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Legal disclaimer: I tend to liberally "borrow" character profiles and art from the Earth-27 wikia created by Roy Westerman with principle art coming from digital artist Phil Cho. Other creators and artists are found there as well and I will specifically list any creations with creator citations as I utilize them. In short, this is the single most comprehensive retelling of all things DC and beyond I have encountered. It's worth your time to explore.

Cover art provided by Martina Havlikova.

Free, commercial use art by her can be found at the following URL: martinahavlikova84 | Pixabay

She is also available for private commissions. Her art can previously be seen as covers of Renfri for Evil Queen, Goldilocks forInjustice Reigns, Hellequin for Marian Drews, Renfri again for Evil Delights, Dorothy Gale in Something Wicked,Patti O'Brien in Plastic Woman, Claire Connelly in Repo Men, Disco Mummyin the Disco Mummy Strikes and now Oracle with more yet to come.

That having been said, the properties, and their variations belong to DC Comics through Warner Entertainment and its parent, AT&T, with notable exceptions. More on that in the footnote. I do not own DC characters or their interpretations and reimaginings. My own characters are implied Public Domain since I have not included a copyright notice as required by the 1974 revisions of the copyright statutes and regulations. While an intellectual copyright is implied without the due symbols and language, all such considerations are generally voided under CC-BY-SA, which governs this site, unless duly noted otherwise.

Open Source attributionsare listed after the story concluded to satisfy legalese requirements. And all "super" characters other than Open Source have been seen in comic books before barring any original characters coming from the Earth-27 Wiki or myself. You can look into Public Domain Superheroes Wiki and the DC Database Wiki's own vaults to verify this.

Although this is primarily set in the DCAU, I incorporate attributes of dozens of interpretations of each character, comic telling era, and medium into the telling.


Oracle had infiltrated the Dept. of Meta-Human Affairs run by Sec. Amanda Waller. The very woman that had ordered Deadshot to kill Oracle in her former life. He'd "pitied" her and shattered her spine above her pelvis with a precision shot intended to intimidate her into silence. Instead she'd erased her past and eventually come to enlist in the Outlaws. Who were vigilantes posing as assassins. With them, she fell in love with Jason Todd, the former Red Hood and current Arkham Knight himself. So combining the identities of of fellow hacktivists Overwatch and the Commish, Oracle had become Barbara "Babs" Smoak and was posing as a lowly, entry-level bureaucrat. Her disability played to her advantage in the McKay administration.

Olivia McKay wanted to play up her "equal opportunity" hiring practices. So the disabled, the ethnically or sexually disenfranchised, and aliens got preferential treatment. Oracle had undergone some cosmetic changes to avert potential recognition should Waller ever darken her department's doorstep. Her clothing style had changed to business formal and she wore different eyeglasses and her hair had transformed from brunette to platinum white blonde. Which the maintenance of would've been a literal pain in her ass if it still had more sensation.

Because of Jason's facial scars, and very noticeable "J" branded into his left cheek, he had to remain separated from Oracle during her undercover work. Ravager had to stay far from Washington DC too. There weren't many white haired, blue-eyed Amerasians with left eye patches in the world. In fact, so far there was only one. So Squire was feeling a little bitchy too as she led the Outlaw team covertly waiting for word to move in on the target.

The target being one Sen. Henry Knight. Who had secret ties to Intergang and its gen active enforcers and other brands of government run meta-humans. Including Stormy Knight, the Freedom Fighter known as Phantom Lady.

Arsenal and Cheshire were also far too visible to be present. Which gave them down time to be with five year-old Lian Harper. Whose doppelganger was fourteen years older and had no idea she was Lian's older version from an alternate Earth. So Red Hood knew she was Li Harper but just thought her exact resemblance to Lian and passing resemblances to Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen was just oddly coincidental. Although Oracle knew multiverses were fanciful and proven to be false she still didn't believe in coincidences as Li did. Everything had a reason, no matter how chaotic. Even Sen. Knight's criminal ties.

From all reports, Henry Knight had been a good man once. Before his great-aunt Stormy reappeared from cryo-sleep and resumed being Phantom Lady. Before his daughter, Jennifer, having failed to live up to her lost relative's example. Gen. Sam Lane's anti-gen active rhetoric infected Knight. He went further than Lane, who'd wanted to control and govern all meta-human activities and even existence. Knight wanted them all dead including "Aunt" Stormy.

He knew nothing about the child Stormy had given up for adoption in 1941 and how that line of relation eventually led down to Kate Spencer, the Manhunter. Through various illegal enterprises black bag funded by the US government, Knight funneled money to enemies of government sponsored and/or deputized super teams and the Justice League. The MLJ Initiative and Homeland Security being charged with maintaining order and control over US meta-operatives.

MLJ Dir. Jack Latham and Sec. Bones had differing methodologies but shared a broad consensus of how to accomplish that task. Knight's involvement with Intergang had exposed him to Knightfall's licensing of virtue and vice ideology and he was pushing to legalize the concept and implement it nationwide even as individual cities began exploring the avenue and despite Hellequin's push-back forcing Knightfall out of Gotham, NYC and Metropolis were slowly integrating the plan as were several other large cities including Central and Keystone Cities, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Seattle, Atlanta, Dakota City, Superior City, San Francisco, Hub City, Coral City, and Miami also were developing plans to buy into Knightfall's program.

Even entire nations besides the US were investigating the possibilities across the EU and Asia. The Russian Federation and People's Republic of China having virtually invented the model. Knightfall also wanted Knight's secret ties to Julie Sazia revealed and his disgrace leading to his voter-led recall. Knightfall had her own ambitions regarding the gen active and costumed crowds.

As Sec. For Meta-Human Affairs, and the former ARGUS and Task Force X director, Waller was the best placed to know about Knight's confederates. Yet...the department had next to nothing on Knight besides the standard FBI vetting for security clearances. Oracle decided to tender her "resignation" from her fake job that she'd created within the department.

She gathered the Outlaws for a confab. Arkham Knight and Ravager flew in to join the hunt. Jason Todd's shock at seeing a platinum blonde Oracle making the painstaking bleaching process finally worth it. While the Outlaws had centered on Washington DC, Arkham Knight and Ravager had rampaged through Knight's offices in Boston.

Rose Wilson-Worth's reunion with her civil union partner, Beryl Hutchinson, was nothing less than epic. Squire and Ravager practically having been made for one another.


"I 'resigned' from the department today," Oracle began her briefing. There was an audible sound of relief that filled the space. Oracle was nearly universally loved and respected by the various Outlaws members. The Outlaws typically used League of Assassins safe houses. This one was in Georgetown by the university campus. Foreign nationals and other operatives blending in with the international body of students at the Jesuit college as well as disguising the ever changing faces. The League of Shadows had temporarily suspended operations channeled through the multistory house so Nyssa Raatko had approved Jason's using it.

The oddity around the Outlaws' membership rolls stemmed from the former Crisis of the Multiverse. The Crisis had destroyed reality and Zero Hour had erased history. Before the Prime Universe, the last in existence from an infinite multitude, vanished the Monitor had placed agents from other destroyed universes in place to combat the Anti Monitor. When the Heckler sparked Rebirth, Glorith and Dr. Manhattan combined their powers to wrest away control over it from the Evil Queen's employing the Zero Hour Rose to control the new history.

But Glorith and Dr. Manhattan had simplistic goals. Dr. Manhattan just wanted a new reality where his former colleagues could exist in. Glorith's ambitions all revolved around Lar Gand as Valor and then M'Onel in the 21st and 31st Centuries. So the doppelgangers still existed within the confines of the New Universe and the New Earth forged by Rebirth and the bulk of Earth Prime's former history was left intact. The Outlaws alone possessed two Lian Harpers, a living Evelyn Crawford, and a very much alive Oliver Queen. The Harper girl being both five-year old Lian and nineteen-year old Li Harper.

Li being the third Red Hood. Eve was, and forever had been, Starling. Oliver, or Ollie, had a complicated history just as Li did. Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow of Earth Prime had died before the Near Apocalypse of 2009, as the Crisis was remembered by most, years before the Apocalyptic event and Conner Hawke had become the Green Arrow next. The elder Oliver had left behind three children: Conner, Emiko Queen, and Thea Queen, as well as a legal ward in Mia Deardon, and a former ward in Roy Harper.

Red Arrow, Speedy, and Arsenal, all having served in the Outlaws beside the second Green Arrow. But Mia's HIV had escalated into AIDS and Conner had become infected with HIV by her and it immediately escalated to AIDS status. So Green Arrow and Speedy had retired. Arsenal and his wife Jade Nguyen, Cheshire, had brought their daughter Lian with them into the Outlaws. Seeking a far more stable family life than could be found with Deathstroke's Titans.

Ollie had joined the outlaws under his code-name from Earth-27 as the Arrow. He stayed with that name after the second Green Arrow stepped down. Just as the now inexplicably named but half the age of the original Oliver Queen, Ollie didn't file any claims towards inheriting Queen Consolidated as Mia ceded her majority shares to Emiko. But her older half-sister, whose existence had just been revealed to the family, had filed a counter-claim. Leaving everyone, especially Jason, wondering why Thea had Nyssa's backing in this despite the Demon's Hand actively endorsing the Outlaw's mission and financially and materially supporting it as well. Even Roy had been unaware of Thea's existence and Cheshire hadn't known that the assassin known as Sin was Oliver's eldest daughter. But then, nearly none of them had known about Conner or Emiko either. But, since Shado was Red Arrow's mother and a League of Assassins operative, Cheshire had been fully aware of Emiko being Green Arrow's daughter.

All facts and parentage being revealed to the Dinah Laurel Drake Lance, the former Black Canary, as she became the new Ra's al Ghul with her wife, Nyssa's support and assistance. Even the Shadow Seven that ruled the League of Shadows embraced Dinah. Seeing her as a voice of reason and clarity after the former Ra's increasing madness after sustained exposures to the Lazarus Pits and Talia al Ghul unknowingly dying to be replaced by her father's mind within her body. A fact only Nyssa and Ubu were cognizant of, and Nyssa would never forgive, her younger half-sibling's demise for their father's ambitions.

Irma Playatski, known to the secretive world as Dazaar the Arch Fiend, was Nyssa's closest ally in the Shadow Seven and heartily endorsed the new Ra's al Ghul. Dazaar's enthusiasm swaying the other four members. Lady Zika and Dr. Niko being the hardest to persuade and the newest member, Dr. Hugo Strange, being the easiest with Strange commanding his newest psychological conditioning experiment: the Schoolgirl Sorority of Evil. The mysterious biochemist called I-Ching providing the last of the Shadow Seven's elite membership. I-Ching being the man that restored Slade Wilson from his late seventies back into his forties employing Deathstroke's own regenerative gen factor to do so.

Even Jason, one of Nyssa's elite operatives when he was the Red Hood, failed to understand her motives regarding Queen Consolidated and Thea's reemergence into polite society. Sin was devoted to her adoptive mothers and wouldn't hesitate to question their motives in this. Despite her never having met her own biological mother or father. So not even having a claim to Queen properties even in Sin's own mind.


"So how do we approach the investigation?" Squire asked before Arrow could.

"I infiltrate Knight's campaign," Oracle explained her rationale, "Our goal is to discredit him before the election. Brains and the Gang don't want Knight terminated and made a martyr. But they want the connection between Sazia and Knight exposed so that both Knight and Sazia suffer loss of credibility. Knight with the government and the public and Sazia within Intergang."

"Making a vacancy within Intergang that Brains and her Gang can fill," Sparrow predicted. Laurel Anne Hardy was potentially the most cynical of the Outlaws. With the exception of Starling. Not even Black Bison was as pessimistic. And he was the ultimate pragmatist.

Ravager and Cheshire each finding measures of hope in the last few years. Protector was the youngest Outlaw at age fifteen. He was also easily the wealthiest, having made his fortune in stocks and commodities after investing monies he would have typically and formerly spent on narcotics.

"Any why prop up the Gang?" he asked.

"Because their history isn't much different than yours," Red Arrow spoke up.

"Except their gen actives," Arrow differentiated them.

"Sazia is corrupt, ambitious, greedy, and power mad," Arkham Knight furthered the distinction, "Brains is ruthless and insanely intelligent, but she also knows her limitations. Every member of the Gang gives back to the Chicago slums they came from. Supposedly Intergang would be kinder and gentler under them. Even Knightfall wants her taken down."

"Is this you talking or Nyssa?" Ravager asked.

"Is there a difference?" Starling snorted derisively.

"We can debate this `till we drop," Red Hood snarled, "The point we really need to make is whether or not Oracle should stay undercover."

"You'd like to put her at risk," Black Bison accused. At one time, Red Hood would've buried Oracle to have a romantic chance with Arkham Knight.

But, that was at one time and Red Hood pressed that point, "Not anymore. This time I'm on mission."

"We all should be," Arrow chided them all.

"Though risky, going undercover is a good plan," Protector interjected, "One we no longer have time for."

He'd covered the Outlaws' Dark Web site for Oracle, "Our contract has been amended. Termination orders have been issued."

"Why would Brains risk it?" Oracle was aghast, "It doesn't guarantee a favorable outcome."

"Knight won the primary and the nomination," Arkham Knight agreed, "Brains' plan was to control an emergency election and the state appointed fill-in until the election was won. This throws too many variables into it."

"Unless the Gang owns the rest of the candidates," Protector guessed.

"Too expensive," Black Bison argued, "Even super villain gangsters can't afford to buy every side of an election."

"Unless there's only one candidate in the end," Sparrow surmised, "One and only one outcome. We can't possibly be the only fail safe."

"But Knight is a sitting US Senator. That'll afford him official protection. We're talking the MLJ or Homeland Security if they smell a meta-threat," Arkham Knight realized.

"So, we kill Knight and then discredit him," Squire mused, "Afterwards, the Gang eliminates every candidate except for one."

"Hedging every possible bet," Ravager completed her partner's thought.

"Oracle, you embed with Knight. Protector, you take over the investigation at this end back in Gotham. The rest of us will scare up trouble to see how alert the authorities are to a threat on Knight's life. If Brains is playing all fields, she'll be playing us too," Arkham Knight reasoned.

"Knight's campaign manager just hired a new consultant from the Global Concern. I need them sidetracked so I can replace them with myself. I've already forged my agency credentials," Oracle advised them.

"I could stretch my legs," Ravager joked.

"I topped off the bike," Squire grinned, "Give us a location and we'll serve as pest control."

"Take them someplace discreet and hold them for a few days," Arkham Knight requested.

"`Course," Squire happily replied.

"Damn!" Ravager rolled her eye.

"John and I will grab takeout," Starling volunteered Black Bison.

"Make it Big Belly Burger and I'll double the funds," Protector offered.

"You're an addict," Sparrow accused.

"You'll get double fries, onion rings, and a shake to go with your order," Protector said knowingly.

"Hell, I'm coming with," Sparrow volunteered.

"Anyone hear from Shieldmaiden yet?" Red Hood asked.

"She's still doing whatever her thing back in Iceland was," Red Arrow reported.

"I'm picking Felicity up at Dulles in an hour. I'll be out of touch for thirty-six hours," Arrow announced.

"Give Overwatch my love," Oracle called after him.


Late night found Jason and Oracle alone in "their" room.

"God, I needed that," Oracle groaned as she lay squirming towards the headboard.

"I could tell. And probably everyone else in the building," Jason grinned.

"Y'know, Barbara Gordon warned me about you," Oracle smirked.

"And you believed her?" Jason grinned back naughtily.

"You told me about how Batman declared you too be too angry to be a Robin. Babs told another side to it," Oracle explained, "He was worried about you. What being to angry would do to you if you lost control after staring into the abyss too long."

"He would know," Jason sighed.

"They say Batman retired. He's even a recluse as Bruce Wayne. He won't return any calls. Not even from Veronica Vreeland and he never shut her out before," Oracle worried.

"You heard what Selina said about that disaster at the opera," Jason reminded her of Selina Kyle's report after the hostage situation gone wrong. An event manipulated by the extradimensional Music Meister to force Batman to confront his feelings regarding Selina and his unborn child.

"But he loves her," Oracle protested.

"Maybe Selina and Helena really will be better off without him. They'll have Alfred and his daughter, Sasha. As well as Holly Robinson and Kitrina Falcone."

"Selina has made overtures to make up with Maven, finally," Oracle recalled. She rolled to her side, "Sooo...what about you?"

"Care to try something new?" Jason asked.

"How new?" Oracle was skeptical.

"How'd you like to be on top?" Jason grinned.

"Are you nuts?" Oracle was dismayed, "I'm paraplegic."

"And I'm not. I've got you. Just trust me. Just one warning though, you'll have to do you own nipple play," Jason advised her.

"Oookay," Oracle was even more dubious.

"Get on top of me," Jason assisted her and got her seated and positioned before he entered her...and took control at that point using his entire core body.

"Omigod!" Oracle exclaimed. Oh! My! God! Omigod! Omigod! Omigod!"

And so it went until they both climaxed and Jason laid Oracle down back upon the mattress.

"I never...I never thought that would possible again," Oracle confessed breathlessly, "You thought that through."

"I had some time on my hands," Jason grinned triumphantly. Oracle was on her side and threw her free arm around Jason and pulled him close enough to put her mouth on his and kissed him deeply.

"I love you," she confessed again.

"I love you too," Jason admitted...again.

"I need a shower though," Oracle grumbled.

"Me too, need a hand?" Jason wore a naughty grin.

"Let's try not to use all the hot water this time," Oracle smirked, "Everyone bitches when we do that."

"No worries," Jason promised.


Next morning, Oracle assembled her team, "Laurel, you and Eve will be my assistants while I work for Knight. I've already forged your credentials and the campaign manager is expecting us to fly into Boston today."

"No prob," Sparrow readily agreed.

"Will I get laid?" Starling asked.

"That's on you," Oracle laughed, "Just pick your guy or gal carefully this time."

"I'm thinking a couple this time out. Provide a little kink in the relationship," Eve boasted. Laurel and Oracle exchanged a look that said, This'll end badly.

"Just be careful," Oracle advised, "Anyway, our flight leaves in two hours."

"Thanks fer the warning, Chief," Starling grimaced as she waved goodbye as she stomped down a hallway to her room.

"She has a helluva point," Laurel agreed as she went to pack.

"I chartered a flight so you don't have to worry about the TSA," Protector offered Oracle her itinerary, "Jason has your bags packed and loaded. He and John will drive you in."

"Thanks," Oracle said wistfully, "Do you wish you could go?"

"Hell, no," Protector was still laughing when he entered a separate room.

"Me neither," Oracle quietly confessed.


"Ms. Grayson?" Knight's campaign manager met Oracle's team at their hotel. The campaign having spared no expense. Perks abounded when you were in criminals' pockets.

"Please, call me 'Delia'," Oracle insisted.

"You and your staff are supposed to be the very best. And your genetic profiles came out 'clean'," Aldus Henley stated with relief.

"Clean of what, exactly?" Laurel asked. Aldus looked astounded.

"I didn't inform them of the profile screening," Oracle explained.

"Why, the meta-gene of course. Sen. Knight's campaign is shifting emphasis to controlling and eliminating gen factors in the American public," Aldus explained, "And identifying the Homo Magi in our midst."

"I thought they were a myth," Starling lied.

"A boogeyman, of sorts," Sparrow added.

"You call Zatanna or Zatara a myth?" Aldus shuddered, "Or those dreadful Dr. Fate and Anna Fortune? Or even Shazam and his ilk?"

"What does your husband think about this?" Oracle asked. Gay marriage being a reality in Massachusetts since 2009. The reason why Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy had been married in Boston last summer. Forcing New Jersey into recognizing the legality of their marriage. It was a federal constitutional requirement or people would have to get married and remarried in every state they traveled through or stayed in. But would eventually require an affirming Supreme Court decision to uphold this requirement and therefore offer a blanket legalization of same-sex marriage across the entire country thereby prohibiting state prohibitions.

In most instances, and on most issues, Knight was considered to be a centrist moderate in his party. Therefore a crucial swing voter on hot political topics. Both major parties catered to his whims in order to secure his influence amongst other crucial Senators. Thanks to Knight, the revived CADMUS Initiative had replaced ARGUS, the DEO, SHADE, the Army's Meta-Human Response Division, and NOWHERE as the principle response to alien and gen active threats.

Yet CADMUS II was a privately funded and controlled effort that was a collaboration of major corporate interests. Financed and run by ARMS Control. Itself a collaboration of top echelon military contractors including LuthorCorp, Hauser Arms, MARS Corp, Cauldwell Arms, and Ferris Aircraft. With "security" contractors coming from every company including the Zither Group. Team Luthor and Infinity3 being mainstays of CADMUS' personnel rosters as well as the ARMS Control developed Gun Club.

"Let's say you're right," Oracle mediated, "what happens to the Homo Magi or a gen latent?"

"Camps are being developed to cure the latents and exterminate the actives," Aldus was proud to proclaim, "Sparing those that agree to work for the authorities, of course. We jokingly call it the 'Even More Final Solution'."

"Of course," Oracle was nonchalant but inwardly terrified. That such legislative proposals could come from a seeming mainstream legislator would've been inconceivable before the Near Apocalypse last December. But it wasn't a brave new world. The Outlaws were completely unaware that Sen. Knight had official protection from a presumed threat or that the Justice League Outsiders were also investigating his activities.


The fifth Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, was a child of the Titans Chonus and Rhea, sister to Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, and aunt to the demigoddess second Wonder Woman, Queen Diana of Themiscyra and thereby distantly related to the first Wonder Woman, Hippolyta, and the fourth, Hippolyta's mortal daughter, Nubia. Only the third Wonder Woman, Artemis, wasn't family. It also related her to the second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark. But while she was Cassie's aunt and predecedent, she wasn't related at all to the third Wonder Girl, Yara Flor. But Donna had been, in turn, Wonder Girl and then a Darkstar, before returning to Earth to become the leader of the Justice League's Outsiders covert action squad.

The original Robin, and then Nightwing, Dick Grayson had led the first crop of Teen Titans. Donna had learned an immeasurable amount of leadership skills under him. Skills she perfected with the Darkstars and the first thing she'd learned was delegating. So Tempest and Bumblebee were equally important to the Outsiders as Wonder Woman herself.

Other Teen Titans alumni with the team included Starfire, Omen, Thunder and Lightning, Beast Boy, Hawkfire,and Raven. Legacy heroes included the second Batwoman, Blue Devil, Nightwing, and Batgirl, Hawk and her sister Dove, as well as Gimmix. Gimmix being the daughter of Merry, the Girl of 1000 Gimmicks as well as being the neice of the slain Star Spangled Kid turned original Skyman. In a surprise turn of events, Koriand'r had brought her daughter Mar'i into exile with her. She lived with her father, Dick Grayson and his wife Ulla Paske as well as her half-brother as Mary Grayson.

Arclight was Steel's niece and Girl 13's girlfriend. Hawkfire had been a previous Teen Titan as Flamebird. Danielle Cassidy was the new Blue Devil. Black Bat, Argent, Prysm, and Cyborg were also members. Vic Stone being the third and newest man to carry both names. The eldest being a new member of the Justice League itself. The middle being a hero who died helping save the world with the Justice League. Neither Victor nor the teen Vic remembered being from nonexistent-now parallel Earths.

Tigress upheld a criminal legacy that she wanted to reforge as a heroine's dynasty. Paula Brooks had been the first Tigress. Her daughter and namesake to the newest Tigress, Artemis Crock had been a member of the Injustice Society. Artemis Crock II was Paula Nguyen, the third Tigress', daughter. Each incarnation being a spouse or offspring of Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster himself dead at the hands of his legacy inheritor, Sportsmistress.

The Bats were observing Knight at his estate. Only his ignorance kept him from calling in federal forces. Stephanie Brown, formerly the Spoiler and a self-proclaimed Robin, had earned the title Nightwing from Dick Grayson. Just as Carrie Kelley had likewise earned Barbara Gordon's blessing to be Batgirl. Cassandra Cain had been trained to be an assassin but now served the world as Black Bat. Katrina Moldoff had earned the Batwoman title from Spyral and kept it when the agency dissolved.


Congress, it seemed, protected their own. The gen active Agents of SMASH, answered only to Congress, and it was they that were monitoring Sen. Knight's health and safety.

Black Bat, trained and raised in silence, spared some of her limited vocabulary, "Coming."

Nightwing and Batgirl recessed under their duck blind. Batwoman went high into the trees into the aerie she'd built there. The couple, one of several within the Agents of SMASH, known as Fighting Spirit and Ms. Mask, came to a halt.

"D'you feel that?" Fighting Spirit asked her girlfriend.

"Should I?" Ms. Mask was brusque. She wanted to return to the estate house and share a hot bath.

"Someone or several someones has been here recently," Fighting Spirit gazed about, "But it doesn't feel malicious."

"Unlike our dear Senator?" Ms. Mask sneered, "I swear if he paws my ass one more time or suggest filming us in bed together, I'll snap him in half."

"Yeah, Tom is getting pretty pissed as well. Seems our lech of a primary can't keep his hands of off Pantha either," Fighting Spirit sighed. Tom Strong led SMASH and Princess Pantha was his wife.

"At least he straight up wants Pantha. You and me are reserved for exploitable lesbian porn," Ms. Mask was gruff.

"I'm certain he's want gay porn of any of the guys as well," Fighting Spirit offered consolingly, "Or he'd want to throw Tim in the mix."

"Carol, you know Tim already wants to be in the mix," Diana Adams snorted at Carol Carter regarding Black Terror 2000.

"His loss," Fighting Spirit said glibly, "And he knows it."

Tim Roland had inherited the powers and mantle of the Black Terror just as many of the Agents of SMASH had done. All of them now unaware that originally, before the Rebirth, they'd been derived from Earth-ABC/Earth-51. In the New Earth history, the original Agents of SMASH had formed after the disappearance of the Justice Society in 1952 and they'd disbanded years later just prior to the revived JSA returning from Limbo in 1985. The interim heroes between 1953-1985 being the All Star Squadron and the original Agents of SMASH. The Eighties belonging to the government sponsored American Crusaders.

In 1992, Batman had emerged, heralding a new epoch. Superman had quickly emerged afterwards. A decade later, the Justice League was founded and that original era had lasted seven years until the building Crisis altered destinies. The Monitor had transplanted individuals and even the totality of Dakota City into the Prime Universe and every element he'd introduced remained within the New Earth framework.

"Let's bag it," Ms. Mask suggested, "Red Queen and Pyroman's shift already began. Let them worry about your psychic vibes."

"I'll go back for you, Di. I still say someone, no matter how benign, is out here," Fighting Spirit weakly protested. But Fighting Spirit spoke a half truth. She sensed malevolence in the wind. But distantly, nearly out of reach of her senses.


Arkham Knight observed the patrol continuing and the Outsiders resettling through a night vision spotting scope.

"We've got Agents of SMASH trying to unearth Outsiders," he reported in on comms.

"Copy that. I've got two more Agents on the east end as well," Red Hood reported back. On Earth-4, where doppelgangers had been fourteen years older than their Prime counterparts, Li Harper had actually been Jason Todd's partner in every sense. Bruce Alan Wayne, the presumptive Bat-Man, Selina Wayne, and their daughter Helena, the current Robin, had all been from that Earth as well.

On New Earth, Bruce Alan was a namesake uncle to Batman and used second gen Miraclo to become Bat-Man in his fight against the Court of Owls and now larger threats as head of the new Bat Clan. Chief of whom were Bat-Woman and Bat-Girl. Robin was training with Young Justice and Selina Falcone Wayne had never adopted a costumed persona. She'd merely been a thief dubbed the "Cat".

Bruce Alan considered it fanciful coincidence that Bruce Wayne had fallen in love with, and impregnated, Selina Kyle, who planned on naming her child Helena Kyle. But he did find it a travesty that Bruce wouldn't occupy a place in Helena or even Selina's life now that he'd gone into self-imposed exile in Wayne Manor. Alfred Pennyworth and his daughter, Sasha Julia Bardeaux, now worked for Selina providing nurturing and protection for the only apparent heir to the Wayne family. All of them blithely unaware of Elissa Prince Wayne's existence on Themiscyra. Diana's pregnancy being the reason the second Wonder Woman had retired and Hippolyta stepped aside to return to Man's World as Wonder Woman to protect her daughter's secret.

Artemis already served as Wonder Woman with the JLU so Hippolyta returned to the JSA. Hippolyta's last official act as queen was to appoint Donna as yet another Wonder Woman just as Diana's first was to appoint Nubia. Donna was unaware of how the Elongated Man came upon information implicating connections between Knight and Sazia, as well as Knight and Phantom Lady and Manhunter, but it warranted investigation.

Sue Dibney and Steve Trevor thought a JLU presence was too provocational. So Shayera Hol had recommended the Outsiders for the task. Which her husband, John Stewart had heartily concurred. Having Shayera and John advocating for her team warmed Donna's heart and made her burn for a successful outcome all the more. Despite the implications that it would have for Knight and American politics.

But, given the increasing extremist views Knight had begun espousing, leaving him unchallenged seemed an equally dismal outcome. So she'd dispatched her best surveillance team. But the foursome were unaware of their fifth member. A member located a mile away.


"I have eyes on Arkham Knight," Hawkfire reported in.

"Copy. Standby and await further instructions," Cyborg relayed to her. Bette Kane heard a hammer of a pistol being cocked.

"Aaawww, did'ums you get caught?" Red Hood revealed her true location. She activated her comms, "Black Bison, you're a go."

A double click silently acknowledged her. Nearby, Arkham Knight had Black Bat sighted in from a mile away. He observed as John Black Bison delivered a message to the surveil team. Black Bat tensed and rolled from the duck blind to throw a shuriken into the dark. But it was struck in midair by a tomahawk.

"Trouble," Black Bat assessed. Nightwing came out and drew her charged escrima sticks from their sheaths on her back. Batgirl extended her bo staff. Batwoman glided down from the treetops and prepped a batarang.

"I come in peace," Black Bison emerged from the deeper shadows but he held his tomahawk at the ready. But the magically powered and towering Native American hardly needed his bladed weapon. His rippling muscles had ripples. War paint made a domino mask on his hardened features.

"It's Brown Buffalo. From the Outlaws," Nightwing decided.

"Black Bison," he corrected her, "And I have a message."

"Shoot," Batgirl urged.

"Precisely," Black Bison smirked. A bullet impacted the range between them.

"Sniper!" Batwoman gave a belated warning. Everyone but Black Bison and Black Bat scanned the periphery with their eyes.

"Too far," Black Bat assessed.

"A mile away, actually," Black Bison congratulated her.

"Talk," she urged.

"What the eff?" Nightwing dug the bullet out of the ground.

"Fifty cal," Batgirl surmised.

"And armor piercing. So it'll punch through our suits," Batwoman grimaced.

"Talk," Black Bat urged again.

"I'll let your teammate do the talking now that Red Hood has released her," Black Bison informed them, "And really don't try and follow me."

as he disappeared into the dark, Black Bat stopped Batgirl and Nightwing from pursuing, "Don't."

"Who is our 'teammate'?" Batwoman shifted their focus, "Cass, take the trees. You two, monitor Knight. I'll find out who our mystery player is."

No one argued with Katrina. Born into wealth and privilege, Moldoff had turned that away when she enlisted in the UN's Sypral agency. The Batwoman Project was designed to be won by the best agent and Katrina had won that designation. As much to Matron's chagrin as it was to Hawkfire's delight. Batwoman knew that a fifth team member was in all probability Hawkfire and Katrina would be damned if she was going to leave Bette in the hands of potential assassins.


But by the time Batwoman found Hawkfire, she was all alone and shaken to the core

"All those years with the Teen Titans and then Spyral, they still jumped me and I never saw it coming," Hawkfire began rambling when she saw Batwoman emerge from the wooded glen the Outsiders had hidden in.

"It's okay," Batwoman promised as Hawkfire threw herself into the older woman's arms. She'd never seen Bette so shaken. It angered Batwoman to a degree she'd never been until Matron first became Talon and then the Matron again.

Both times for the Court of Owls. Helena Lincoln March being Owlman's daughter and Blackwing's foster sister. Owlman being the founder of the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman, Ultragirl, Superwoman I, Atomica, Johnny Quick II, Power Ring, Deathstorm, Sea King, Blackwing and the Other all being members. Only Blackwing and Atomica survived the Crime Syndicate's last stand.

The Syndicate being filled with Majestic-class and other variables of New Universe humans rather than having other-dimensional origins. But the New Universe hosted a Power Ring Corps. So both Hal Jordan and Spencer Hawke were Power Rings on Earth.

Hal Jordan having been exiled from the Green Lantern Corps and refused by every emotional spectrum. So he greedily accepted a Ring of Volthoom when chosen. But in his wake, he broke Carol Ferris and Remoni-Notra's hearts as well as cost John Stewart his GL power ring. Which John would've gladly sacrificed anyway now that his daughter Kenra Hol-Stewart had been born. He'd rather be a father than a memory.


"What do you mean I was under observation?" Knight raged, "Aren't you observing me?"

Tom Strong glanced at Princess Pantha. Pantha made an uppercut motion from behind Knight.

"Perhaps you should request the Freedom Fighters to protect you," Tom Strong strongly urged.

"You do have the familial connection to encourage them," Tom Strange added to Strong's emphasis.

"And every day I'd have to deal with Stormy Knight," Knight raged, "And I will not allow that clinger-onner Phantom Lady access even to my property."

"Perhaps the Mighty Crusaders then?" Promethea hoped, much to the Crusader's eternal regret.

"No!" Knight tiraded, "I have my pwn preferences. I'll call in the service of true Americans."

No one understood the double meaning yet. But the Agents of Smash were dismissed after they were relieved by Homeland Security's meta-team, the Americans.


"Commander, your team comes highly recommended by Sec. Bones," Knight informed the Americans, "My safety is paramount in an effort to save America from meta-humans. Understood?"

"Not entirely but our understanding is hardly necessary. Is it?" the Commander slid his shield onto his back.

"Precisely," Knight smirked.


Storm-God created an isolated weather system over the estate. Tank-Man and Titan erected an electronic frontier. Hornet contacted the bees, wasps, hornets, and oddly, the ants in the area and set them to the task of secondary frontier sentries. Daveed B'nner was the newest member. A brilliant chemist, he'd accidentally overexposed himself to gamma ray irradiated flour laced unleavened carbs and when despondent swelled into the inedible Bulk. He worked with the Americans' mysterious, former Nazi, scientific benefactor, Dr. Krigstein, in creating chemical inhibitors to neutralize gen active attackers.

Other new members included the Kosovar twins: the Indigo Enchantress and Mercury. Kosovo nearly having been overrun by both Serbia and Kaznia. Kaznia recently discovering alien artifacts on Wondercore Mt. now found itself Serbia's latest target. Neighboring Markovia, Kaznia found itself barely alluding conflicts with both its meta obsessed neighbors.

Mercury could move as fast as the god himself. Indigo Enchantress altered probability itself. In a wretchedly unpredictable fashion, for friend and foe alike. The Bulk and twins being the Americans secret weapons. Hornet inspected the tracks of where the former duck blind had been. Her insects examined surrounding areas and came up lacking any further discoveries. Tank Man's sensor units went active and Hornet relieved her troops but kept them vigilant as she rejoined her ex-husband and the other Americans.

Tensions between her and Titan were still epically high as he'd filed for divorce based on spousal abuse. Tired of hiding how his wife regularly beat the snot out of him after binging on alcohol and narcotics. Hornet had seen the worst of medical practitioners since their silence could be purchased and Dr. Krigstein didn't want word reaching Sec. Bones. The exorbitantly wealthy Hornet had to pay spousal maintenance until Titan remarried and she knew the bastard never would. So she was arranging a little "accident" to befall him.


"So...the Outlaws are the mysterious threat?" Wonder Woman was skeptical. The Outsiders had met Arkham Knight and Red Hood in San Francisco regarding a pair of incestual twin sisters and secret Nazi formulas for generating meta-human powers. A biochemist had unlocked the secrets of the Supersoldaten-, Regenerations- and Unsterblichkeitsseren- serums as well the Japanese Mirakuru. Baron Blitzkrieg had led the Fourth Reich's attempt to recover the formulas. An incident that hadn't been the Outsiders' defining moment. Thankfully, since the Justice League proper had become involved as well. The entire eventhad hardly been a rousing success.

But Arkham Knight and Red Hood had proven they were hardly threats. Specific research had proven they were only threats to criminals and criminal organizations. But...the caveat was they were hired by the competition for extermination services.

Now that Intergang and the Syndicate Underground had a general cease fire, the Outlaws had taken up targeting lower echelon resistance to both entities rather than the internecine gang wars between them. So it was difficult to imagine why someone would target a US senator presumably on Intergang's payroll. With Ballard's death, Sazia had seized control of Intergang, at least nominally. But outspoken critics included the number two Big Boss, the Gang, the Great One, and the Mandarin and a greater portion of the ruling 100 resented the hell out of her. That diffidence shifted downward to the regional 1000 that ruled Intergang interests in accord to the 100 and its Director, in this case, Sazia.

But resistance remained. The Gang, under Brains' undisputed leadership, hired the Outlaws to expose and terminate Knight and therefore poison any chance Sazia had of recruiting another political crony. Thereby significantly undermining Sazia's right to rule.

With Barak Obama's failed presidential run against Olivia McKay, he still resided in the Senate. Protector had unearthed financial transactions between an Intergang shell and Obama's campaign. But proving that the senator from Chicago actually knew about the funding source would be next to impossible at this stage. With McKay's having won the right to a third term, added to the remainder of her restored secnd term and eligible for a fourth term, Obama could wait for the better part of ten years for a victory in a presidential campaign. Making him the new William Jennings Bryant.

But Obama was driven by the words written in his book, My Father's Dreams, as a political manifesto. So he wouldn't surrender quietly and was swiftly becoming an opposition leader within his own party. McKay having formed her own political splinter party from the Republicans that were disaffected after Lex Luthor's ridiculously easy victory after his landslide election to being POTUS. McKay's successful and reversed impeachment from office alienating voters against the major political parties.

So in a move unheralded since the Whigs were losing ground in America and the Republican Party formed, a mainstream political party had lost relevancy. The "Party of Opposition" that the mainstream Republicans had transformed into being forced to give way to McKay's Progressive Party. A centrist party luring moderates from both the Democrats and Republicans as well as Greens who saw a way to influence mainstream politics through partial conformism. Leaving the two older parties as the Ultra Left and Ultra Right expressions of their ideologies.

The Outsiders were just beginning to understand the cog works going into the political machines developing out of Knight's situation. Vic Stone's data searches were aided by Starfire's alien perspective. She had the clearest view of the government's affairs because she had no vested interests in them, beyond simple survival. And with a Durlan openly in the Oval Office, Earth's regimes were strongly reacting as was the USA itself with the CADMUS II Initiative.

McKay recognizing that Almerac's own shifting policies lifted their hedge of protection over the Earth and with that policy abatement, the Dominators, Khunds, and other aggressors would wish to harvest Earth's gen latents to be weaponized. Saturn Queen's last known operation had involved meta-human trafficking. Those stolen children having largely been recovered by Kalea-El, of all personages.

though Kalea was still infamous as the invader who attacked Earth amongst its governments and citizens, the United Nations and World Court had dropped their war crimes commissions and Kalea was now known to be operating an interstellar bail bonds enforcement agency out of London. Something her father seemed woefully, or willfully, ignorant of. And Superman couldn't be convinced his illegitimate daughter with Maxima was on Earth much less in the capital of the United Kingdom, owning and operating her bounty hunting business out of a public house she'd purchased long before relocating to Earth.

With the United States now legalizing alien immigrants, the "civilized" world was forced to do so as well or look speciesist. "Human" rights becoming "universal" rights in the amended laws. The "One World, One People" movement now being a human-centric hate group rather than a globalist rallying cry.

But none of that pertained to Donna's lack of understanding. She understood hate. Hate was universal. But why would mercenaries/vigilantes target Knight even if he were in Intergang's pockets? Until Wonder Woman knew that answer, she couldn't properly or accurately ascertain the true nature of the threat against Knight.


"I made all the worst suggestions I could and still sound plausible," Oracle said wearily, "Any news on our united front?"

"Jason reported that Knight's security detail changed and that the Outsiders are observing him as well," Starling hung up from her call with Protector.

"And Beryl and Rose are bored to tears," Sparrow checked in, "Rose, naturally, wants to kill the woman."

"Plead with Beryl to keep Rose genteel," Oracle sighed.

"Already done," Sparrow promised, "Rose had already been reminded that foul play could blow our cover here."

"And we're in harm's way," Starling groused.

"Not for much longer," Oracle shared, "I've placed enough insider evidence to bolster the real crimes. We can leave tomorrow. I'll give Jason the word and they can wrap up the operation."

"Protector said he wants Arrow in on this and Ollie still has eighteen hours left to his vacay," Starling informed Oracle.

"Then you two will get in on it as well," Oracle promised.

"`Bout damn time. I'm sick of this contract already," Sparrow added her displeasure to Starling's.

"I'm not having fun either," Oracle promised, "I booked my flight back to Gotham. Protector will be picking me up there. Ollie will meet up with the main group and Jason and Li will coordinate the end game from Boston."

"What about the Outsiders?" Sparrow asked.

"D'ya really think they can stay in our way?" Starling was snide.

"They'll at least try," Sparrow stated, "And we'll be shorthanded without Squire and Ravager."

"I have a solution for that," Oracle smirked, "One everyone will love. We let the bitch go."

"What?" Starling and Sparrow roared together.

"After we leave, Beryl and Rose cut Ms. Pryce loose. She reports to Knight. Knight starts sweating and gets sloppy," Oracle cheerfully predicted, "And he runs his personal security detail ragged in the meantime."

"That's actually…" Sparrow began to muse.

"Not entirely stupid," Starling finished for her.

"So, I'll contact Jason," Oracle's smirk was insufferable now.

"Oh, shut your hole. All of them," Starling bitterly stomped off.

"She'll get over it. As soon as she gets laid," Sparrow predicted, "Which given our recent circumstances could be a while."

"I'll get you both some time off," Oracle promised.

"You'd best. For all our sakes," Sparrow wasn't remotely cryptic.


Twenty hours later…Arrow, Squire, Ravager, Starling and Sparrow were all back with the action team in Boston. Oracle and Protector were running research and overwatch from Gotham. A remote link had them patched together. Oracle was running a briefing through a remote server through the Dark Web via satellite hidden within a telecom to tablets in the Outlaws' hands.

"I have IDs on the security. A Homeland team called the Americans. They recently expanded their roster with three virtually unknown operatives. Their advisor, an ex-Nazi scientist called Dr. Krigstein hasn't taken notes on them yet," Oracle reported, "The field leader is called the Commander. A super-soldier type shot full of German serum. Tank Man is a former industrialist whose armor is a weapons system and a life support unit both. Storm-God is a demigod son of Thor. Titan enlarges and Hornet shrinks. They're also the bitterest of exes. The twins called Mercury and the Indigo Enchantress and a strongman called the 'inedible Bulk', if you can believe it."

"I believe anything since coming back from the dead," Arkham Knight replied.

"Still, the names are clue enough," Squire hypothesized, "We have a speedster, a witch, and a...I'm bollocksed for the third beyond he's strong like Oracle said. Must be dense or something or other."

"They set up an electronic frontier," Arrow studied the data, "So the insertion team will need one helluva distraction to draw every American out."

"This is where the Outsiders will prove useful. We antagonize Knight, interfere in their inquiries, and pit the security detail against everyone moving," Arkham Knight offered.

"Why do you phrase it as an 'inquiry'?" Red Arrow asked.

"We identified the Congressional Agents of SMASH as the original security team," Red Hood answered, "They were unaware of the Outsiders and it seemed to be on purpose. Arkham Knight's call at the time was to let them be and allow them to remain unnoticed. Now I know why."

"Their duck blind was found after the fact and panicked Knight into the security switch up," Arkham Knight pointed out, "Which in turn, gave us fewer potential opponents to have to dela with."

"But the downside is these guys rely on lethal force as a mainstay go-to," Protector warned them.

"Like we don't?" Ravager snorted.

"Hopefully we're a little more discriminatory," Red Hood was studying Homeland Security's files on their own agents, "Things get messy with these guys."

"Frequently and often," Starling whistled.

"Should we call in Cheshire and Arsenal?" Sparrow asked.

"If Tigress is still running with the Outsiders that could create an insurmountable roadblock for them," Arkham Knight warned.

"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Starling was feeling antagonistic again.

"Care to share with the class?" Arrow tersely asked.

"Nope," Starling quipped.

"It can wait," Red Arrow spoke for the group.

"She's thinking with her vag," Ravager snorted.

"Eff you!" Starling snarled.

"Not on the best day of your life," Ravager retorted.

"We're done here," Arkham Knight declared, "Eve, you have two months off coming as soon as we complete this. Go to Iceland. Find Hilgur and finally, for eff's sake, tell her how you feel."

Protector was already calling Hilgur Goransdottir to warn her Starling would be coming to visit with a mind to rape Shieldmaiden.


They ran recon again for a night and spotted the Outsiders further out from the Knight estate than before. This time the entire team was present with the possible exceptions of Tempest and Cyborg. It could've simply been they weren't spotted. But since one half of the estate ran along a sea wall, Tempest could easily have been underwater.

But the Senator had canceled that day's appearances. Meaning Ms. Pryce had gotten word to him. The press and his political opponents were having a field day with the fact that Knight had canceled all public appearances within the next week. He seemed to have hunkered down in his estate. Which was exactly where the Outlaws wanted him. And so, unwittingly, did the Outsiders.


When go time arrived, the Outsiders once again set up inner and outer rings of observation. The Outlaws spotted them, intentionally visibly penetrating them, to set off the Americans' electronic frontier. Commander, Hornet, Tank Man, Storm-God, and Titan sallied forth out of the manor to interdict the intruders. The Outsiders moved in a vain effort to engage the Outlaws.

"Provoke both sides!" Arkham Knight instructed, "Now!"

The Outsiders converged in on the Outlaws to prevent violence and instead heightened the tensions amongst the Americans. The federal security team lashing out to protect their primary. Thereby engaging the Outsiders while the Outlaws insured that the situation could not be deescalated. And as promised, Wild Dog, Street Avenger, and the Crimson Avenger had reunited with the main team, having finished a smaller project for Pirate Blue.


"We aren't here to create a conflict," Wonder Woman advised the Commander.

A bullet ricocheted off his shield, "Too late for that"

Donna was dismayed by the sound of the bullet impact. The shield wasn't wholly composed of Amazonium like Shieldmaster's but it was an alloy of some sort employing the rarest metal on Earth in its fabrication. She didn't know that the exotic blending of metals included titanium, iron, carbon, aluminum, and vanadium along with just enough of a trace amount of Amazonium to make the shield unbreakable by mortal means.

Nightwing and Batgirl had engaged Arkham Knight but he was successfully and persistently aggravating the Commander with precision gun play. And the serum that had enhanced the super-soldier pushed him to edge of the current human genome. Which physically made him far superior to even a highly conditioned standard human being. Arkham Knight, Nightwing, and Batgirl all being examples of such people.

"I don't want to fight you," Donna maintained as fists began to fly.

"Shouldn't be an assassin then," the Commander's clenched, lantern jaw didn't move while he spoke. Donna hated admitting it but the Commander was an excellent fighter and with his physical enhancements paired with his shield, it made him an actual threat to her.

Arkham Knight dodged Batgirl's slingshot ball bearings and Nightwing's escrima sticks to take shots at the Commander all the while deftly avoiding hitting any Outsiders. It bordered on the superhuman. but Deadshot was a non-meta as well. As were Bloodsport and any elite League of Assassins agent. Yet all of them were inequitably lethal. Arkham Knight tired of dodging Nightwing's efforts and began blocking them and using her as a human shield against Batgirl. Who resorted to using batarangs and her bo staff. Still, Arkham Knight managed to shoot between the pair and avoid hitting Wonder Woman to continue to threaten the Commander.

Donna suspected whatever treatments had created the Commander had also destabilized him. He wasn't seeking to detain her or question her but rather to neutralize her. Permanently.

"Hold still, dammit!" Nightwing snarled as she nearly took off Batgirl's head when Arkhma Knight maneuvered her into threatening her own teammate.

"Not a chance," he broke his silence and nearly her jaw. A backspin heel kick almost knocked Battgirl out. He reloaded and began firing away at the Commander while the pair were momentarily dazed.

Wonder Woman grimaced as murderous fury filled the Commander's eyes after Arkham Knight emptied both his pistols at the Americans' leader.


"We don't have to do this," Red Hood offered Black Bat.

"Good," Cassandra acknowledged, "Accept surrender."

"No, I accept yours," Red Hood countered.

"No," Black Bat was resolved but so was Red Hood. So the fight inevitably broke out. Cass was perhaps next only to Lady Shiva has the undisputed melee fighter in the world. Something which made a remote sense since Sandra Wu-San was Cassandra Cain's biological mother.

But it had been her father, David Cain, denying her the use of language that taught Cass the science of body language or chronemics. And it was still Black Bat's first language. So essentially, Li Harper telegraphed every move. But in a life that had now never been, Li had been Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen's daughter and Arkham Knight's partner in a post-apocalyptic Gotham.

An apocalypse brought to Gotham by the Scarecrow and revealing Batman's identity as Bruce Alan Wayne. so Bruce Alan and Selina had fled Gotham to raise Helena abroad. Glorith's manipulations of the New Earth history had not erased Li's skills, merely her past. So Red Hood rolled free of Black Bat's reach and drew her dual pistols. Abandoning conscious thought, Red Hood's reflex became her reality. Thought and motion were synchronized so Black Bat had no time to react to an event that was going to occur. It just occurred without preamble, giving Cassandra nothing to read.


"You were one of the good guys!" Hawkfire protested.

"And the Knight sloughed me off like so much garbage," Squire grated as her quarterstaff extended to its full and proper length.

"You really abandoned everything you stood for," Batwoman accused.

"You think about it every time you put on that costume," Squire knew with certainty, "The final solution. The reason to give for why crime doesn't pay anything but a single non-refundable dividend."

"Spyral trained us for it but I rejected them and you," Hawkfire readily asserted. Batwoman wasn't ready to quite as easily

"Tell her," Hawkfire demanded.

"Should I?" Batwoman asked, "Will it change anything?"

"And she can still be taught valuable lessons," Squire smirked.

"Hurf!" Hawkfire grunted as she threw her first jab. Squire deflected the blow with her staff's high end in her left hand and then swept the low right portion into Hawkfire's knee, dislodging Bette's kneecap. The resultant cry of pain didn't stop Squire.

She spun taking the staff onto her shoulder and clocking Hawkfire's face as she used her legs and hips for power and her arms and neck bracing the staff for stability and striking poise. As Hawkfire's feet fumbled, Bette went down in a bloodied heap. Squire hoisted the staff back over her head as she came to a stall. Spinning the staff hand over hand she deflected both of Batwoman's batarangs.

Intensifying the spin's speed, Squire batted away the point of Batwoman's fired grapnel prong. She the angled the spin and brought it to a close as she delivered an uppercut to Batwoman's jaw. Katrina was lifted off of her feet as her head snapped back, straining the muscles in her neck. She flopped onto her back and groaned as she attempted to rise and with a handspring.

It was clumsier than her norm but she came up throwing a right cross. She'd expected the block from Squire and pulled her arm back and spun around to throw a left elbow strike into Squire's face. As Beryl staggered, Batwoman chose to attend to Hawkfire's injury first before pressing any further attack. Relocating the kneecap, she got Hawkfire back, albeit painfully, onto her feet.

"She's not aggressive," Batwoman realized.

"The eff you say," Hawkfire snarled.

"She's only defensively fighting when we attack. She's holding us here for some reason," Batowman realized at last.

"So we split up and make her choose," Hawkfire understood.

"Make a choice, Beryl," Katrina stolidly remarked. Hawkfire limped in one direction while Batwoman went another.

"Strewth!" Squire swore, "Bloody effing hellfire."

She chose to halt Batwoman. So Hawkfire was unmolested as she headed for the estate manor itself.


The freshly sprinkled sod exploded into the air.

"Awl right!" Ravager grinned as Tank Man's thrusters kept him aloft while his repulsors fired.

"Damn it to hell," Hawk swore.

"Careful, Holly," Dawn Granger advised her formerly estranged sister.

"You focus on the Cyclops. The tin can is mine," Hawk snarled.

"Wait!" Dove feebly protested.

"Awww! Did'ums you have a fwight?" Ravager taunted Dove.

"I'm not being baited, Rose" Dove advised Ravager.

"Too bad. You could've saved your sister," Ravager drew her swords.

"What sick mind eff are you running here?" Dove asked as she flipped over Ravager's opening thrust. She dodged as Ravager spun around to parry a strike.

"If you'd chosen to fight, I'd stood down and simply let you help Hawk against Bucket Head," Ravager laughed with delight, "But I knew your sanctimonious head space would never choose to start a fight. So here we are."

"That we are," Dove grunted as she avoided, a sword, a heel kick, and another sword. Dove was supernaturally enhanced so she had greater than human strength and endurance. But Ravager was gen active and matched every one of Dove's enhancements save one: Dove could fly.

Hawk, on the other hand, was the Avatar of War compared to Dove's being the embodiment of Peace. Her strength vastly surpassed that of Dove and Ravager and she had uncharted regenerative abilities. Ravager, like her father Slade Wilson, could control and focus her body's healing efforts but Hawk healed like the mythical comic book mutant character that was so popular in cinemas these days. Hawk's gloves had talon points to match any comic character's claws.

But still, leaping up at Tank Man, she found his armor to be an even more exotic blend of alloys than the Commander's shield. It wasn't as indestructible as the shield but only by the slimmest of margins.

Tank Man had used meteorite iron samples to forge the steel and other alloys comprising his armored suit. In his former life, the inventor wearing the suit had been a military industrialist wounded in a terrorist attack. He'd designed a life support vest to keep his heavily damaged heart beating and then he'd replaced the heart itself. But it required a significant power source.

So he'd miniaturized a reactor and built a weapons systems to wear around him to bleed off the excess power and serve as a hedge of protection from further attacks. Formerly, a "stooge" of that same corporation, Tank Man had been recruited by Dr. Krigstein when he assembled the Americans on behalf of the US government. And the weapons manufacturing was sold off, piecemeal, to MARS Corp, LuthorCorp, Caldwell Arms, Hauser Arms, and even interests of the Zither Security Group. Team Luthor being equipped with failed designs made by Tank Man that he'd developed while studying and enhancing the Rocket Red suits.

Tank Man slowly descended to land on the ground to face Hawk directly. His strength and motion enhancers providing his new weapon of choice. Hawk caught his opening punch and Tank Man was amazed anyone could catch his fist. But the sod broke under Hawk's feet and she stumbled and fell. His weapons ports opened as Tank Man prepped to annihilate Hawk.

"Hawk!" Dove spotted this development as flew into Tank Man, feet first. He was staggered and she helped heft her sister back onto her feet.

"Together," Dove said solemnly.

"Together," Hawk allowed.

Ravager just wished she had some damn popcorn.


Danielle Cassidy had barely been transformed, like her uncle before her, into the Blue Devil as part of the family curse when the Outsiders recruited her. Only her twentysomething age had kept her from being enrolled in the eighteen to thirteen-year old Young Justice program the Justice Society and MLJ Initiative ran. The same age requirement had denied Darkling admittance despite her relative and fundamental lack of knowledge regarding her own powers. Darla Lang having inherited them from the previous Darkling upon her death. Instead, Darklinmg learned on the job with the Mighty Crusaders. Besides Blue Devil's demonic appearance, she wielded a hellfire spitting trident. Hefting that trident had activated the curse placed upon her family line and made Danielle the newest Blue Devil. Starling, frankly, didn't care.

"Stand down, whatever whats-it you are," she warned Blue Devil.

"Nope. Can't. You ain't killin' anyone, anyhoo, anywhere," Blue Devil snarked.

"I've got the guns, sister," Starling warned.

"Which is why I'm here...duh!" Blue Devil was unrepentantly sarcastic.

"Have it your way," Starling opened fire. Blue Devil simply melted the bullets in midair with her trident's flames.

"Shit!" Starling dodged the flame blast.

"I'm iterally hot stuff," Blue Devil boasted. Frankly, Starling agreed. Just as she had all sorts of wicked ideas of where to put Blue Devil's spade-tipped tail.

Bumblebee on the other hand was facing Hornet. Whose temper was as legendarily bad as an actual insect's.

"Get the eff out of her or you get it," Hornet warned.

"The Senator is a crook," Bumblebee countered.

"So? He's a politician. They're all crooked," Hornet could care less. In exchange for sexual favors, Knight had promised Hornet relief from alimony. All it took was two blowjobs and getting effed up the ass twice a night since they made their pact. It was worth it to Hornet especially since Knight had an exceptionally small dick and came in under two minutes. A few grunts and he was limp dick again. It took Hornet longer to get him up then to jerk him off and she just to squeeze her sphincter a little and he came. So she felt she was practically benefiting for free.

She volleyed bio-electric "sting" shots at Bumblebee when it became apparent the other woman wasn't departing. But Bumblebee swept in and delivered a right cross that sent Hornet plummeting to the ground.

"That's it, bitch. You're dead," Hornet vowed.


Sparrow drew her escrima sticks to fend off Beast Boy, who preferred a tiger form at the moment. Starfire unleashed her starbolts as Argent fired plasma bolts at Titan. But Titan was over three hundred feet tall and barely registered pain from the efforts despite Starfire flying circles around him while the landlocked Argent tried pushing him to the sea wall.

Meanwhile, Sparrow forced Beast Boy's change into an elephant and tricked him into charging Titan. Which enraged the giant man, or Goliath if you preferred, and Titan began fighting all three Outsiders while Sparrow wisely backed away.


Black Bison used his mystic tomahawk to fight against Storm-God and his enchanted axe, Stormbringer. Omen, Raven and Prysm watched, aghast, as Storm-God summoned lightning and spewed it through his axe at them.

"Damn it!" Omen called, "This was their plan all along!"

The empathic Raven could sense Storm-God's rage as clearly as the telepathic Omen could and she felt Black Bison's sense of satisfaction. But it would take all three of the women, including Prysm, to fight and potentially defeat Storm-God. whose mind, it seemed, was closed even to Omen.


"Arrow, I've managed to deactivate all sensors and surveillance in and around the estate. Your team is a go!" Oracle patched in over comms.

"Copy that," Arrow pushed his team in from the south and went to affect an eastward entrance facing the sea wall. a water funnel erupted from the base of the cliff and Tempest emerged from it to land between them and the manor house. Other Outsiders converged in from the northern approach.

"You're not going anywhere," Tempest predicted.

"Neither are you," a woman with a thick, Balkan accent announced and the situation became rife with possibility at that point.


Thunder and Lightning moved to block Arrow's egress. But Mercury sprinted and became a blur to the naked eye as he attacked the sisters. Lightning discharged electricity at the speedster while Thunder employed shock waves and waited to use her super strength. Arrow slipped past everyone.


"Why are you protecting a crook?" Red Arrow asked Tigress and Gimmix.

"He's innocent until proven guilty," Tigress said, "As my mom and dad exploited for years."

"`Sides, I hear you should understand her point," Gimmix was reaching into her Bag of Tricks.

Red Arrow was faster to draw an arrow from her quiver and nock it to her bowstring, "I really wouldn't."

"But are you faster than both of us?" Tigress aimed her crossbow.

"We'll find out. Won't we?" Red Arrow recklessly grinned.


Street Avenger and Wild Dog frequently collaborated. As did Girl 13 and Arc;light. But then, the women were a couple whereas the men were not. Indigo Enchantress didn't care. Her Chaos magic flowed from her even as Girl 13 erected shields against it.

"She's a damn sorceress," Girl 13 complained. Arclight, Steel's niece, was as a brilliant inventor as John Irons had been. Only Natasha was also a meta. Her armor served to enhance her gen factor. So she attempted to blast Indigo Enchantress with photon beams. Only, probability warped and they became fireworks in the sky exploding between bolts of lightning Storm-God was calling down.

Street Avenger and Wild Dog managed to accompany Arrow as he penetrated the manor's traditional security perimeter.


Crimson Avenger held Tempest and Cyborg by virtue of the blood within them. but Vic Stone's cybernetic systems were immune to her power, so she attempted to damage them with gunfire. Daveed B'nner grew despondent. And it triggered the change within him.

His skin turned red as his body swelled. The amount of body fat and muscle tissue in his body grew to tremendous portions. And the inedible Bulk waddled the Earth once more.

"Bulk eat!" the flab ridden monster roared.

"Shit!" Crimson Avenger swore as bullets pockmarked the Bulk's fat and then simply bounced out of it. The Bulk scooped up the bullets and popped them into his mouth and began chewing.

"Bulk want more," he declared.

"Eff, eff, eff!" Crimson Avenger released Tempest and quit fighting with Cyborg.

"Holy hells!" Tempest remarked as his right cross had no effect.

"Bulk unhappy," he whimpered, "Bulk smash."

A backhand propelled Tempest over the sea wall. Cyborg attempted to use his sound cannon but the Bulk crushed it and then ate it.

"Bulk eat!" he sought comfort in snacking again. Crimson Avenger wondered what kind of creature she faced.


Street Avenger and Wild Dog engaged the security services protecting Knight. while bullets flew, Arrow knocked out a few guards and proceeded to locate Knight. He was on the phone demanding further protections from Sazia.

"Senator Henry Knight!" Arrow's usual soft tenor was a guttural growl now, "You have failed this country."

Arrow drew, nocked, and fired an arrow before Knight could lift the pistol off of his desk and even aim it. The arrow lodged itself in his heart and a second arrow already flew, impaling his left eye and penetrating into his frontal lobe. Knight fell dead. Arrow returned to the gun battle to use trank darts to alleviate Wild Dog and Street Avenger's woes.


Arkham Knight drew two rods from the small of his back and they extended into full sized fighting sticks. While he fought both Batgirl and Nightwing, Wonder Woman's struggle against the Commander continued. She'd drawn her sword to compliment her own shield but the Commander's skill with his shield had weaponized it. He hurled it like a discus and it always returned to him. Despite his shield being a heater shield rather than a buckler like her own. Its curved shape made it arc through the air as it hurtled against her own shield and back to him. He finally drew his sidearm and began to fire at her. Donna sheathed her sword and unclasped her Lasso of Persuasion.

She threw the blue, glowing lasso around his throat, "Sleep!"

He fell unconscious.

At that moment, Arkham Knight clubbed both Nighjtwing and Batgirl. They fell in a daze but remained conscious.

"Peace," Arkham Knight offered Wonder Woman.

"I don't think so," she tried to loop him as well. He let her snare his batons and discharged their voltage like a capacitor firing. Which startled Donna and she dropped the lasso. Arkham Knight lobbed a couple of gas grenades and everyone began coughing as Batgirl and Nightwing fumbled for their rebreathers.


Black Bat struggled to stay ahead of Red Hood's hail of bullets and then she became aware of Arkham Knight just soon enough to roll with his blow to her head. But she didn't dodge Red Hood's.

"`Bout time, Todd" Red Hood accused.

"So shoot me," he snarked back.

"Tempting, but not quite yet," Li playfully decided.


Hawkfire escaped, leaving Squire to deal with Batwoman. Katrina held batarangs to use as blocks to Squire's staff ends. But she was ill-prepared for a two-handed center thrust that bashed the central portion of the staff against her forehead. Squire braced the staff against her hips as she swung and knocked Batwoman out. Then she set out to find Hawkfire.


While Tank Man eventually defeated Hawk and Dove with repulsor blasts, Ravager planted a bomb on his back, directly over the reactor core. Tt cracked the core containment sheath and Tank Man took flight to reach a nearby safe house where he could contain the leakage and prevent irradiating the city and suburbs of Boston.


Hornet unleashed her fury on Blue Devil, thus alleviating Starling from her moral dilemma regarding Danielle's fate. Bumblebee managed to knock Hornet out but fell victim to a spray can of knockout gas that Starling dosed her with.


Sparrow tased Beast Boy and knocked him out. His body was still twitching as Titan went over the cliff. He doubled his height again but the strain caused him to pass out. Fortunately for him, he shrank as his knees buckled and Tempest dragged him to shore.

Starfire and Argent turned their attention to Sparrow. Arkham Knight, Red Hood, and Starling opened fire on them. Wonder Woman recuperated enough to view the scene as Nightwing and Batgirl got her out of the noxious fumes. Squire knocked Argent senseless while Ravager caught Starfire's swoop and plunged her into the sodden turf as Donna finally realized the Outlaws were especially going out of their way to force conflicts between the Americans and her team as well as avoid lethal casualties on any side.


Omen's telekinesis held Storm-God while Raven's soul self passed through him, dazing him enough for Prysm's light powers to blast him into unconsciousness. But Black Bison dealt them each a near-knockout blow in swift succession.


Mercury was stunned by Thunder and Lightning's combined powers and they went to face his sister.


"We have a stand off," Red Arrow stood calmly, arrow drawn and ready. Tigress' aim was just as rock soldily steady. Gimmix's hand hovered over her bag. She plunged her hand into it. Red Arrow shifted and hit her with a taser arrow as she ducked under Tigress' shot. Tigress cocked and reloaded her crossbow just as swiftly as Red Arrow drew another arrow

"And here we are again," Red Arrow quipped.

"For the last time," Tigress predicted. Hawkfire knocked Red Arrow to her knees. But the Outlaws had surrounded her and Tigress.

"Crap," Tigress grumped.


Thunder, Lightning, and Arclight's powers improbably turned against one another. Girl 13 had managed to physically approach the Indigo Enchantress and knocked her out with a conjured club. Then she prepped healing spells for her girfriend and fallen teammates.


Tempest's powers swept the Bulk out to sea but Crimson Avenger froze the blood in his brain until he passed out. Arrow, Street Avenger, and Wild Dog emerged from the manor house. Every Outlaw now stood united against Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Hawkfire, Tigress, Nightwing, and the recovering and thoroughly embarrassed Starfire. Girl 13 was hurrying Arclight, Thunder and Lightning's healing. Hawk was up and rousing Dove.


"We can walk and this will end peaceably," Arkham Knight offered.

"We can't do that and you know it," Donna replied.

"Federal authorities are on their way here as we speak," Arkham Knight tried to be reasonable, "Knight is dead. You assaulted federal agents. Tomorrow you'll fugitives just like us."

"Which was the plan all along," she belatedly realized.

"Welcome to a life of crime," Arkham Knight said as smoke bombs were dropped by every Outlaw.

"Not this again," Batgirl complained.

"They're gone!" Hawkfire exclaimed.

Starfire doggedly went airborne, "Nowhere! How?"

"League of Assassins," a groggy Black Bat assessed. Sirens could be heard on fast approach.

"Do we stay?" Girl 13 asked Wonder Woman.

"We have no jurisdiction and we did fight federal agents. They'll just arrest us. Rightfully so," Nightwing spoiled it for Donna.

"Jackie, what do you have for us?" Donna asked the revived Gimmix.

"A splitting headache," Jacqueline Pemberton groaned.

"Merry," Donna grated.

"Call me that again and you'll have the headache," Gimmix rubbed her forehead, "But...`kay, I have something. Just get Garth to get his damn transport up here."

While Gimmix assembled a collection of seemingly mismatched components from her bag, Tempest hailed and summoned his Atlantean troop ship. Gimmix pushed in the power cell and stepped back. A holographic image of the Outsiders assembled appeared and made it seem they were milling about.

"This will hold them," Gimmix promised.


But, at the base of the cliff, a now reawakened Titan witnessed the Atlantean craft move and resubmerge as he distantly heard B'nner's cries for help as the roiling surf came in. Titan got the once-again fully human Daveed to safety as they summoned an extraction. Dr. Krigsetin obliged.


Later, after the Americans had given their statements, they met with Tank Man in the Homeland safe house where his armor had been repaired.

"Congratulations, kinders, Sec. Bones is relocating us to San Francisco where we will receive assistance in detaining these Outsiders," Dr. Krigstein told them.

"What assistance?" the Commander inquired.

"Why assistance?" Storm-God railed.

"The Freedom Fighters. Apparently Sen. Knight's death has greatly angered Uncle Sam and the Phantom Lady. Once we have them in custody, you can avenge yourselves upon them," Dr. Krigstein promised, "And that is why we have assistance. So that we cannot fail."


"I'm so glad you're all home," Oracle wheeled herself into greeting the arriving Outlaws as they entered a common foyer that led to each of their individual apartments within Three Towers. They lived there at Knightfall's suffrage.

"Auntie Li!" Lian Harper yelled as she sprinted through the milling crowd. Roy and Jade greeted them as well.

"Your sister is well trained," Emiko reported to Jade.

"By our mother. Our stepfather favored his older daughter. The other Artemis Crock," Jade explained, "Mom continued training Artemis even after her back was broken in prison. It was supposed to be for self defense. Not taking up the family business."

"But your mom is an instructor with Young Justice," Ollie remarked.

"Call it a form of penance," Jade shrugged.

"We made dinner," Protector announced.

"He did most of it," Oracle said ruefully.

"She mixed and baked, I did the frying," Protector amended for her.

"Together we were pretty badass," Oracle allowed.


Later, in their shared space, Oracle lay wrapped in Jason's arms, "I hope you don't like me as a blonde"

"It's different but I love the old you," he stated.

"Thank God!" she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I just love you however you come," he promised.

"I kinda fell that way about you too," Oracle shared with heartfelt feeling. But, for some reason, Jason worried about Li and her threat to kill him. She played off as a joke but he knew it really wasn't


Historical footnote: this takes place in chronological order after the Justice League: DCAU Series, and after the various DCAU series Anthology stories: Oracle, Oracle Sees All, The Cult, Family in Crisis, Red Hood,and Beryl & Rose.