Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Marvel or DC. Sean Kruger and any other OC belongs to Dragonlord0 with his permission.
Enjoy!
The whole room was silent as the two groups stared each other down. Eddie observed the recruits, the new faces being Captain Cold and Heat Wave, the only two of the Flash's Rogues present, Merlyn, Star Sapphire, Sinestro, Bronze Tiger, Black Spider, Riddler, and Circe, all gathered in the living room staring at him, Anne, Diana, Supergirl, Zatanna, Jason, and Ivy, who in turn stared back waiting for a response.
"Well… this is awkward." Captain Cold finally broke the silence.
"Eddie? Why are there known criminals in your living room?" Diana asked.
'Sean never told us he would bring them here!' Venom hissed.
"So, you're the guy who came up with this whole task force plan." Bronze Tiger spoke up.
"Yeah, all in the job description." Eddie simply said.
Once he said this, mostly everyone broke out in laughter, Heat Wave was the first to get over it, he wiped a tear from his eye. "You? Lead us? You gotta be joking! What you gonna do? Annoy people with your stories?"
Eddie smiled, as if he was going along with the joke… the tendril with Venom's face emerged from his back once more, causing everyone, minus Anne, Diana, Ivy, Zatanna, Kara, Jason, Deathstroke, and Deadshot, to go silent in shock and fear, before he leaned closer to Mick.
"You were saying?" Venom asked, a monstrous grin plastered on his face as his lifeless white eyes practically burned into his soul, he gulped
"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Venom." Eddie introduced the team to the symbiote. "He'll be your co-leader, and maybe your best friend if you behave. As long as you don't get on his bad side in any way, he probably won't eat you."
"So, you're the little devil on Brock's shoulder that Kruger told us about." Frost spoke with a look of interest in her eyes.
"You guessed it, though you can be the snow angel on the other shoulder anytime, Frosty." Venom teased back, earning a flirtatious smirk from Frost in response.
"Now that we're all caught up, anyone has questions?" Anne asked.
"Yeah, why the hell did you bring them?" Cold asked, gesturing to Diana, Supergirl and Zatanna. "They're Big Leaguers. They'll no doubt give us away as quick as the Flash."
"In case you haven't noticed, Wonder Woman's an Amazon." Eddie reminded him. "They kill in battle before, and out of everyone in the Justice League, she understands the most. Second of all, Supergirl's in the middle of questioning her goody two-shoes cousin's flimsy code. Lastly… Zatanna and I used to date."
A few of the men present whistled in approval, while others just smirked or rolled eyes, and Circe looked a little jealous at the fact that the woman who humiliated her has been in a relationship with the man who brought them all together.
"Alright, back on track. Now that you're all here, who else has any other questions? Or did Sean answer everything when he spoke to you?" Anne spoke up.
The first one to speak was Black Spider. "Yeah, I was told that I'd be able to avenge my family but I wasn't told that I'd be working with a bunch of criminals." He says looking over at Deadshot.
"I told you that the team was comprised of unique people, I only gave you one name, when I mentioned Kruger you assumed that it would be heroes, that's not my fault. Besides you're just as bad as anyone here." Deadshot countered. Before Black Spider could continue Eddie got everyone back on track.
"We'll get to that in a bit, Spidey…" Eddie paused. "Isn't that somebody else's nickname? Ah, whatever. Anyway, as you may or may not know we brought this group together with the sole purpose of ridding the world of its filth." He was cut off by Merlyn who scoffs as he heard this.
"So basically another Justice League?" Merlyn spoke up, not impressed at all.
"Not quite, while we may have a similar objective in protecting the planet, our methods will have better results. We'll be taking out our targets on a more… permanent level." Eddie clarified.
That made the man's eyebrows raise. From his encounters with the League none had the backbone to ever finish a job.
"That means, people like the Joker, Black Mask, Lex Luthor, they won't be given a second chance if we get to them first. If the opportunity presents itself with anyone beyond redemption, take them out." Anne said.
"So how do we decide who can change like us?" Asked Livewire.
"Anne and Riddler here will take the time to do background checks on our targets and figure out their locations. Though if you want a little more information it'll be those who have committed fucked up acts like murder and rape time and time again and show no signs of stopping." Eddie explained.
Morrow who had stayed quiet through the whole meeting spoke up. "Mr. Brock, if I may ask a question."
"Alright. Ask away."
"You've created an organization to rid the world of evil, yet this group seems to be comprised of mostly all villains and assassins. Why is that?"
"The reason we are all here is because we've stomached the Justice League's incompetence for the last time." Venom said with disdain in his voice. "Innocents keep dying, the League takes their murderers to jail where they break out, and the cycle repeats. But not everyone in here is as heartless as the scum we hunt down."
"The real reason is because everyone in this room has a very small moral compass. No one here would hesitate to kill someone should we give the order. Take Black Mask for example, the League will argue that we can't kill him because we don't have the right to decide who lives and dies and all that shit." Eddie spoke.
"Meanwhile, he pays his way out of prison and it's back to square one. He continues his drug trafficking and kidnappings and people suffer. If we tell Deadshot to put a bullet between his eyes I know he won't hesitate to do so.
That's not to say that this team will be made up of only former bad guys. In fact, I have a few heroes that I plan on joining us in the near future."
"And how would you be able to convince another member of the League to join us what with their beliefs and all." Sinestro asked, not believing that anyone of the League would join them.
Deathstroke found this to be the perfect opportunity to speak up. "With the creation of the team." He said confidently. "Not everyone shares their black and white view of the world, those who can't speak up because there would be nowhere to go if they left. If they spoke out against what the League believes in that person would be seen as a possible threat and would be monitored by the Justice League. With us they would have somewhere to turn to where people shared similar beliefs and would gain protection from the league."
"Sounds like a cult when you say it like that." Mumbled Frost to Livewire who chuckled.
"Believe us, our methods may be more extreme, but we all share a common goal: to protect the innocent and to punish the guilty, especially the Justice League." Venom said, which caused a few to raise eyebrows at his remark.
"Uh, how exactly are the League guilty?" Livewire spoke up. "Is it because they walked right onto your doorstep and tried kicking the ooze out of you?"
"Actually…" Eddie spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. "…it's much more complicated than that. It's been on my mind for a few years now. Lemme ask…" he turns to Supergirl. "If you're still in the League and caught a serial killer, what would you do?"
Kara was somewhat surprised that she was to speak but answered anyways. "Then we'd apprehend him and turn him into the authorities." Eddie nodded.
Eddie nodded. "Right, now picture this: the same guy escapes prison and kills someone else. You repeat the same pattern over and over again. Then one day a family asks you why that guy is still out there. Why you let him kill their child, why you lock him up knowing he'll only break out again." Everyone in the room agreed that this was getting too specific to be any form of rhetorical question.
"A couple years ago, I was an up and coming reporter for the Daily Globe in New York a few months after an invasion on the city that was stopped by the newly formed Avengers. Then a few years later, the Justice League formed when they had their own invasion to deal with. They were my inspiration to help people, to give them something to believe in. I even got to interview some of them a few times, especially the Flash. That was until the next few years when I heard people talking shit about the League, about how much damage they've caused and the people that died in the crossfire over the years because of them. Not only that, but I heard rumors that the Avengers and the Justice League were getting into some… disagreements. I couldn't let that stop me, so I tried to hold onto whatever hope I had for them. That was when the Joker decided to come to New York for one of his 'tours'. He set off random explosives across each part of the city. Dozens died that day. Then the Justice League would show up to save the day, way too late."
"I was there when the Joker was being shipped off back to Gotham. And just after I interviewed the League, I heard a lady talking to the police, and she looked pissed, I tell you. Her name's Miriam Sharpe, and it turned out her son was one of the clown's victims. She yelled loud enough for me to hear her. She was yelling why that bastard was only going back to the hellhole where he escaped from. That it was the League's fault for letting her kid die, that she didn't want anything more to do with them. It would've gotten to their skulls if they hadn't already left." Everyone in the room was hanging on to every word he spoke.
"I couldn't sleep for days after that. But in the few times I did, all I could dream of was Miriam crying for her kid." He finished.
Kara was the most shocked, she had only ever heard positive things about the heroes. She'd never heard anything like this. She didn't know how she'd react if she were the one in that situation.
"All my support for the Justice League crashed down that day. It's true what they say, 'Never meet your heroes'. You can guess how I lost my first job back then a few years later." Eddie continued before taking a deep breath. "I don't hate them for what they do, I just hate the fact that they never finish the job. That's why we formed this team to take out these psychopaths. To make sure no more lives will be ruined again."
Diana was probably feeling the most guilty after hearing that story; all this time, she and the League ignored the slaughter villains like the Joker left in their wake in favor of locking them up. With that in mind, she grew pissed that she allowed her teammates to hold her back for too long.
"All those years of training with your mother and it took you this long to figure it out? Some warrior you turned out to be." Circe said to her nemesis with a scowl, causing Ivy to elbow her in the side.
"And Miriam?" Diana asked shakily, trying her best to compose herself after taking in this information. "How is she now?"
"A few months after I met Venom, we came to visit her." Eddie explained. "She's been running a support group for people who lost their loved ones to psychopaths like the Joker. We promised her we would kill him so her son could properly be put to rest, and that's when she promised to keep our secret. And now we're gonna make good on that promise."
By now, the whole group stood in deep thought. They may despise their respective enemies, maybe even respected them a bit, but after hearing Eddie's story, they were filled with even more resentment and a need to beat some sense into them the next time they meet.
"Alright, how're we gonna do this, boss?" Jason asked, his anger towards the revelation hidden under a calm demeanor.
"If we're gonna take down all crime, there's gotta be rules on how to take down the worst of the worst only. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists, psychos, and sadists should be tortured and then torn apart in the worst ways imaginable. Abusers should be crippled, traumatized and jailed for life begging for death every night in their hospital beds or cells. The only ones who deserve to get a slap on the wrist are just pickpockets who are trying to help their loved ones!" Eddie listed off with growing aggression in his voice. "A couple of years ago the current members of the Justice League were branded as criminals by some and then called heroes… and in time so will we. We've watched people suffer for too long. No more. Right now, I need those of you who came today to give me your answer. Are you ready to do the right thing for once and join us?"
There was a moment of silence in the room, and Captain Cold was the first to stand up.
"I'm in." he said with a smirk.
"I'm your guy." Heat Wave added as he too stood up.
"As long as we fight evil and don't lose sight of our goal, then I'm in as well." Black Spider confirmed as he and the rest of the team stood up, confirming their willingness to join.
"From now on, we'll be more than just protectors… we're Lethal Protectors." Eddie said with narrowed eyes.
"Lethal Protectors, huh? I dig it." Jason grinned. "So, when should we meet with the President to legalize this team?"
"Sean had it planned for next morning, but for some reason he wanted us to do it now." Eddie said. "I know how we can get to the White House." he turned to Zatanna, who was also shocked by the information given. "Zee, can you take us there?"
"Alright… but we just wanted to say…" Zatanna stammered.
"We're sorry, Eddie." Diana spoke up. "If we had known about this…"
"Don't be." Eddie somberly cut her off. "You just didn't get the right advice when you signed up. You don't have to join us now, but just think about what we said, alright?" he turned to Zatanna. "Alright, Zee. Work your magic."
The White House, Washington, D.C.
It took everyone a moment to get a clear view of their surroundings, noticing that they went from a living room to a rooftop…
…with a group of armed men having their guns trained on them the moment they appeared on the roof.
That was when one particular armed man stepped in front of the group towards Eddie.
"Kruger said you were all coming." the man said as he lowered his weapon and shook Eddie's hand. "Rick Flagg Jr. Guess we're both familiar with the kid."
"Really?" Eddie asked in surprise before he and the group saw a familiar face from behind the armed men.
"Hey guys." Sean said as he observed the group. "I assume everything's in order?"
"Good to go." Eddie confirmed, with the group giving a few signs of their agreements to join.
"Good. Also, to any of you in the team. Don't freak out." Sean said, making a few raise their eyebrows before they saw the young man's escort.
To Eddie, Anne and Venom, it was a dark-skinned woman in a blue suit, but to the small few in the group… it was a different story.
"Aw, you're shitting me…" Floyd growled.
"Seems your tongue is still as sharp as your shooting skills, Lawton. Just be glad the Squad days are over." Amanda Waller said with a smirk ever so present.
"Amanda Waller, I presume?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow at the woman in question, who simply smirked at him.
Later
The group was gathered in Waller's personal office, with Flagg and a small group of armed men monitoring the group should they try anything funny.
"Thank you for coming, all of you. Sorry for the slight inconvenience, but I believe that such discussions are best had behind closed doors." she said as everyone got comfortable. Her eyes locked on to Eddie. "Mr. Brock, I'm glad to meet you in person. You've earned yourself quite the reputation in the past year."
"No doubt Sean gave you a background check on me." asked the reporter, his other keeping a sharp eye on all the armed men in the room.
Waller held out her hand and was handed a folder by one of her men, "You and your friend are not as subtle as you think." she opened the folder and laid it out on the desk, inside was a detailed report with several photographs depicting Eddie as he was now and in his Venom form, one of them even had him mid-transformation.
Eddie looked at all of the photos while Waller continued, "I have eyes and ears in several cities, you just happened to catch the interest of one of my informants who reported to me. I had them follow you from a distance and record anything of importance. After that I had a background check done on you as well, it's a shame such a calm, simple life was uprooted so abruptly."
The team wisely stayed silent as they watched the host and the former head of Cadmus closely. Eddie closed the folder and gave Waller his full intention, "Is this blackmail, Miss Waller?" he asked pointedly.
Waller chuckled, "No. This was merely to get your attention. If this was blackmail I wouldn't have had someone of your… uniqueness, brought straight to my personal office. Even though I have full faith in the combat capabilities of my men, I believe that even they would be hard pressed to contain one such as you."
The symbiote decided to make itself known and slithered out of Eddie in tendril form like it had before.
Flagg and the soldiers around them aimed their guns at the creature and its host. But a raised hand from their boss had them lowering their weapons on silent command.
"Not surprising, considering Earth's had many encounters with other extraterrestrial life. Apokoliptians, Martians, the Imperium, the Chitauri. You're the most unique out of all of them." Waller said, resting her elbows on her desk and clasping her hands together.
"You're a very perceptive human." said Venom, "Seems that arrogance hasn't died down from what Sean told us."
"People like Carlton Drake are far too arrogant for their own good." replied Waller. "The only person with more arrogance than him is Tony Stark, but at least he shows a decent amount of class when it matters."
Eddie leaned forward, "You know what the Life Foundation had been up to?" he asked, a little surprised.
"Drake's people may have been on his payroll, but money can only buy loyalty for so long." Waller replied cryptically, "Getting the information on what he had been doing, who you are and what your partner is, was only mildly difficult. And when all of this came across my desk, I made it a point to get in contact with you and have you come here… but Sean already had us beaten to it."
"Why/Why?" both host and symbiote asked at the same time.
"We had been planning for years for a time when a vigilante would ask for his own team from the very government. When they would grow sick of the Justice League's incompetence and the constant breakouts from corrupt prisons such as Arkham."
"So, you also want to hire us as, what? Your enforcers?" asked Eddie.
"In a matter of speaking. Your reputation precedes you. The incident in New York a few years ago is still going around town. The people began turning away from the Justice League since then." said Waller.
"So far we have yet to hear of this 'proposition'." said Venom.
The former head of Cadmus gave a half-smile, "My proposition is this: If you are willing to offer your services to the government should we require them, you will be not only be paid, but offered protection so you no longer have to run from the law or the Justice League. Our information network will ensure that the League cannot touch any of you here and you all will be free to do as you see fit. And if the League chooses to interfere, then you know what to do. What do you say?"
Both Eddie and Venom took a moment to ponder this proposition. There may come a time when the Justice League decides to interfere with one of their missions, but killing them is definitely out of the question. Instead they should be incapacitated, humiliated, and shown the error of their ways that they'll stop getting into the team's business.
After a few moments of silence, they finally gave their answer.
"Deal/Deal."
Waller smiled at the answer as she stood up. "Then it's best we be on our way. The President must be waiting."
Eddie stood up and took a deep breath. It was now or never. With a sigh he followed Waller out the door with the team following behind.
Hours Later
Sean called together a press conference held there in the White House. In no time at all were every seat in the room taken up by reporters all anxiously waiting to hear why their President had called the meeting.
When the cameras started rolling, every TV in America had their TV broadcasting the speech. That included the Watchtower where the Justice League were no doubt watching.
As soon as the President finished his statement, he gestured for Sean to come up to the podium so he could give his speech to his audience.
"Citizens of the world," he began. "For years, we've put up with the increase in crime and depravity. The Joker, Bane, Luthor, Metallo. We've allowed these criminals to surface alongside the quote-unquote heroes, and redefine the suffering the everyday scum inflicts on an innocent person."
"And what is the Justice League doing about it? Putting them in cardboard cutouts of prisons like Arkham and Belle Reve so they can escape and give your so-called heroes something to do. Why should we, the people, put up with the whims of these self-appointed protectors? Why should we have to put up with madmen in war machines vaporizing our cities, serial killers hunting your children, human traffickers selling your wives and daughters and lovers into sexual slavery?"
Sean raised his fist. "No more! Starting today, we will take back what's ours from every last criminal on this planet. We show that we will not let murderers, or rapists, or any other filth ruin our lives by taking theirs! Starting today, justice, real, lethal justice, will be definitive and final! Starting today, tyrants will fall and the rogue bureaucrats ruining democracy will be cut down to size!"
Sean lowered his fist, as he took a deep breath.
"That is why we're here to introduce a new task force that our U.S. Government has sanctioned in an attempt to clean the streets of crime and make the world a safer place. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to… the Lethal Protectors."
Venom and the entirety of the team walked out from behind the blue curtains that hung in the room. Once more the reporters were going wild trying to find out more about this revelation. Up in the Watchtower the Flash summed up what was on everyone's mind.
"Oh shit."
Phew! That was a long chapter. Sorry for the delay. I returned to college a month ago and I had been caught up on so much work since then. I can't always update faster, you know?
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I know some will be pleased to know that the real fun can now begin. Now we know the truth behind Eddie's distrust towards the Justice League, and now Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Zatanna are beginning to question their place in the League.
On a side note, in regards to one of Eddie's acquaintances, Miriam Sharpe, she's actually a character from the Marvel comics in the Civil War event, and made an appearance in Captain America: Civil War.
And I'm just gonna say it, with the mention of the Avengers, this story officially shares the Marvel Universe, a few touches of the MCU. But that's all I can give for now. Won't spoil anything else.
Here are the members as of now:
Venom: Leader
Red Hood: Second-in-command
Deathstroke (Arkham Origins): Commander
Deadshot (Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay)
T. O. Morrow (Young Justice)
Black Spider (Assault on Arkham)
Captain Cold (Arrowverse)
Heat Wave (Arrowverse)
El Diablo (DCEU)
Bronze Tiger (Hell to Pay)
Poison Ivy
Merlyn (Arrowverse)
Sinestro
Circe (JLU)
Livewire (DCAU)
Volcana
Killer Frost
Cheetah
Killer Croc
Riddler (Arkham version)
Star Sapphire (Justice League: Doom)
If you have anymore suggestions on who else should join, please let them be known. Next, you'll see the League's reaction to Venom and his group, and the first missions the Protectors will take. As always, stay tuned!