32
"Are we done?" Superman sighed.
The assorted bodyguards and enforcers were strewn about the devastated tavern, including Draaga. Zazz was the local boss and the leading contender for being the big boss of Rimbor. Several toughs had been invited to represent their employers as Zazz sought to interrogate a Kryptonian. Superman hadn't lifted a finger and dozens of beings had injured themselves attempting to inflict harm.
"Can we finally talk?" Superman asked.
"Did you learn Interlac from a textbook?" Zazz mocked him.
"From a Kryptonian Artificial Limited Intelligence," Superman answered, "I represent the House of El."
"All the Houses of Krypton are extinct," Zazz sneered.
"Of course, you're right," Superman allowed, "But if you're actually wrong?"
"Meaning?" Zazz was suspicious.
"The Dark Circle will meet other survivors and conscript them. And they'll have my capabilities," Superman warned him, "Unless we halt the Dark Circle's expansion and destroy it from within."
"So you're talking open rebellion," Zazz realized.
"I'm suggesting you do what you do best but do it to drive the Dark Circle off of this world.
Superman clarified.
"Just like that," Zazz sassed him.
"No, with my help," Superman pledged his support.
"And what can you do?" Zazz was skeptical.
"I've beaten Darkseid hand to hand. Twice," Superman explained.
"Let me make a few vid calls," Zazz decided.
It took what seemed to be a local hour but Zazz returned, "Okay, we got a meet scheduled. But you'd better be as good as promised."
"I'm better," Superman forsook humility.
"And another thing, we checked into your rep since War World. We've got one condition to this revolt. We do it the Rimbor way and you won't interfere no matter how squeamish you get," Zazz demanded.
"I guess I'll live with that," Superman conceded.
"Ducky, you don't have a choice," Zazz gave a menacing chuckle.
Power Ring crippled a few floating fortresses before returning to what Jessica estimated was the capital. Hundreds gathered around her she alighted in the center of a public square. Voices lifted asking her all sorts of questions. A shrill whistle silenced them.
A petite, dark eyed and haired woman approached, "I'm Lilo Digby. I'm something of a local representative, if you take the meaning."
"I worked with local reps on Talok VIII," Jessica explained.
"So I've been told," Lilo replied, "I take it you're not a Green Lantern."
"I'm a Power Ring," Jessica confirmed it, "Why?"
"Lanterns don't interfere with the Dark Circle," Lilo was blatantly disgusted, "Universal protectors, my ass."
Lilo studied the human, "You're from Earth. North America from the sound of it."
"I've been told all the humans in this region are originally from Earth," Jessica shared, "You sound Australian."
"Once upon a time I lived in Oz. But I was born a Kiwi," Lilo was happy to share.
"And all of you share a similar gen factor?" Jessica asked.
"Close enough that the Dominators barely tweaked our meta-genes to universally give us the ability to shrink to a millimeter," Lilo explained.
Making you like the Atom rather than Doll Man," Jessica summarized.
"When we colonized these star systems, we were protected by Valor, who also rescued us from the Dominators," Lilo told her.
"Given the Dominators obsession with subjecting gen actives, it was a good thing," Power Ring stated, "But Valor went missing months ago."
"A couple of years ago, actually," Lilo regretted it, "He just…vanished."
"And eye witness accounts confirm that part," Jessica assured her, "Just like the fact he didn't go quietly or willingly."
"Is he even still alive?" Lilo was despondent.
"I have no idea," Power Ring confessed, "But you can't give up. Ever."
"So how do we get rid of these Dark Circle wankers?" Lilo asked.
"I have a few ideas and I'm hoping your people have a lot of them," Jessica enthused, "Because together we can do this."
As the crowd filed away to seclusion, following Lilo, Jessica Cruz battled an anxiety attack. She was absolutely the wrong person at the wrong place at definitely the wrong time. But these people looked to her for strength and guidance. She just assumed she could fake it for a while.
Killer Frost was vaguely impressed. Wonder Woman had used her bow and her "Mistress", a behemoth of an axe far larger than Artemis herself, to slaughter everything the Dark Circle could throw at her. Squads of peacekeepers and regular troops had flanked their position to engage in reprisals against Braalian civilians. Killer Frost had frozen them all. But the Braalians used their magnetic powers to utilize magno balls to shatter the troops. Louise Lincoln had to admire such ruthless efficiency.
"Who are you ladies?" a Polish gentleman that only give his name as Evan Krinski asked.
"We are part of the Justice League from Earth sent to assist you," Artemis answered.
"They know we're from Earth," Killer Frost rolled her eyes, "They're from Earth."
"The League battled Darkseid." Krinski was pleased to recall.
"Twice," Artemis boasted.
"But we weren't in either fight," Killer Frost forced Artemis to admit.
"Nevertheless, you're both who Braal needs right now. We're ready to revolt but they have shields against our magnetism." Krinski revealed.
"But not against us," Killer Frost smirked. Things were finally getting fun.
"So we have an accord?" Cascade asked of the assembled Zuunian crime lords. Supposed civic leaders had been present but Network had sifted through their minds a discovered they were, with no exceptions, on the payroll of the Dark Circle. To demonstrate the Sovereigns' resolve, in the face of any difficulty, Finale set them loose and then executed them to every man and woman before they could reach any exit.
"We'll rid ourselves of these bucket heads," the nominally appointed speaker said, "And we'll smuggle you off world. We're in contact with the useless rebels. They have a destination picked out for the rendezvous. Good luck!"
His mocking tone notwithstanding, the news was everything the Sovereigns could've hoped for. Cascade counseled Indigo, Cruiser, and Rampart, "Keep a sharp eye on these scoundrels flying us. I need time for Network to find us a safe haven. Your perceptions, your telekinesis, and your force fields will keep us alive just long enough."
"Oh, such high praise," Rampart mirthfully teased his leader.
"And what roles do Reflex and Finale play?" Cruiser was scornful because he wasn't in command and Cascade had been successful every single time they saw action.
"Pure, terrifying intimidation," Cascade wore a cold smile.
"Your friends are eventually rallying to our position," Brainiac 2 advised Power Girl.
"Most of them are hardly my friends," Power Girl stiffly replied.
"So noted," Vril Dox was chastened, "I just thought someone like you would have scores of friends."
"You'd be wrong," Power Girl snorted.
"There's a first time for everything," Brainiac 2 shrugged.
"Modest much?" Power Girl sarcastically reviled him.
Tinya Wazzo, Phase, quietly watched the interplay. Something about Power Girl and Brainiac 2 reminded her of a similar situation. But with her memory wiped, she couldn't recall what precisely. It was just a vague feeling.
Like her place being with a LEGION. And even Vril couldn't explain the bizarre dialect of Interlac she'd been speaking when found. But she also knew the current version. Go figure.
She was genetically human but not from Earth or any outer colony. And no one matched her power set. And, most frustrating of all, at times she could almost visualize a man named "Jo". All of which was designed to torture her and Ultra Boy in the future where she'd once been the Legionnaire called Apparition. And Tinya and Jo Nah had been deeply in love before Glorith punished Ultra Boy by banishing Apparition to the past to become Phase.
Lydea and Lyrissa Lallor arrived from successfully completing their mission. Shadow Champions from Talok VIII like Shadow Lad, the mother-daughter team had been with REBELS from the beginning and especially now as the REBELS had become the LEGION. And they had vital information to share with the entire team and their soon to be extended guests.
Ferris Air wouldn't accept Hal's calls after he arrived in London. He supposed he'd burned his bridges by convincing Carol to accept the star sapphire once again. With all five gem fragments reunited into a whole, the Sapphire Queen was probably the single most powerful Lantern. While Carol had saved existence a dozen times over, she'd still stepped down as the corporation's most successful CEO. And she'd certainly been as successful at distracting him from his sworn duties.
Her proposal to finalize their relational standing had been a sham of a ruse. She was still married to Kyle Rayner and that was irrevocable in the eyes of the Star Sapphires. She had merely wanted to remove him as a professional rival. Or such were the lies he told himself in the dark.
But he still remembered the alarm codes to Ferris Manor. The gate code was the date she'd first been possessed by the star sapphire. The house's alarm code was his real birthdate not the off by a few days birth certificate version. He'd been born in Turin but his birth wasn't documented until his family reached California two days later. Carol's father expended a little influence for his favorite pilot and his newborn son.
Hal kept a sports car in storage and used it to race around England until he reached beyond London, blew through Wessex, and arrived at the manor on the line between Wessex and Sussex. It literally sat between two tax codes.
Hal was startled to find the gate open. Furthermore, the front door was unlocked. He dropped his duffle and left the door open as he prowled through the house. He vaguely remembered every staff member retired to separate housing or back into the local village excepting a single maid. But there didn't even seem to be the sole servant supposedly on duty.
A magenta hand gripped him, "Carol? I can explain."
"I certainly hope so," Remoni-Notra purred.
Hal swallowed. Since when did Carol traipse around like a spread from Victoria Secret? And when had she gotten breast implants? Hal had always considered Carol to have the perfect feminine body. But now she was an idealized pornographic actress. And she looked very aroused.
"Hal Jordan. Without your power ring? I'll just have to have my way with you. You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Remoni-Notra was practically giddy at the thought of the sexual conquest to come.
Hal was starting to come out of his self-pitying funk and realize something was seriously wrong. The body and attitude were all wrong. Close but exaggerated. The breasts…well, the less he dwelt there the better his pants fit. The lips were also too full and definitely far too pouty. Even the hair was too lustrous in an odd way. It even seemed buoyant in such a fashion that it seemed to be vaguely floating. And when did Carol start having a French accent?
"Ah, poor Hal Jordan, you've realized I'm not your beloved Carol," Remoni-Notra teased him, "I'm something better."
"Who are you?" Hal demanded to know. The mystery was eating him alive.
"We've met. I was one of five Star Sapphires, each with a fragment of the one true gem. I would sit for pitiful Carol Ferris when she made appearances as herself and not as her destined role," Remoni-Notra explained.
"We've never met because that never happened," Hal protested, "I would know."
"Would you? You're too precious for words. Let me remind you of the truth," She bathed him in the Light of Love.
Hal remembered torrid affairs that would them both exhausted for days afterwards, "Oh. My. God. Remoni-Notra."
"See? Isn't it easy to care once you remember the truth?" she asked.
"What do you want?" he grated.
"To avoid Carol Ferris and every other Star Sapphire. I want to renew our passion for one another. I know you the way Carol never has. I know each of you hidden appetites and desires as well as your preferred pleasures. And you know mine as well. Why shouldn't we be lovers?" she asked.
"It takes more than sex to make a lover," Hal warned her.
"I know. And so did you once upon a time," Remoni-Notra goaded him.
And his memory finished unlocking. She was the reason he'd been emotionally unavailable with Carol. His head told him Carol was the one. But his heart and body craved Remoni-Notra's company.
"Why didn't I know?" Hal whispereeed.
"Because the wretched Zamarons wanted you for Carol and only their precious Carol. But the hags left with the Guardians. So we can finally be together the way we were meant to be," Remoni-Notra promised, "My ring sees into your heart. You want this. You ache with the desire to see if we can return to being lovers. I want this. I want our hearts, and then our bodies, to be one in every interpretation of the word: love."
"You can put me down now," Hal was content having discovered what had always been missing in his heart.
"I can, can't I?" she evaporated her construct.
Hal rushed forward and for a split second she feared he would attack her. But his arms around and gripped her with a desperation she'd felt for too long. And they hungrily met one another's mouths.
"It's good to be home," Hal decided.
"And can be ours forever. Carol will never come back," Remoni-Notra promised.
And he found he didn't care if she ever did.
Inside the Hall of Justice, Trevor and Shayera were running threat assessments. This effort was complicated by the multiple absences stemming from the interstellar mission. And, in a blow, Hula Hula resigned to rejoin Team Plastic Man at the FBI. With the shuttering of ARGUS, Spyral, SHADE, and the DEO, the world was overflowing with available agents. But most of the analysts were shifting into private sector think tanks. And the tech staffing was being absorbed into scientific and engineering departments the world over.
With the MLJ still standing but already boosted by additional personnel, Trevor was having difficulties getting Latham to loan intelligence staffers from the MLJ proper or the Web Agency to the Justice League. It was moments like that that provoked a regret that the JLU hadn't invested in an AI like Roxy. Even L-Ron avoided Col. Trevor's calls these days. Roxy herself was angry with L-Ron's silence…and his supposedly covert penetrations of her security firmware. At first it had seemed playful. Now the efforts were inherently hostile.
But despite the travails, Shayera scored a tremendous coup. Ralph and Sue Dibney returned. Sue was resuming her work as Ops Chief. The Elongated Man would once again continue as the JLU's lead investigator. What no one could possibly suspect was that after some genetic testing, Sue also began to imbibe Ralph's gingold extract. And, like him, she developed elastic powers.
Their daughter, Alyssa, was a precocious four with her mother's genius and Ralph's interrogatory determination. Ralph kept trying to dose Alyssa but Sue intercepted every attempt. Without fail. He finally had a mystery he couldn't solve and it drove him to distraction. Despite the smell and slight carbonation in every bottle of gingold, Sue only allowed one bottle to be filled with the actual material. The others were specifically blended by a small bottler just to fool Ralph. And Sue kept the actual substance locked in a cryogenically sealed safe. She administered the required weekly doses and let Ralph fool himself the rest of the time while he guzzled spiced fruity water.
Maven supplied an active team roster. She ran administration and logistics. She relished the role, it being a much larger scoped version of what she had done for Selina Kyle. Selina had distanced herself from Maven to run interference between foes that might attempt to harm Maven because of Catwoman's activities.
And now Selina had Kitrina Falcone. Kitrina had been disavowed by the Falcones but she could still acquire data and assets simply based on the weight of her surname. And Maven was aging into middle age. Selina was on a fast track for fifty. The devotion between Selina and the twenty-year younger Holly Robinson had created a second Catwoman in the form of Holly.
Holly had proven herself worthy as the Cat, Selina's first protégé, But Selina had acquired tens of billions of dollars and assets. So retirement looked appealing. Especially if she could buy or provide security for Kitrina from her own dirtbag mafioso family. Holly had pined away for Selina for a decade. Their torrid affair proved to Selina that she identified as bisexual. But after a week on the town and everywhere else, Selina felt guilty. Not the guilt of sleeping with a biological sibling but the best friend's sister type.
So Holly and Selina happily went different ways but in close contact so that Selina would one day hand her legacy over Holly. For once Kitrina kept her mouth shut. She'd met Holly and thought, "she's kick ass enough." And so it was Catwoman took on a partner…again.
"So what will you do?" Holly asked Selina.
"See the world as a socialite. And make a real difference regarding animal rights and humane treatment of the same," Selina explained.
"That may sell to Maven but I was there when Catwoman began. It had nothing to do with social justice. It was about criminal justice," Holly reminded her, "Your stint with the Justice League filled those goals and ambitions. Why did you quit?"
Selina wouldn't answer. Holly understood, "Bruce Wayne. Or should we just call him Batman?"
"I'm pregnant," Selina blurted.
"Bruce's?" Holly already knew the answer.
"He arrived and we spent a week together," Selina confessed.
"Well, once is all it takes," Holly said grimly, "Does the prick even know he knocked you up?"
"I haven't told him," Selina admitted.
"Because you know he wouldn't care," Holly forced the clarification, "Look at what happens to every single Robin and Bat-person. He's an unwitting murderer."
"So don't be him," Selina cajoled her younger friend, "Holly, you've maintained that I've lost my way. The challenges of thieving had seduced me as well as the lifestyle and notoriety it bought me. Be better. Don't lose your way."
"And you're really not telling Wayne?" Holly was infuriated.
"He didn't come to me out of love. He would've at one-time but I was skittish and I refused to break off my other relationship," Selina finally confessed.
Holly whistled, "That'd do it."
"In the end, I lost both men. And I can't blame anyone but myself," Selina was forlorn.
"You've done well by me when I needed you. Kitrina is a colossal pain in everyone's ass but she's thriving," Holly changed her approach, "You'll be a great mom, Selina. Better than we ever had. Probably better than the kitten will deserve."
"That'll never happen," Selina snorted.
"True. I was soft soaping you," Holly conceded, "But this is the thing: you need this as badly as the baby does. So be the best mom you can possibly be and Kitrina and I will fill the gaps you can't, or won't, see."
Selina squeezed Holly in her arms, "You're an awesome woman, Hol. And you deserve an awesome woman."
"Hey, I'm not dead yet. Hope springs and all that," Holly protested.
"I need you to visit someone before you take over," Selina handed Holly and address book, "She's in here under 'gear'."
"I thought Bats shut down the local suppliers," Holly frowned.
"She isn't one," Selina clarified, "She's Rocki Ballantine. And a former Batwoman."
"The tech magnate?" Holly was impressed, "Is she single?"
"Down girl," Selina advised, "Rocki's a straightedge. And she's HIV positive thanks to her boyfriend being gang raped in Blackgate. She's moonlighted as my technical advisor since handing up the cape."
"And Wayne knows this?" Holly was still surprised.
"She's a former employee, both with and without the cape," Selina revealed.
"Anything kinky I should know about?" Holly was hopeful.
"No, but she needs to get out and have a good time one in a while. She treats her diagnosis as a death sentence," Selina urged.
"I know a few rockin' lesbian bars in town," Holly mulled it over.
"Not her scene," Selina's jaw was clenched.
"On a purely platonic level, of course," Holly promised, "Any besties I should know about?"
"Kathy Duquesne," Selina answered.
"Oh. My. God! Married to the mob much?" Holly thought it was hilarious.
"In retrospect, a gay bar might be it for her since she's terrified of relationships and having sex," Selina reconsidered.
"Is she fully aware of just how difficult it is to transmit HIV through vaginal secretions?" Holly caught Selina's glare, "I'm just saying."
"Holly, you said you wanted to save the world," Selina groaned.
"The world has to start somewhere," Holly grinned.
"I'll arrange a meet," Selina sighed. She pitied Rocki being exposed to Holly's enduring enthusiasm. Considering the street life of prostitution Selina had pulled Holly from, that aspect of her personality was wondrously amazing.
Back at the Hall, Sue and Trevor gathered the forces they could muster. John had bene drafted as field commander/local MLJ asset. General Glory had proven himself adept at guiding JLers through difficult situations. As Donavan Wallace, he'd been a beat cop who'd just passed his detective's exam with the NYPD. But being a quadriplegic had ended his career until Joe Jones had met him in the nursing home and the Spirit of Lady Liberty transferred her power from one host to the next.
Owlwoman was the other veteran leader. She'd been Dr. Mist's lieutenant in the Global Guardians/Justice League International. And Wenonah Littlebird was an exceptional mentor who was naturally drawn to less experienced teammates. Insect Queen and Jack O'Lantern being the most prominent. Stargirl and STRIPE had developed an amazing rapport that translated into effective action. Surprising considering the initial animosity between Courtney Whitmore and her stepbrother, Mike Dugan.
Liam McHugh had been an effective terrorist. One whom British Security had never caught. But wielding a magic lantern given to his deceased cousin by the fae was something way out of his realm of normality. Lana Lang wasn't even from Earth Prime. And Owlwoman had her suspicions that Lana's amulet wasn't the only source of strength for her.
Anna Fortune and Atom Smasher were hip deep in wedding plans. Courtney was off with Billy Batson and Mary Bromfield, now that Mary had reverted back to her legal name. Court was trying to patch things between the twins. Mike tagged along simply because he was bored and wanted to vex his sister.
Silver Sorceress and Blu Jay had just returned from one of their infrequent absences. Like Lana, Laura Neilssen and Jay Abrams were from an alternate dimension. In their case, a planet called Angor. They'd been scouring their dead world looking for other survivors. Officially, they hadn't found any. Unofficially, life had a few surprises left to it.
Alarms klaxoned across the Hall of Justice as the leadership team transferred to the Ops Center. Shayera immediately scowled, "Bialya."
"That bitch can't possibly think we'll intervene. She's the single largest threat to the Caspian Sea region. And that's saying a lot considering Iran is weaponizing metas," Sue grated.
"Don't forget the Crimson Queen is the only person to have successfully detonated six nuclear missiles," John reminded everyone, "A class of weapon she still has in her custody paired with a willingness to use them."
"And also don't forget she and Lex Luthor would like nothing better than to end the other one," Trevor pointed out.
"Ah, true love," Ralph snickered, "How is it she's even alive?"
"They say she's a vampire," Sue stated.
"Vlad Drakul, Andrew Bennet, and Mary Seward are all dead. There aren't any more vampires," Shayera said coldly.
"Reports say otherwise," John hated to contradict her, "An entirely new class of vamp seems to lurking in the shadows. They call themselves Vampyr and they seem to have originated with a man named Cain."
"David Cain?" Ralph was dismissive.
"Cain as in Abel," Sue explained.
"The Mark of Cain," Trevor said.
"Are we honestly believing this?" Shayera was irritated. It offended her rational nature. But then again, so had Hades.
"The MLJ has a reliable source that says Cain never died and neither did Mary, Queen of Blood. Furthermore, the reports, plural, indicate the Crimson Queen isn't a vampire, or Vampyr, in the strictest sense. Now she's a succubus," Sue explained.
"A sucky what?" Ralph hadn't heard the term before.
"A sex demon," Shayera supplied the answer, "And we're still considering this to be fact?"
"Our reports come from Mr. Justice. As the Spirit of Divine Justice and just a step below the Specter, I take them very seriously," Trevor replied.
Sue had been handed a tablet bearing a pertinent report, "The United Nations just authorized the United States to deploy the MLJ into the region,"
"The Russian Federation and the Iranian Islamic Republic or going to love that development," Shayera groaned.
Ralph had stretched his neck over Sue's shoulder so he could read along, "Actually, Russia voted for the intervention. Something about all of their specialized assets being 'otherwise occupied'."
"So where the hell is this so-called 'Justice League Task Force?" John wanted to know.
"Hmm…otherwise occupied," Ralph caught the irritated looks he got, "the UN wrote it, not me."
"Priority One for you, Steve," Sue handed her phone to Trevor and triggered its encrypting scrambler.
"How could Latham possibly have the time of day?" he grumbled.
"Oh, like this is good," Flag Bearer complained as the Justice League Task deployed beside the Meta-Human Response Division.
"Denise? What are you doing here?" Shield asked her.
"I came out in case Mr. Top Hat here wanted to betray you," Denise Madigan explained.
"Ain't that precious-like?" Uncle Sam approved, "She wants ta take care o' her man."
"Would you like a fat lip?" Flag Bearer wanted to know.
"Ahem, I've got this Denise," Shield assured her.
"Maybe you don't, Joe. You haven't had a lot of things today. Like the fact our own government is trying to kill us," Denise complained, "But you're being the good little soldier and playing along."
"Ah reckon she be makin' a point, son," Uncle Sam offered.
"He is not your son," Denise ground out, "And I will bust your balls if you don't shut it, senior citizen or not."
All of this was startling to Joe Higgins. He'd always considered Denise something of a fan girl. Marcy Holt had been the girl next door one would bring home to mom and dad. But he could tell Denise meant every word and her body positioning and language showed him she could pull it off. Her threats were hardly that. They were concrete promises.
Surprisingly, Gen. Lane contacted Latham, "Sorry, Jack. The UN is pulling jurisdiction here so my people will be withdrawing. But I'll leave those treacherous Freedom Fighters to be killed with the rest of you."
"I thought you hated the UN," Latham replied.
"Oh, I do. But free help to take out the trash is hard to come by. And afterwards, I'll just kill them all with their bloodied hands and I'll be an international hero. And you've made it all possible. Bye, Jack. We won't be talking again." Lane gloated.
Latham cut the transmission, "I really hate that man."
Seeing an actionable request from the UN of all entities, Latham called Steve Trevor at the Hall of Justice. In the five years since the Justice League reformed as a UN agency, international super agencies dealing with the superhuman and supernatural had risen and fallen. The seemingly immortal Stormwatch, carved into existence by the Demon Knights, had been obliterated.
CADMUS, the precursor of governmental agencies, had been forcibly discredited and disbanded. Its successor, ARGUS, had also recently collapsed under its own weight. The DEO, SHADE, and Spyral had first lost the appearance of relevance and then their funding. The remaining agencies were either officially nonexistent or were operated by national and international security organs. International Operations, or IO, had taken in Weatherman and the surviving Stormwatch operatives.
Under Black Adam, the IO didn't answer to any nation or collection of the same. The IO operated with the consent and mandate from such luminary agencies as MI5, the SIS, the FSB, the MVD, the CIA, and countless others across the globe. Many of whom were adversarial with one another but cooperated in this matter, if only this matter in many cases.
Sam Lane's Meta-Human Response Division did not officially, or even unofficially, exist. The National Security Council and Homeland Security identified Lane and his operation as terrorist and additionally as rogue combatants. The MLJ was the sole remaining official US agency that dealt with meta-human affairs. Deriving authority from every federal law enforcement agency as well as state and local authorities, the only agency, officially forced into endorsement, that denied any and all cooperation with the MLJ was the CIA. Executive order forbade the CIA from supporting the IO but it wasn't as though the CIA hadn't ever gone rogue before. The Vietnam conflict had bene the CIA's fulfillment of LBJ's measuring his dick against Ho Chi Minh's.
Westmoreland had infamously said of the Vietnamese people, "Kill them all and let God sort it out." Which demonstrated a profound lack of insight into the nature of God. LBJ just seemed to want Ho Chi Minh to gag on the self-perceived enormity of his penis. No one could fathom what Lady Bird Johnson dealt with or why she put up with such an insulting moniker.
Latham saw Lane in a similar light as both LBJ and Westmoreland combined. And now Max Lord was entering the mix as well. His Justice League Task Force was little more than a personal hit squad that the UN had been blackmailed into calling one of their own.
Max had dug up an entire cadre of undesirables and sociopaths and called them "police officers for the world". But it was the world Max wanted to rule. Despite only having the loosest ties with the Justice Society, Trevor's reports indicated Roxy and L-Ron were waging an unseen war across cyberspace. They were imbedded in every operating system on Earth and in orbit.
Roxy had proven, time and again, that she was beneficent. L-Ron was still a mystery. And the motives of the robot and his master Manga Khan were still opaque to all analysts. Manga Khan had made a deal with Max and that deal involved, even hinged on, L-Ron. But Manga Khan was a shrewd negotiator. Despero's carcass would hardly suffice as a profitable trade to him.
The Mighty Crusaders had dealt Task Force X a crippling blow. In order to preserve the MLJ Initiative's domestic charter, the Mighty and Shadow Crusaders were prohibited from operating outside of US territory. They could, however defend themselves against the Justice League Task Force and any IO operatives working beside them. But Gwen, despite the losses of Silver Swan and Firehawk, sent her remaining operatives to the back side of Liberty Station to intercept any invaders. The recently dubbed PATRIOTS stood with them as well as the Freedom Fighters.
Backlash was over two hundred years old and appeared to be a human male in his late forties, early fifties. He managed this because he was only half-human. His Kherabim genes gave him meta-human powers and longevity. Katana chose to oppose him.
"That sword is…unusual," Backlash understated.
"You sense the souls of the damned it has consumed," Katana stood poised for combat, "They speak to me and welcome you to their ranks."
"I hate to tell you this, but I'm really hard to kill," he warned her.
"No one is hard to kill. It's just a matter of discovering how to do it," Katana stated.
"Lady, you are the scariest stone-cold killer I've ever met," he had to confess.
"Then come with me if you wish to live," Katana offered.
"Movie lines aside, why should I?" Backlash wondered.
"To see behind the veil of truth to pierce the actual truths underlying everything," Katana sheathed her sword across her back.
"You're crazy," Backlash decided, "But I think it's the right kind of crazy."
"Then follow me and when questioned, pretend I've beaten you into submission," Katana urged, "Which would have been our reality had we fought."
Backlash begged to differ but her unrelenting confidence was unnerving, "Okay then."
Crimson was Backlash's daughter. Her mother had been a Khera pureblood. This gave Crimson access to inner reserves of power denied even to her father. But she was reckless and vastly overconfident. As Nightshade had been in the process of teaching her.
"Stand down, Eve," Backlash said as he and Katana approached, "We've made a deal. This crazy samurai of yours wants us to see things. So we will."
Crimson was shivering from Nightshade's power, "I can still take her."
"It's not a matter of can or can't," Nightshade told the young woman, "It's all about 'should' you."
"You trust them?" Crimson asked her father.
"Sword lady? Not yet. But Nightshade and I have been on several joint missions. She has our backs. And if she has concerns, then we should share them," he told her.
Crimson's closest friend was a former Gen 14 called Ditto. Her gen factor was to be able to manipulate atomic structure to duplicate herself. But Ditto didn't possesses a hive mind like Multiplex. Instead each duplicate was a complete individual and those individuals immediately began to have differing perceptions, experiences, memories and opinions from the central Ditto. What remained to be seen was whether a duplicate could duplicate.
What was already being proven was that Phantasm could kill Dittos wholesale. Katana blocked Phantasm's scythe glove with the SoulTaker, "Enough! They've agreed to investigate the lies that have led us here."
"Can you reabsorb all these damn dupes?" Phantasm's voice modulator couldn't mask her frustration.
"Just the ones you bothered to leave alive," and as Ditto angrily spoke those words she converted the duplicates back into mass she could absorb. And all of their individuality came with the package.
"Are we done here then?" Phantasm asked.
"Are those boobs underneath that chest plate?" Ditto asked.
"Yes," Phantasm grated, "And this is a very sharp blade and you're lacking any duplicates to interfere with your murder."
"I get it. You've got titty envy," Ditto said scornfully.
Katana bodily blocked Phantasm's egress, "Not now. Later."
"We'll see," Phantasm was completely noncommittal.
The Changers were the first to challenge a Shadow Crusader. The Freedom Fighters and the unofficially dubbed PATRIOTS stood with them. The literally blind Blind stood opposed Captain Flag, his eagle named Yank, and the semi-retired Captain Commando. Blind saw the world in literal black and white. His vision was increasingly impaired at dusk and dawn and with the sun rising Captains Flag and Commando would have a slight advantage.
Shieldmaster and Flag Bearer stood together against the Doctor. And he announced his alias only to asked by Denise, "Dr. Who?"
"I hate that joke," Doctor seethed.
Firefly was regretting temporarily coming out of retirement to stand beside American Shield against the Engineer. The cyborg was a technocrat that believed the most technically advanced should rule. Of course, his enhancements made him a vastly superior being and therefore the only one worthy of ruling. Imagine that.
High was an alien with a history echoing that of Icon. But where Augustus Freeman had been made a slave, High had been a Confederate slave owner on another Earth. With white supremacist loyalties, High wanted to stamp his personal brand on racism. And to polarize every ethnicity into being oppositional supremacy movements.
Doc Strong wasn't powerful enough to oppose High alone. But that's why he had Mr. Midnight with him. High hadn't a clue as to what Mr. Midnight was capable of. But his lack of racial features made him a joke in High's eyes.
Rite was an African born sorceress. She and High fell on opposite sides on every conceivable issue. Wizard and Dr. Nevada Jones hoped to stop her before she could even begin. Rite had an equally simple agenda as High. She wanted to neuter the entire male population. With pre-op transgender women with their natural genitalia left intact, she would breed a new generation of hermaphrodites. With women possessing male and female sexual organs, paradise would finally be achieved. At least for Rite and her chosen.
A trio of Shadow Crusaders faced themselves against Smoke. His power was the same as the Mist. But where she transformed into a particulate cloud, Smoke was literally a cloud of the same. Bob Phantom, the Scarlet Avenger, and Falcon blindly pitted themselves against the man that was likely the deadliest human Changer.
Eidolon was trapped between the states of life and death with no hope or relief in sight. So he'd reforged himself as a weapon of death. Once all life was extinguished, he prayed he too would finally move on. He couldn't imagine why anyone, let alone Mr. Justice, would oppose. Death was natural. It was inevitable. Even the Multiverse would die.
Eidolon couldn't get a read on Mr. Justice. He assumed he was challenged by a human psychic or mystic. The encounter would barely be satisfying in its brevity.
Mr. Justice saw his overconfidence and decided he was going to enjoy what followed.
Rose Tattoo embodied the Spirit of Murder. She wondered why a man with a noose around his neck would dare oppose her mission. Hangman had no conventional sight. That was provided by his mystical crow. But his supernatural sight could see the weave of fate that comprised Rose Tattoo. Eric Adams had no illusions that he would survive this encounter but he knew she had to be stopped. And her threads had to be unraveled so that she disincorporated for a season.
Bulleteer and Yankee Girl were the first of the so-called PATRIOTS engaged by their common foes. The Terror Titans had begun as five teens. Now their wee only two, hardly enough to warrant the "Titans" name.
Dreadbolt chose Yankee Girl as his opponent. Like his father before him, Dreadbolt had the equipment to hurl electrical charges. But Yankee Girl was super humanly nimble and could fly. She also possessed degrees of invulnerability and super strength. Even when he did blast her, she shrugged off swiftly enough to cold cock him as he attempted to directly apply current.
Discovering she had the strength of ten men, Dreadbolt counted himself lucky his jaw hadn't shattered. And he was even more prone to ranging shots while he desperately sought an alternative to end the fight. Frankly the thought of losing to a patriotically themed woman galled him.
Disrupter wore gauntlets that did their namesake to a person's powers and life essence. But Alix Harrower had metal skin that made her impervious to them. And she was as strong as Yankee Girl. But she lacked the ability to fly. Instead her deceased husband had not only developed her skin but also a conical helmet she could wear as additional protection as she rammed through obstacles.
Alix had never wanted to be a hero. She had especially never intended to be a costumed adventurer. But there wasn't much conventional work for someone with glistening silver skin. And even less that wasn't in the sex trade. So Alix hired on with a security service specializing in meta-human agents. And she'd been hired for an exclusive contract with the Department of Defense. Only to end up with Gen. Lane.
Bulleteer had left Lane's service in the wake of the Lucy Lane debacle. Any father willing to execute his daughter for opposing his attempt to "resurrect" her older sister as a Bizarro clone deserved to be shot himself. Alix detested violence but if Lucy asked for it, she'd cripple Sam Lane.
"Sure, hide behind the lame ass helmet," Disruptor sneered. Alix could already tell the girl was a psychopath.
She took off her trademark Bulleteer helmet to reveal her shock of red hair, "There you go. Now bring it."
The Red Shadows began to deploy across the beach to affect an entrance into Liberty Station. But they were challenged by a command in Russian, "Stand down, Comrades. Come with us and you can return home with honor."
They saw the Speaker was Black Eagle, the commander of the New People's Heroes. And he hadn't come alone. Their presence required a presidential order. But Dmitry Medvedev wouldn't order an action without the express permission of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Medvedev's political mentor who had hand selected him for the role of president. Term limitations required that Putin stand down for four years before he could return as president. And the Duma had extended the terms in office from four to six years. So next as president, Putin could serve twelve consecutive years before having to stand aside for six.
And Putin had secretly assigned the Red Shadows to Max Lord's service. A fading vestige of Russia's Soviet past, it seemed the Red Shadows had outlived their usefulness even to a former major in the KGB. To a man and a woman, the People's heroes were at least twenty years younger than the youngest Red Shadow. The Shadows detected deep political machinations at work and they wondered exactly what, or who, they were being sacrificed for.
Maj. Zastrov led the Red Shadows. A career spec ops soldier he'd been among the first to invade Afghanistan. Mrs. Gradenko transformed into a bear. And Troublemaker cast illusions directly through the optic nerve upon eye contact.
Black Eagle knew the bear was an elderly babushka. Too great a strain and she could die. Maj. Zastrov was one of the most highly decorated soldiers in Russian history but he was nearing seventy years old. Troublemaker was a relative youthful fifty-two but she was potentially the greatest threat arrayed before him. Which was why he wore specially prepared polarized goggles.
The Red Shadows had been brought together in 1986. Black Eagle wanted to honor their service record but he had orders from President Medvedev to bring them in, alive or otherwise. And he was as loyal to the office as they'd been to the Secretary-General of the Communist Party. And he was only prepared to rely on persuasion for so long.
Negative Man also faced a trio. Lamia had pheromonal control over men and women in addition to her still staggering looks. Schrek was a vampiric zombie. How one could be both beleaguered Negative Man especially considering all vampires were supposedly destroyed. Stalnoivik had been an experiment back during the Greatest War. He'd been born in 1900 and had fought for Tsar Nicholas II in World War I. His service life was nearly ended by the Great War. But when a commissar selected him for a special opportunity, Stalnoivik leapt at the chance to serve the People.
A literal super-soldier, his body achieved as much perfection as the current human genome would allow. And his aging slowed to a crawl. Until the last ten years where it accelerated to a greater degree than if it had never been impeded. Medical scientists gave him another ten years of life but he'd reach infirmity in five.
Which was all said and good but Negative Man was anxiously waiting to what the being inside him could do against the three.
Mikhail Arkadin, code-named Pozhar, was the first Russian Firestorm. But he was unstable and inherently dangerous, requiring a lead suit to contain his radioactivity. But the suit was designed to be shrugged off in minutes. Valentina Vostok had both thrilled and been horrified at his work. His theoretical models were exhilarating and terrifying both at the corners they cut. A little known fact was that Chernobyl had failed containment because Pozhar had been born within a reactor.
The Anglo-Gallic Firestorm program had recently reached a cataclysmic end. Every Firestorm and Firehawk and been killed and their energies drained. But no one knew who accomplished it or why the nuclear matrix energies had been stolen. At one time, Valentina had wondered if Arkadin was attempting to stabilize his own internal energies. But now Val recognized the inability of such infusions to even begin to counter Pozhar's instabilities. She doubted if he'd survive another five years much less three.
"What do they have planned for me, Dr. Vostok?" Arkadin asked.
"You are to be in my care. I promise I will make you as comfortable as possible," Val told him.
"Tempting but no. I will die a free man. Or as free as I can be," Pozhar began to remove his suit.
Valentina transformed into Firestorm, "Please Arkadin, don't do this."
"And why not?" Pozhar asked, "You seem ripe for the harvest."
And Val realized she'd been wrong about him all along.
The Russian Soyuz team had been born when chaos ruled post-Sovet Russia. But they'd failed to adapt to modern Russia. So Putin had cast them upon Max Lord. Discarded really. And now that Max had formed the Justice League Task Force, their involvement was an embarrassment. It would even be seen as a blight to Russian political circles. And even Putin had to appease his allies.
Firebird and Fusion were blocked by Lady Flash. Firebird generated telekinetic flames and she was a low-level telepath. Fusion controlled radiation. Ivanka Christina Borodin Molotova had been a decorated Colonel in the MDV and a charter member of Blue Trinity. She'd served her country's interest in the most horrific ways under the direst circumstances.
Her resignation had allowed her to join the Injustice League. Then she'd briefly been part of two Justice Leagues. Medvedev himself had invited her to join the People's Heroes. Lady Flash couldn't access the Speed Force. Her ability came for chemical and steroidal adaptations to her body. But she was considerably slower than the Flashes and Jesse Quick.
Her coping mechanism had turned into a Velocity 9 addiction. And as an addict, she craved the drug every moment of every day. Especially when prepping to attack such deadly foes.
Morozko and Perun possessed cryokinesis and the ability to manipulate ambient energy respectively. Red Star had been subjected to the same material from the meteorite that created his predecessor. His history had included several national emergencies and a few overseas operations. He could only hope he was up to this challenge.
Russalka controlled water from any source. Vikhor manipulated local gravity fields. But they faced Vostok X. His Atlantean helmet neutralized his radioactive state and removed his need for oxygen. Thereby crippling Russalka's power over him but Vikhor was still a pertinent threat. Vostok X, like Red Star, was relatively inexperienced and that was their greatest vulnerability.
Camorouge and Anya Volkova were former assassins trained by the League of the same to Talon caliber capabilities. Divine had been told she was a clone of Kara In-Ze. But Kara's genetic material had all been consumed in creating Galatea. But Emil Hamilton had harvested Galatea's genes. Which explained Divinity's jet black hair versus Kara or Galatea's.
Another indicator of Divine's true origins was her exaggerated bust size. Galatea had developed under forced growth conditions marking her with an obvious physical difference between her and Kara. Inexplicably, that trait had been passed on. And magnified further by the same forced growth techniques.
Uncle Sam led the Freedom Fighters against the unholy trio. Lucy Lane directed the remaining PATRIOTS as they positioned themselves to relieve any fallen defenders. Fighting American and his inexperienced partners were that line. Latham wouldn't budge on holding the Mighty Crusaders in reserve as they deployed elsewhere. Lucy observed Bulleteer and Yankee Girl as they went into action. She could only hope Fighting American, Speedboy, and Freedom would do as well.
The Kandorians, stymied by the stiff resistance that they'd met focused their collective efforts on the imperial capitol. In response, the defenders hunkered down and prepared to fight to the death. Preferably the Kryptonians'. The Star Sapphires took the center of the vigorous defense. Carol proved to no one's doubts that she alone was worthy of the star sapphire gem and of the title Sapphire Queen. Race, Miri Raim, and Miss Bloss would've gladly laid their lives down for her, more now than ever before.
Guy used his green power ring to inflict maximum damage upon the enemy. Even Bekka was impressed. Guy with a ring of fear was terrible to behold. Guy with a ring of will was a force of reckoning. Bekka herself was at the limit of her New God endurance. So she sheathed her sword and relied solely upon her power ring. And the Kandorians truly learned why she was deemed an ideal Fear Lantern.
Laira Omoto inflicted agonies upon Kandorian incursions. She felt exhilarated as she'd found her true purpose. A warrior from a warrior's culture, she'd never felt comfortable as a Green Lantern peacekeeper. She was a righteous avenger and she poured out the wrath of Laira upon the enemy.
Kyle's white power ring, having transformed into one of its green cousins, also wrapped Kyle in his customized Green Lantern uniform to replace his fading White Lantern garb. He supposed neither he nor Kara had championed the cause of Life very well. But he felt a stab of panic thinking about Kara. Had her ring also changed? And to what spectrum? The only ring that she'd worn other than a white ring was a red power ring. Was she rendered vulnerable by the ring's absence?
But Kara was as physically imposing as any Kandorian, sharing a common ancestry. But he loved her with all he held dear and he worried that she would come to harm while he was unable to assist her. If she even needed his help. That was a monumental "if".
Fatality, Munk, and Saint Walker delivered the Daxamites. Unlike the Kandorians, they'd wielded solar fed powers before within living memory. And their power rings indicated the meager Daxamite force was nearly equal to the Kandorian invaders' numbers. They'd been that bloodied.
"Was this wise?" Munk felt sorry for the Kandorians.
"We can only hope," Saint Walker intoned.
"Not every hope should come to fruition," Fatality began to realize.
Kalea and Kara had returned from the outlying cities to begin arming the Almeracian defenders with lead projecting weaponry while the Daxamites were otherwise engaged. Kara knew that the lethal allergy that Daxamites had to lead, "Is this wise?"
"You were huddled on Earth when six and half billion Daxamites ravaged the galaxy. Father never asked about how we fared and mother never brought it up. We'd barely rebuilt when the Gordanians seized the day," Kalea was angry. And Kara had seen Kalea epitomize lethality, "And these idiots will want revenge because we led the coalition that's trapped them in their own star system. They worship Darkseid and want to carry his brand of evil to every corner of the universe."
"Why is it always about revenge?" Kara knew Kalea was an expert.
"It stems from a profound lack of imagination," Kalea opined, "There are more effective and far subtler ways of avenging oneself. Ones where the intended never realizes they've been immolated until the deed is already done."
Kara finally realized that Kalea was still a very damaged and twisted person inside. She just barely hid it most of the time. She was afraid of Clark's eldest daughter when she chose to cut loose again.
Maxima and her loyal band repelled the last Kandorians from the palace. A force had bypassed her defenders to threaten the counselors. Maxima had just barely returned in time to secure them. Runners delivered the projectile weapons and ammunition.
"My Empress, is there any chance we won't be betrayed?" Kalea's sergeant asked.
"No," Maxima said grimly as the fleeing Kandorians reached for the stars. Most of them had damaged air tanks. All those would die before leaving Almerac's solar system. A majority of those that survived that catastrophe would asphyxiate before reach Thanagar And the remnant that lived longer would require transportation to stay alive.
As the Daxamites turned against those they ostensibly came to help, the Lanterns were slow to recognize the new and even more fanatical threat.
Saturn Queen had supplied a number of telepathic plugs to select Kandorians, especially to Ultraman and Ultragirl. Her adopted son was dead. And his incestual whore of a cousin had also been killed in action. In fact, only one mind registered despite her artificial augmentation. And she sensed the desperation inherent to those thought processes.
She contacted Alicia Frakes, a pirate captain of the starship Antares, Saturn Queen had brought Alicia into the future in an alternate history. This Capt. Frakes had been among the Dominators' human hostages. But she and her entire crew didn't have a singular gen factor. But she was near Almeracian space and could deliver the survivors to her. She was also a proven expert at evading border patrols.
So Frakes could avoid detection, scurry the Kandorians out of enemy space, and still provide Saturn Queen with needed assets.
Hellequin returned to Gotham City. Jaina Hudson and White Rabbit were touring the country as goodwill ambassadors of Knightfall's vision of urban pacification. Luthor hadn't seemed to have deduced that Knightfall was really Charise Carnes. The real estate mogul had been incarcerated to learn about evil. After a three-year stint in Arkham she had the evidence of her innocence in the murders of her family surface. She was exonerated and released.
On Earth-2, Charise really had participated in the ritualistic killings. The footage of her gleefully slitting throats and disemboweling corpses had particularly disturbed jurors. Charise had been one of Marian's closest friends. And Lord Superman had lobotomized her. And the world wondered why Hellequin had loudly and proudly celebrated the man's death. But she'd taken it to an excess that attracted Lord Batman's attention. And thusly she'd arrived on Earth Prime.
Before visiting Knightfall, Hellequin had plans to visit the Jokerz. She was very interested if Bianca Steeplechase and Hayley Fitzpatrick were members on this Earth. On her Earth they'd been Mz. J and Yo-Yo of the Laugh Pack. Until the Justice Lords killed every man, woman, and even a child in the name of their distorted brand of justice. Bianca and Hayley had married and adopted an eight-year girl with a Joker fixation prior to the slaughter. Hellequin supposed their deaths were an ironically perverted wedding present.
Afterwards, Hellequin had plans to introduce herself to Julie Sazia. Poisoning her against Intergang would further her own agenda. Arranging for Ballard's downfall and Sazia's ascension would pit her against Knightfall. Hellequin pitied Charise but that's what she got for being born on the wrong damn Earth. And for being friggin' innocent when she should have been guilty.
Waller was trying to fill Task Force X's ranks with new members. Members loyal to her and would fill the roles she deemed necessary. Amygdala would bring strength go the mix. Madame Crow used an anti-fear toxin that would counter Fright's fear variant. Adeia Tokelau was Eclipso's priestess. Alexander Nero could harness the Yellow Light of Fear without a power ring. Alianna Hubbard was an experiment conducted by Granny Goodness to enhance a human to New God standards. In Granny's opinion it failed.
Quicksand had fled the future and could dissolve metal. Axe Man was a martial artist with an obvious preference in weapons. Arazatha was a witch that sucked life forces from people and animals. Barricade was a zombie monk. Zoomax was a goat-man hybrid. Cableman projected ensnaring cables from his fingertips. Cassidy used a fear toxin-Venom synthesis. Charis was a renegade Amazon exiled from Themisycra. Charma was another exile from the future. She seduced men and ramped women into uncontrollable rages.
From the Pentagon offices of the SecDef, Waller coordinated the Suicide Squad's impending attack on the White House. And Olivia McKay would finally be exposed as an alien. And then the witch hunts would finally begin.
"The orders are to prop up the Crimson Queen regime," John was angered by the argument currently underway.
"Colonel?" Owlwoman asked Trevor for clarification.
"It's true," he was as disturbed by it as she was.
"I'm not going," Owlwoman declared.
"You don't get to pick your missions," John stated.
"Watch me," Owlwoman stomped off for the exit to fly away.
"Ya can't argue it, mate," Jack O'Lantern advised them both.
"Damn, I should have seen this coming," John blew out his frustration.
"You sure as hell should have," Sue fumed as she and Shayera came up from behind them, "The Crimson Queen brainwashed and tortured the entire Global Guardians. Dick has reported that Ulla is just starting to sleep normally again. It was a beautiful wedding, by the way."
"Even when Courtney and Mike gear up, we're severely understaffed," General Glory pointed out, "Unless you want Lana and I to be bunker busting on our own."
Please say 'no'," Lana pleaded.
"Maybe I can help," Sharon Vance said from the doorway. She still possessed an electric blue hue.
"We thought you were dead!" Sue enthused.
"Maybe I was. I really don't know. I was scattered and now I'm not," Strange Visitor announced.
John rolled his eyes at Shayera. She punched him in the gut, "Behave."
"I was," John protested.
"Badly," Shayera accused.
Ralph made his appearance, "Courtney and Mike have family obligations in Blue Valley."
"Any chance of roping in Anna and Al?" Trevor was cautiously optimistic.
"They're at a tasting. You figure it out," Sue was irked that the suggestion had even been made.
"So, who would be going to wherever it is you've been discussing?" Strange Visitor asked.
"The country is Bailya and the team is you three," Trevor informed her.
Strange Visitor studied Lang, "And you are?"
You first," Lana didn't like the appraising looks she was getting.
"Sharon," she offered as a truce.
"Lana," came the obligatory reply.
"Shouldn't you be a fashion designer somewhere?" Sharon asked.
"That's what you remember of all thing," Lana was disgusted, "But to be fair, Sharon Vance died in a plane crash on my Earth."
"It almost went that way on this Earth as well," Sharon conceded, "Truce?"
"For now," Lana wouldn't quite give up. But now it was a certainty that Strange Visitor knew Lana's actual and hidden superpower set. Nothing good could come of it.
"I'm calling the Justice Society. They can use this as a training op for Young Justice," Trevor decided.
"So, you're Jonni Thunder," Green Lantern looked over her paperwork.
"And yes, that's my birth name," Jonni retorted.
"Why are you applying here, ?" Flash asked.
"Jennie-Lynn and Todd convinced me to," she confessed.
"My children have nothing but praise for you. But is it entirely deserved?" Green Lantern inquired sharply.
"I'm a trained, apprenticed, and successful private investigator. Something you people lack," Jonni sassed him again, "Unless you want to change the status quo."
"Karen's gonna love her," Wildcat predicted.
Sand looked uncertain but Sandman was staring at her. Even through his gas mask goggles she could feel the weight of his scrutiny. And she didn't appreciate it.
"Most men at least buy me dinner to get a chance to ogle me," Jonni quipped.
"Your civilian skill set is impressive but we're here to discuss the Thunderbolt," Dr. Mid-Nite clarified.
"Be very careful of what you wish for," Jonni warned them, "She can be temperamental."
"She?" Mr. Terrific perked up.
"Her name is Yz and she's part of me and I'm part of her. Guess you could label as a gestalt," Jonni explained at long last.
"Could we witness you bringing her out?" Mr. Terrific was practically drooling.
"I don't summon Yz and I certainly don't 'bring her out of the closet'. We just become one another," Jonni described the process, "Like now."
And suddenly Jonni Thunder was replaced by a pink Thunderbolt.
"Amazing!" Flash exuded.
"Let's see some demonstrations of your power," Green Lantern requested, "According to Jade and Obsidian, your powers are electrical rather magical."
"If you already know everything about me then we could've done this interview by remote control," Yz smarted off.
"Damn! Forget Karen, I like her." Wildcat declared.
"Why is there a flying horse on my roof leaving mounding piles of turds everywhere?" an irate Roxy suddenly appeared atop the table.
"Any identification?" Sand wondered.
"Oh, let me see. There's a helm, chainmail, a sword, and a knight who I can't identify as either male or female. But if it is a guy it's a girly one, "Roxy reported, "And dammit, I'm just picking a gender here. She's rambling on about quests from Merlin and fates of Camelot."
"Could it be Sir Justin?" Flash was hopeful.
"Only if he became a she and shaved a foot off his height when he became her and lost at least fifty pounds of muscle weight," Roxy was indifferent.
"Could you please show her in?" Wesley Dodds and Sandy Hawkins shared one particularly otherworldly trait: they were no longer solely of the mortal coil. Orpheus, the Sandman of the Dreaming, was of the Endless. Dodds was his chosen prophet. Hawkins was Wesley's choice for a successor. Sandman knew that no matter how relieved Sand was to see him, he had to feel supplanted. But the mortal Sandman had been returned to the mortal coil for a brief season. Afterwards, Sand would bear the prophetic burden alone.
"Presenting Sir Ystin," Roxy vanished in a huff.
"Tell us, Sir Ystin, are you a Shining Knight?" Hawkman asked as he and Hawkgirl entered the conference/assembly room.
And for one of the few periods in her life, Ystin blinked. The hawk gods were real. So Merlin's warnings of the ones called Fortune and Fate were real as well. And the living lightning, the jade who walked, and the shadow that breathed were all equally real. Ystin had seen many wonders and horrors since drinking from the Holy Grail and even more adventures with the Demon Knights
"I need to speak with the woman you call 'Xanadu'," Sir Ystin avoided preamble, "Her sisters have left Avalon and require her aid. All of yours."
"I can't place her accent," Mr. Terrific complained.
"I'm no woman," Sir Ystin snapped.
"Biology dictates otherwise," Dr. Mid-Nite countered.
"She's Welsh and she identifies with what we term cisgender," Hawkgirl interrupted them all, "And I have no idea why I know that at all."
"Stand easy, Sir Ystin. We make preparations for a great battle. Would you assist us in dispatching this foe so we can return to aiding you quest as we did in ages past?" Hawkman asked in ancient Welsh.
"Smooth," Kendra whispered to Carter.
"What's the point of having thousands of lifetimes if they aren't useful?" he wondered.
And suddenly the Middle Welsh disappeared from Ystin's voice and she sounded like a modern inhabitant of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, "I will help you not just because the Hawk offered yours in return but because it's the noble thing to do."
"Carter?" Green Lantern was slightly confused, "Why do we need help?"
"The United Nations asked the Justice League to defend Bailya. They're…understaffed. Col. Trevor asked us to consider it a training opportunity," Hawkman answered.
"Kendra, if you could alert Young Justice?" Green Lantern asked, "Jonni? Could you, Jade, and Obsidian join us as well?"
"I will not be left behind," Sir. Ystin warned, "I've given my pledge."
"We wouldn't dream of it," Flash assured her, "And we'll see about working on those personal pronouns."
"I was born one way and feel as another yet I cannot deny either," Ystin explained.
"An' ya kick ass as all of ya put together," Wildcat enthused.
"I like you, friend. I shall stand by your side," Sir Ystin swore.
"Best news I've heard all day," Ted Grant jested.
"She finds Ted nonthreatening," Jay Garrick advised Alan Scott.
"She's the only one," Alan was subdued, "Our US charter forbids us from operating in international arenas. We've heard stories about all of the super agencies collapsing around the world. What if the rumors are true?"
"Even more disturbing is the idea that the JLU sent most of its roster into space but they were supposed to have a reserve on terra firma. So why are they suddenly understaffed? And where are the Mighty Crusaders?" Flash asked his own questions, "Why is Seattle suddenly ground zero?"
"Michael has the All Star Racer prepped," Peiter Cross reported, "And Carter and Kendra are rousting the kids. Cyril Sheldrake snuck off. He boarded a flight back to London several hours ago. Shira Torr changed her alias from Squire to Miss Quick. Turn's out Kid Flash's big secret was that his sister is a speedster as well. Something the Thawne family never knew."
"And Eobard is running loose as the Reverse Flash," Flash grimaced, "Just as Edward Clariss is as well as Rival."
"Daniel West is supposed to be dead yet there are reports of Zoom resurfacing," Sand breezed in.
"We hadn't heard reports indicating either situation," Green Lantern complained.
Sand tapped his temple with a forefinger. Flash just nodded, "Right."
"So Reverse Flash, Rival, an' Zoom are headed ta a great big smackaroo," Wildcat punched the palm of his other hand, "Wanna sell tickets an' popcorn. I can get us a liquor license."
"Where's Ystin?" Dr. Mid-Nite inquired.
"On the roof takin' care o' her horse. Black one called Vanguard," Wildcat happily told them, "He's a far cry from Winged Victory thut's fer sure. An' Roxy's readin' her the riot act `bout the chips fallin' where they may."
With Ystin out of earshot, Ted wasn't trying so hard to sound "proper", "An' what're we callin' her anyway? Boy? Girl? `Cause like she said, it ain't that simple."
"She identifies as nonbinary. I guess we use the pronouns she feels comfortable with," Dr. Cross suggested.
"She's given everyone a few big cues," Jennie-Lynn Haden spoke up as she, Jonni, and Todd reentered the space, "She employs the title, 'Sir'. She refuses to be labelled a woman. But she won't deny she's female. She seems to acknowledge that she has an actual gender versus what is in her heart to be."
"So she's transgender," Todd understood minority sexualities.
"She isn't trying to become a man. She merely feels the role and responsibilities of the masculine world from her day," Jonni deduced. She was a detective after all, "And she hasn't protested once to being labelled 'she'. Just about being referred to as a woman."
"And sexually?" Dr. Mid-Nite was being quite clinical.
"The closest term would be 'lesbian'," Obsidian answered, "Because bisexual doesn't play a role here."
Alan had always embraced his son's homosexuality and his insights were invaluable, "But they are still her choices and we have to honor them."
"Damn skippy," Jade enthused.
"Carter reports Young Justice is loaded aboard the All Star Racer," Jay raced back into the room, "Even the newbies."
"Then let's git inta some trouble, "Wildcat started to stomp, "What `bout the girl?"
"Wes wants to have a chat with her, "Sand was intentionally cryptic.
All the veteran Societers knew that could spell trouble in the near and long term. It usually invoked the end of worlds.
Sarya surveyed the wastelands of Qward. The Emerald Empress had pitted her new Fatal Five against the Thunderers and Weaponers. The civilians were just collateral damage. In the end, Sarya's forces liberated them from the captivity of their wasted lives. Her Emerald Acolytes, Cera Kesh and Ingria Olav, used their distinctive power rings fashioned by the Eyes of Ekron.
The Thunderers had been overconfident, having fought the Green Lantern Corps to a standstill on several occasions. But the Eyes were a vast improvement on Volthoom's rings so they easily templated his personally forged power rings. And as Sun Girl, Inertia, and the Persuader ravaged the Weaponer complexes, they found what had been intended as a failsafe, doomsday weapon. One ultraviolet power ring in all of existence waiting to be worn by its chosen bearer.
Sarya confronted Sinestro in his Fear Lodge, "I offer you one opportunity to control this antimatter universe."
"There is no life here," Sinestro sneered, "What is there to control?"
"You've obviously never travelled further than Qward. Every world is represented in a negative image. Especially Antimatter Earth," Sarya told him.
"Earth?" Sinestro sounded like a waking burp.
"Conquered by a Salvation Syndicate," Sarya teased him.
"I will have this 'Earth'! Sinestro declared as he bounced out of his throne.
"Only if you swear allegiance to me," Sarya counteroffered.
Sinestro's ring flared to life.
So did the Eyes of Ekron, "That can be arranged."