it, taking in the sight of the World Engine and its Tamaranean defenders. There were a lot of them, a lot of ships, and who knew how many would be on the ground? He could still feel the small tremors through his boots, and knowing that Terra's powers involved manipulation of the earth itself, it stood to reason she could sense things about it too.

Blackfire—as Starfire was calling her now—had laid down the gauntlet. They needed to answer, the Teen Titans had to, yet…

Would they be enough?

Mentally he did a quick check. This group of teenagers—as far as he knew—consisted of a cyborg who could transform his arms into various long-distance energy weapons, a speedster from the future with a mouth that was twice as fast at times, a mystic armor-wearing brawler with an attitude, a girl with a hood and cloak with mysterious powers that were either psychic or magical in nature, an alien princess who could fly and crush you with her bare hands and knew how to fight, a green shapeshifter who could become any animal he wanted to be, a girl who could control the ground and all that was in it, and a teenaged boy with above average fighting skills and a burgeoning tactical mind.

All of that was planning on taking on a small army of aliens who could also fly, crush you with their bare hands, knew how to fight, had alien technology and weaponry, and a terraformer that was going to wipe out humanity if it wasn't stopped.

Yeah, this might be way about their pay grade.

It wasn't like they hadn't punched above their weight class before. They've dealt with people who could fight better than them, and hell, tried to kill them all before. They had always come out the stronger for it. Could they do so again?

Could they save the world?

Standing up from Terra, Beast Boy approached the masked teen and said, "Dude, I think you need to make a call." The shapeshifter held up a hand close to his head, the thumb and pinkie finger extended out while the remaining fingers were curled in.

Yeah, yeah, they were definitely going to need some big guns for this one.

Reaching up to his ear, he sought out the right frequency. A newly founded, crimefighting team they may be, the fact remained that the Teen Titans, for all intents and purposes, were new on the scene and still growing into their new roles. When you had trouble, yeah, they were the guys to call. When the world was on the verge of a planetwide extinction event, you called someone else.

Hopefully, all that drama happening recently could take a backseat for a while. This was a job for the Justice League, and damn it, they needed to hold up their end of the bargain. Batman, wherever you were, and whatever you were doing, you'd better pick up.


The commissary was appropriated so that everyone could participate. The tables had been moved around to form a crude circle, the chairs placed around it so that the entire League could sit at them. There were naturally new additions, the Bat Faction in particular as well.

Batman sat at one table, J'onn to his left, Diana to his right. Flash was next to J'onn, followed by the rather subdued forms of Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl. Next to Diana was Zatanna and even Dr Fate, making a rare appearance away from the Tower of Fate. The rest of the Bat Faction filled in next to the sorcerer, ending with Green Arrow and Black Canary. Next to them was the rest of the Justice League, ending where Hawkgirl sat.

This matter concerned all of them and it was their right to be informed of everything.

"Some of you may have heard, but I want everyone to know what has transpired," Batman began, the center of attention. He could practically see the tension between the various heroes in front of him, the result of the League's split clearly laid out before him.

"According to Ultra Humanite, the Legion of Doom was formed to draw out the League, targeting specifically the founding members of the League. This was so that each one could be brainwashed into believing they were a member of a dystopic version from the future."

The vigilante could see some shared looks of disbelief between the people here, save for the ones involved in the plot. "The brainwashing was unfortunately successful, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl being the earliest targeted. This led to a splitting of the League between them and myself."

"You're going to need to define this dystopian future," Steel interjected, leaning forward in his seat. "Because this sounds like hogwash."

For what felt like the hundredth time since this crisis began, Batman retold the story of his time in the future. "Some years ago, I was sent into the future. I encountered a Justice League that had become tyrants and dictators. They had no reservations in killing anyone that opposed them. Many of the people in this very room were victims of this regime."

"And you have proof of this," Captain Atom pressed.

"You've seen the video footage, the one broadcasted all over the world. That was footage—albeit edited—I brought back with me as proof in the event this future was going to reemerge in the present—this present."

"That seems to be a lot to unpack," Vixen remarked, "but let's for the time being say this is all true. What was the Legion's point in trying to brainwash the Founders into becoming these…uhh, evil versions?"

"The plan wasn't the Legion's so much as their benefactor: Lex Luthor. He formed the Legion of Doom so that he could create discord within the League, using…" at this he trailed off as he fought off the anger he felt at himself for being manipulated as he had, "using me to split it into two sides at war. It worked as you can attest."

"We certainly can," Green Arrow murmured his agreement.

"A League separated is easier to conquer," Batman continued, Ultra Humanite's words echoing in his head. Divided we fall, indeed. "In this case, it was for the robot that we faced in Metropolis' Suicide Slums."

"It's called Amazo," Zatanna explained, taking the attention off of the dark-clad man for the moment. "Batgirl and I gained entry into a secret LexCorp lab and found it."

"From what we've managed to glean from Ultra Humanite, this Amazo is able to obtain powers, how we are still uncertain," Diana added. "Any and everyone that encountered this robot today had their powers obtained by this robot."

"Which makes it incredibly powerful," Black Lightning surmised as he slumped back into his chair. "Is there anyone that didn't have their powers taken?"

Batman watched carefully for any raised hands. Seeing as he didn't have any powers—Amazo declaring as much when it had said he had nothing to offer it—he didn't expect any of the Bat Faction to raise their hands. J'onn raised his hand surprisingly, seeing as he had been fighting Superman for much of the time there. Not as surprising was Dr. Fate as he had not been at the battle. Diana raised her hand too, her reason much like the sorcerer.

Green Arrow let out a whistle. "So this thing has the powers of most of the League. I don't know about any of you, but I don't think this is a good thing."

There were some murmurs of agreement from the rest of the room. It took a few moments before Fire asked, "I hate to go back to the brainwashing, but how was this possible? Was it some sort of telepathy power?"

Batman shook his head. "No, this was also possible thanks to Luthor. Not too long ago, Luthor managed to purchase a company in Gotham that developed a virtual reality console. Using the technology developed there, LexCorp created a more advanced version of it, the Omnicron 2.0. It was this device that performed the brainwashing."

"Do we have one of these Omnicrons?" Steel asked.

Batman tapped a button on his gauntlet, one that activated a holographic projector that had been placed in the middle of the circle of tables. An image of the Omnicron hovered in midair, slowly spinning around for all to see. Going further, a second appeared, showing the innards of the device.

"That can't be," Hawkgirl suddenly spoke as she stood up from her chair. She was staring intently at the holographic circuitry of the Omnicron. "Can you zoom in on that?" she inquired.

Hitting another button, the Thanagarian got her wish as the image zoomed in on the circuitry. "That's Thanagarian tech," she announced after studying it for a few moments.

That got Batman's attention. "How is it incorporated?"

"I'm not entirely certain, but all of the circuitry looks like it was designed by a Thanagarian," she replied. "In fact, it looks like the design of a storage system, specifically for memories. We call that system an Absorbacron."

"So this Absorbacron could store the memories of another person?"

"Yeah, which is how Thanagarians transcribe our transmission logs. It's easier to just copy the memories than to record reports."

Which was how Luthor was able to load the specific program for each founding Justice League member. Using the future footage, he could take all of the parts that concerned each member, make a video tailored to that specific member, and the Omnicron could load it into their minds.

The question then became how Luthor could have gotten his hands on such technology considering Hawkgirl was the only known Thanagarian on Earth. Batman rather doubted she left any Thanagarian tech lying around for anyone to pick up.

"I have no idea how Luthor got his hands on one," Hawkgirl said, interrupting the Dark Knight's thoughts. It seemed someone had openly asked the question he had been thinking and thus came the redhead's response. "There shouldn't be any way Luthor could have gotten his hands on anything made by a Thanagarian."

"We could ask the same question about a lot of things," Huntress pointed out. "How did he get the tech to make that robot? How did he get his hands on Batman's future video?"

"That's a good question," Flash agreed. "How did Luthor get his hands on that video?"

As the attention returned to Batman, he answered, "When Brainaic invaded, he managed to hack into my computer in the Cave and obtained a copy of it there. Luthor was able to get onto Brainiac's ship, which is where he encountered it."

"And Brainiac's been everywhere in the universe," Green Lantern brought up. "Who isn't to say that he didn't encounter Thanagarians at some point? Luthor probably took whatever he could so he could build his robot as well."

That was as good of an explanation for everything. It would take some proof, but at least they knew where to look now. Before Batman could respond, however, a ringing sound went off in his cowl from the comm link.

This wasn't a good time for this. "Batman," he answered the call, ignoring some of the looks from the others.

"Batman, this is Red Robin," came the reply.

"Now isn't a good time," the vigilante responded.

What came next though, got his attention. "They're doing what?!"


The screen held the images of multiple individuals. Not every single one because even with the largest of screens available, the technology to show each one while having everyone still visible was still far in the future. It did not matter much to Luthor so long as they all could see him.

Call it a conference call, Skype, what have you, this was an event long in the making. Various world leaders, government officials and politicians, heads of government departments and bureaus, and military leaders, elected, appointed, or for life, they all had been invited in. Care had been taken so that any traces would have a hard time finding out who was responding. There was no doubt the calls were being traced, though not to him. Everyone here knew who he was; what they all wanted to know is if he was speaking with anyone else.

Glancing at the time and marking it, Luthor finally got this announcement started. "Good morning, good evening, and good night to some of you. This isn't going to be a standard phone call, or a standard pitch. Today will mark something historic, and each and every one of you has the opportunity to participate."

From the images he could see, various individuals shifted in their seats, some making themselves comfortable, others expressing their discomfort, but all were still silent. Oh, there was a snort there from a, let us say, certain Middle East country. It was of disbelief, and the business mogul wouldn't be surprised if there were others that felt the same way. They would learn though.

"First, to begin, let us speak about a very important topic, one that is intertwined with this business," Luthor continued from his seat at the head of a long conference table. The screen he watched nearly took up the entirety of a wall, a necessity when dealing with a large gathering. While he preferred his own office, that was more for one-on-one discussions, and he didn't feel like having the same conversation over a hundred times.

"We live in an age of superheroes and their opposites—super-criminals, or supervillains as the public is wont to call them. Regardless, there are a growing number of individuals with inhuman abilities, and they possess the ability to destabilize an already fragile world. Some of these individuals have banded together and formed an organization, the Justice League they call it. To handle threats bigger than humanity itself, and address problems that world leaders and their governments are incapable of solving, the Justice League offers its assistance with nary a string attached.

"We all know about their exploits. Fighting alien invasions, intervening in conflicts that threaten to destabilize whole regions, such as Kahndaq, and naturally dealing with super-criminal threats that local authorities are incapable of dealing with themselves. There was recently a group that had the arrogance to call themselves the Pantheon and sought literal godhood. Who knows what they would have accomplished had they succeeded? Every time the League has intervened, they have come out the victor.

"Because of their success, we have grown to rely on them. Not everyone here, but a good majority. We're all keen to let them handle situations we would rather wash our hands of, a behavior that humanity has done for millennia, do not kid yourselves. To be frank, I was willing to do to the same. I was willing to let the Justice League handle those situations that I myself had little power over. So long as I could continue with business as usual, that was all I cared about."

Many would know he was lying through his teeth there. Luthor was perfectly aware of his own reputation, that most if not all participating in this call knew of it as well. Over the years, he had become a master at dismissing, or flat out ignoring it, preferring to keep things professional and straight to business. He wouldn't have been able to maintain his financial empire if he hadn't been able to.

"We all know what happened to Metropolis." From a welcoming tone of voice to a deeper, more serious one, the bald businessman continued, "I was just out of the range from where that shield cut off a section of the city. I watched as in an instant it disappeared, and that damn alien ship looked down at the devastation. I remember asking to myself how this could happen? Then I asked where was Superman? The Justice League? Why hadn't they stopped this?

"Now, the city is back, restored, life goes on. Somehow, the Justice League pulled off a victory. Yet, I could not get the question out of my head. How did the League let it get so bad that Metropolis was nearly lost? I spent days, weeks, even months asking myself this question, and then one day it occurred to me. Every single one of them…is human. With a few exceptions, when you get down to it, each and everyone of them is like you and me, prone to mistakes, suffering from human weakness. The difference between someone like me and them is that when I make a mistake, I could lose several million dollars, and maybe some people lose their jobs. Jobs can be recovered, careers salvaged. When the League makes a mistake, people die; thousands if not millions could die.

"And we are satisfied with that?"

Now he put in an edge into his voice. Every word and how he spoke them had been calculated before hand. Letting some genuine emotion leak out only led more credibility to the performance. Based on how many were sitting back in their seats, some nodding slowly while other maintained expressions of stoicism, they were listening, captivated by his words.

"I found that I wasn't satisfied. So, I began working on a new project. I hired some of the best minds in the world to help answer a simple question: when the Justice League fails and is unable to save the day, who do we turn to next? I speak not of the usual business that individuals such as us engage in on a daily basis. I am talking about the alien invasions. Three have been confirmed so far, all hostile. Each presenting a new challenge that normal humans themselves were unable to rise to the challenge. I talk of metahumans with powers that make conventional tactics worthless. I speak about people so dangerous that they hold no allegiance to anyone, spreading chaos around the world with no consequence. How do we protect ourselves from that?"

Now he leaned forward, staring more into the camera that projected his images to various monitors across the globe, giving the appearance he was looking at the people on the other side directly in their eyes. From the large monitor, he noted how some took up postures that indicate they were receptive to what he had to say next.

"It has been a long and arduous journey that I have taken. Very recently, I had a prototype tested and it performed beyond my wildest expectations. It is fine if this is news to you, but a matter like this needed to be kept close to the chest in the all but certain likelihood of failure. There have been many failures, but as of tonight, I finally have a means in which humanity can protect itself, both from current threats, and those in the future whom we can not even comprehend their existence.

"So whether we like to admit it or not, there is a need for the Justice League, however imperfect it is. Now, we do not need to accept that imperfection, not anymore. Ladies, gentlemen, heads of state and directors, my fellow humans, it is my honor and privilege to introduce you to the replacement of the Justice League. Allow me to introduce you to Amazo."

There was an interface set up nearby, and with one hand, he reached and press a button on it. Unseen to those he was speaking to due to the view of the camera lens, none saw the android enter the conference room, but they did see it when he walked into view behind the business mogul. For once, Luthor voluntarily gave up the spotlight and moved himself, chair and all, out of the way so that all could see Ivo's creations.

Glancing at the wall-sized monitor, he noted the various responses of those he could see. Some where sitting up straighter, others were trying to hide any and all responses, quite a few were frowning, and a few small minority were able to keep their poker faces.

With some magnanimity, Luthor casually said, "Now is the time I will answer any questions you have. Please use the tools—ah, I see a hands up."

The hands up came from a prime minister of a country he would not deign to identify. A press of a button selected that particular prime minster and allowed the head of state's voice to be vocalize into the presentation. "What assurances do we have that this Amazo will work? LexCorp has a history of developing new weapons, some of which tend to be scrapped."

It was inevitable; no matter what, there would always be some mention to his "testing" attempts on the Boy Scout and their remarkable failure rate. Now, he could tell the truth, how he had already tested Amazo against the Justice League, but that might prove a little intimidating. So, some license to describe a similar, but not identical scenario would be taken.

"At the core of Amazo is a revolution in nanotechnology that we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of. The man responsible for developing Amazo is the foremost authority, Professor Anthony Ivo. The core essence of Amazo is its ability to learn, I have been told. To go into more specifics, I do not mean the skills such as walking, talking, eating, etcetera, but the ability to learn the powers of metahumans. With a single look, Amazo can copy and learn any and all superpowers a metahuman has. Then it can use those powers itself, as if it had always had that power."

Oh, there was now a great interest, but he was not yet done. "I wouldn't put Amazo before any of you without testing these capabilities first. Thanks to the rise of the so called Legion of Doom, I've had Amazo covertly follow after and obtain any and all superpowers it could without any members of the recently expanded Justice League, or their villainous cohorts, any wiser. Once returned, Amazo went through stringent tests to ensure that it had accomplished what Professor Ivo claims it would be able to do. It was a massive success.

"And to ensure Amazo is combat ready, I hired some metahumans of my own to test its capabilities. Ladies and gentlemen, my every expectation was blown out of the water. Though the first of its kind, Amazo has already proven its acumen and readiness of battle."

It did not need to be said which were the lies. It was true that Amazo had been pitted against metahumans, they just were compensated, or told about it beforehand. That was something no one here needed to know.

"Already, a library of abilities has been obtained. Right now, LexCorp is in the process of developing more of them. For now, one has the capabilities of helping protect our world, but one is not enough, and there will be a need for more, especially as the Justice League suffers from ineptitude and a loss of confidence with the public at large."

That video was still making the rounds; he had kept a close eye on it. So many angry, wanting answers, many questions thrown at the League, but no answers ever given back. Fears were legitimized by silence, opportunists were taking the chance to score political points, and still the League kept playing into his hands. Sometimes, the best you could do was do nothing and allow your enemies to play themselves. The marvels of freedom of speech.

Selecting another hands up icon, a military leader was the next to ask a question. "What are its full capabilities? I would like to know everything before putting this robot of yours out into the field."

Small-minded man. "As of now, even I don't know the full extent of Amazo's capabilities. Learning is the core of it all. It will learn and learn and learn, growing more and more powerful with every encounter whether it be metahumans here on Earth, or the next alien invader from outer space."

Another hands-up. "I have concerns. How do we know this Amazo will not turn on us?"

"Mr. Prime Minister," a different one and not the one previous, "that has a simple answer. Based on Asimov's law of robotics, Amazo has been program with the strictest of protocols, the first being that Amazo will kill no human." Hmm, some were "deflating," dreams of using Amazo as a murder machine on the battlefield destroyed. "Maim, injury, yes, and medical help will need to be sought out by the offending metahuman. With that said, there is no such protocols against extraterrestrial life, meaning our next alien invader will not have the luxury of mercy. I will not allow another Metropolis to happen, never again, and if that means killing alien life, so be it. Humanity needs to be able to protect itself from all foreign threats from among the stars. It is our right to do so."

There were many questions that followed after that. Some tended to repeat themselves only with different wording, but the questions in essence were the same. How sure was he about Amazo? Their capabilities of controlling it? How soon until there were more? How could any of them take his claims at face value given past failures? He answered them all, all the while commenting in his head their short-sightedness and lack of vision.

Still, he was winning them over. For the most part, they didn't like having the Justice League exist if only because it was a symbol that none of them were as powerful as they liked, and there was always a third party that would interfere with their interests, above and beyond their capabilities to retaliate.

The common man didn't care where salvation came from, only that it came, and the Justice League was so much better at it than any of them. To try and demean that help was to undermine their own precarious positions. No matter the situation, there were always opportunists who would love to keep their seats of power for themselves, so the constant balancing act was one more stressor in already stressful positions.

But here, here was a way to regain control and to be able to dispense the same help the League offered while doing away with the League itself. Luthor had realized this a long time ago, and to replace Superman and his little club had become the goal of this whole enterprise.

This was how you killed gods. Expose their frailties, their incompetence, undermine the faith, then present a newer, better alternative. It worked for Christianity and Islam. Who was he to not learn those lessons for himself?

As Amazo stood there, bearing the scrutiny of some of the most politically powerful people on the planet, the door to the conference room opened once more, but not at Luthor's command. Mercy, to her credit, kept out of sight of the camera, approaching the mogul and leaning over to whisper in his ear.

If he had had any ire to the interruption, it was gone immediately. Say what he wanted about opportunists, he himself was also one, and a new opportunity had just conveniently presented itself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, everyone, if I may prematurely end the question-and-answer segment, I have some breaking news. I have just received information of seismic activity on the west coast of the United States. Satellite imagery has just confirmed the presence of alien spaceships. I would not be surprised if many of you are about to be informed about this unforeseen and quite frankly surprising development.

"However, I would like to put a proposal to any Americans participating tonight. I will send Amazo in to handle the situation, and every one of you will have the chance to watch it in action. This should answer any questions about its abilities and how it will perform under the very circumstances it was created for."

Luthor would admit, he was peeved that somehow all of his sensitive equipment that was monitoring the atmosphere had somehow missed this latest alien invasion, but he was not about to question the timing of it. You could say it couldn't have come at a better time. Now, Amazo would prove itself once and for all, and no one would be able to claim he was offering another faulty product.

Besides, the Justice League was all but certain to try to intervene themselves. This would be killing two birds with one stone. Stopping this latest alien incursion, undermining and defeating the Justice League again, it was too great an opportunity to pass up.

To strike the killing blow against the gods themselves was a temptation he would not refuse.