It was not particularly strange to find Justice League to be in a strange situation. It was, after all, Age of Heroes and Villains as somebody proclaimed. There were so many heroes villains with eccentric personality and quirks that inner workings of the League were never ordinary. Hell, the most ordinary daily ordeal a leaguer went through was the monitor duty which he or she should watch out any strange occurrence world-widely in scientific, magical and inter-dimensional means. But this one strange occurrence was like the calm before the storm, though. Warriors, such as Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and so on, had a feeling of impending war even.
It began in Gotham, the incident that someone or someones unknown had attempted to hack into the Watch Tower's database from its one of internet cafes and succeeded. Bruce Wayne had gone business trip to Washington D.C. when it happened as Timothy remained to maintain security of the computer, investigating the disappearance cases that spread all around Gotham. The firewall was devastated like a snowflake against Heat-vision in less than three seconds even before Tim and everyone of Watch Tower security team from Mister Terrific down registered what's happening. When they were about to respond to it, all information was already copied and transferred to god-knows-where without means to trace the hacker.
What kind of monstrous supercomputer did the hacker use? Who would have that sort of resource and use like this if he or she(or they) did not have a wicked purpose? The incident put whole League on a high alert.
And, as if the world itself confirmed their worries, there was a magical shock wave that's akin to same order of magnitude of H-Bomb from France. Every magic user of the world either fainted or died on the spot from its side effect. Wonder Woman saw it herself as Circe, a goddess, fell under the 'dead' category. Add to this magic in general became limited and was restricted to completely different principle. For example, teleportation and small-scale creation took a toll a lot more than before and the risk increased with distance and quality, bringing the performer to total exhaustion. It was now next to impossible for magicians to teleport around the world except for Dr. Fate, who was in fact the avatar of Lord of Order, and other magicians that got the power from the otherworldly entity through some contract. Even gods did not emerge from this ordeal unscathed, along with devils of Hell. It required more heavy prices of sacrifice amount to souls of a whole state populace if any of them wanted to manifest into the world.
At this, most magicians expressed their negative attitude in mildly disapproving manners. Especially Homo Magis and nonhuman species save Nabu.
"One of Pillars of the Order is now finally restored." said Nabu.
"This is the beginning of the age of tyrannical oppression." was the other's opinions.
When someone asked if there was a way to undo the change in magic, every one of magicians abhorred the very notion of undoing it.
"Oh, you want it? Go ahead. Fordo the world for us."was Constantine's sarcastic remarks.
"There is no way to undo it once Alaya awoke from its slumber. It is as it should be."added Dr. Fate.
He said Alaya(阿羅耶) as if it meant specific thing, and Batman knew what he meant immediately. Alaya, Arayashiki(阿羅耶識) or Eight Consciousnesses; in other words it's the collective unconsciousness of mankind, and it was what caused the magic to be abated and weakened. To undo the change in magic, the mankind was to be extinct. So Batman did not notified the League that he suspected the hacker and the mastermind behind magical shock wave were one and the same. He did not see a point in that at this point, what's done was done. And he preferred not to voice his suspicion until its confirmation.
Instead, he focused on something else. Or should he say, someone? He did not believe in coincidence, especially a coincidence like a certain Swedish librarian's doppelgänger that appeared out of thin air in the identification database of all USA authority right next day of the hacking. That one was spotted by surveillance camera around the Seine before the magical shock wave struck.
It was Oracle who found about the fabricated ID, Laurence Jenkinson of Gotham. Someone who looked exactly like a Swedish librarian took a flight to France, and that was what triggered the alarm the Batman set.
Seeing Jenkinson was fabricated from Gotham, Batman let Robin track him down. Because when the hacker succeeded in getting information of heroes, Tim felt guilty and responsible about failure to stop it even though he was not only one that failed. The security team on the Watch Tower was not a joke, but they could not respond to the hacking fast enough either. It simply was done too fast. Therefore, it was not Tim's fault but, nonetheless, the incident was set heavily in his heart. Batman hoped this small mission help Robin settle his stress. And, of course, it would also help to confirm Batman's suspicion about the connection among the hacker, Jenkinson and the shock wave.
However, there was no indication of the aftermath that's related to stolen information. No attempt to blackmail or something like that. Day by day tension in the League eased out somehow hesitatingly. It seemed Batman had solely focused on Gotham criminal cases since the incident, so other heroes followed the most paranoid hero's example and led the their everyday life.
Oh, how wrong they were. They overlooked that Batman's everyday life was the tangle of constant vigilance and paranoia. He did not let it be; he just knew Jenkinson would show himself in Gotham soon enough. Something that appeared in Gotham had a tendency to return to Gotham whenever it left. It was as if Gotham itself was possessive of anything it gave birth to, including its dirt and insanity, but it was not some sort of a jinx but a statistical guess.
So he waited, tightening and remedying the surveillance network in the city.
It paid off exactly a month after he assigned the small mission to Robin. Oracle called Batman when a pale blond man who was swallowed by literal shadow was captured by the camera that was added as one of the remedies of blind spots. The man's figure matched those of ID record of Jenkinson's and, since the librarian was hard at work at Stockholm Public Library at that time, time stamp on the picture indicated Jenkinson and the Swedish librarian were two different persons. Furthermore, ID record of the librarian differed from Jenkinson's.
Though it was relief to know a hard work citizen with the clean record didn't align himself with identity theft, it made the work more difficult because it meant resemblance between Jenkinson and the librarian could be pure coincidence─in appearance wise at least. From there, Tim enthusiastically obsessively took it over and traced Jenkinson to London for two weeks, inhaling amount of caffeine much to Alfred's dismay.
Aside from the butler's dismay, Tim's endeavor brought out Jenkinson's strange action to the light. Jenkinson traveled to London from the Seine on foot over a span of a week, wandering around the British Museum during the day and disappearing completely from the face of the Earth in the nighttime for about three weeks. And then he was captured by a surveillance camera in Gotham.
Batman kept his silence during Tim's briefing at the cave. It was when Tim gave the report about anomaly in Jenkinson's routine that he voiced his opinion.
"It's magic." deduced Batman, narrowing the eyes with displeasure. White lenses of the cowl gleamed in the light of bat-computer. He seemed oddly tense.
"But magic was degraded ever since the shock wave, Bruce. You said the teleportation is now practically impossible, and that was why the possibility was dismissed before, remember?" Tim tilted his head as he crossed his arms in the seat in front of the computer.
"Indeed. But this," Bruce pointed at the captured picture of the swallowing shadow, "changes it all. He must be a magician with significant power, the calibre of Dr. Fate or close enough to him. He spent too short time to travel to London on foot of all thing, and is capable of teleporting from London to Gotham and vice versa."
"You think he can teleport around the world." Tim stated like it was a question.
Bringing up the new file on the computer screen, Bruce answered.
"I know he can do it and more."
It was police reports about mass arrests of Intergang from central and western Europe. Reading it all quickly, Tim found out the reason Bruce agitated. Witnesses were few and little and all of them was member of the gang, but they sang the same testimony. Pale blond hair and black armor, lurking shadow of a silent bat that tied them and hung them up on the crossbeam with magical wire which dissipated into motes of pale light when nobody cared.
Tim dropped his jaw wide.
"An impostor? That's his work?"
"Not quite, though it shows the training that he went through. And yes, they are his work, the time frame perfectly matched with the time of his disappearance during his travel."
"League of Assassins?"
Bruce shook he head a little.
"Possible, but unlikely. Ra's has no interaction with Intergang as of now."
"It wouldn't hurt to look deeper into them, though."
"Hmm."
Batman scowled at the screen as if it offended him personally. His head throbbed just at the thought of the League conference last week. Not all the Bat lookalike was him. They should have known. Then why the similarity in tactics and method? Fuck if he knew! He was frustrated as much as they were and more, for he was their strategist, counter-machinator and director of security.
"By the way, Bruce, it occurred to me just now that maybe…," Tim cleared his throat, "maybe he is not a villain at the very least, even if he were to be one of them."
Bruce raised an eyebrow, beckoning him to explain more. So Tim continued pointing out.
"See, those police reports, the time Intergang apprehended matched whenever mysterious rescues from crimes occurred around the area he supposed to stay. And there was no attempt to blackmail or threat against the families of heroes so far, either."
"Tt, it doesn't change the danger that he poses."
Tim shrugged.
"Of course not. Just food for thought." he looked right into Bruce's eyes, "He is monstrous enough just as a hacker, I don't fancy the idea making this magic wielding ninja hacker our permanent enemy out of sheer animosity."
'You have that kind of charm about you, so tone it down, please.'was left unsaid, but Bruce heard it anyway. He decided to keep quiet about Aquaman's report that revealed the ominous coast cleansing all over the world by the suspect and his garbage collection that could be materials collection. It was obvious Jenkinson was bidding his time. For what, Batman hadn't know yet.
So he was not surprised when another magical shock wave had come from Stonehenge in the middle of the night.
=Avenger's Rhapsody=
"Scansio(Rise)."
Jason switched on his circuit after checking the ritual circle around Stonehenge, where Merlin infused the essence of a dragon into the infant King Arthur. With the wave of the searing shadow, his circuit glowed alongside the Mystic Code he was wearing with white color.
This time, he was to summon Legendary Souls. Revelation had been sending him the frantic warning since the last visit of Gotham. He was not prepared to return to Gotham, but something sinister and vile was going on the city. Something that even Justice League was ill-equipped to deal with. Something which was crucial for Human Order and fatal to the fate of his family. Eligos in him was practically rattling with the outrage for some reason he didn't know because of the purge before Jason's resurrection.
Prepared or not, Jason must be there in Gotham when the shit hit the fan. He had five years before all hell broke loose, it was not enough time to prepare for the upcoming crisis.
That was if he were to work alone.
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.
Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time.
Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall. Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the crown.
Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom."
He needed allies. Justice League could be one, but not before the members were screened by him thoroughly in the magical means. Then again, it needed time to persuade them to believe him to be an ally in the first place, the time he was running out of.
So he decided to summon the Servants. They were not only specialists in resolving this kind of crisis, but also the most competent people to work with.
"I shall declare here. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Fate. If you will submit to this will and this reason then answer!"
And Revelation was encouraging it, and that meant the Human Order was quite unstable as it was. Considering Gaia had been eroded since Sephyr Invasion, it was obvious that there were seeds of instability which was planted by the Outsiders in the Deterrent Force System before the awakened Alaya start to eliminate them. Thus, it was safe to assume whatever Revelation was warning about was whatever Alaya couldn't resolve itself without someone like the Granted; who received the extra strength and guide from Alaya, and became a Counter Guardian after their death unless they were to make a legend that surpasses their own strengthened self.
Jason was a exception. He was a magician of a true magic, alchemist that made the preservation of humanity his lifework and Spectre of the time. He had the enough power that it was unnecessary for Alaya to grant the power and would brave the crisis, following the guide of Revelation.
That's why there was no better man than him to lead the legendary heroes against enemies within(Beasts) and without(Foreigners). It was why the both sides of the Deterrent Force worked together to survive. There was simply no other way.
"I hereby swear. That I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. That I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell.
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protectors of the Balance!"
The Ether erupted from the eight spots and swept through Stonehenge. Jason saw eight figures that stood in a circle when his sight returned normal.
Stabbing the point of the sword and putting the hands on the pommel, there, a knight in white armor with the horned helmet had come.
"Servant Saber, I answer your call."
Spinning the red spear with his hands in silver-white gauntlets, there, a lancer in the blue wool robe with six golden brooches stood in the casual manner. His red eyes sparkled in bright delight, his blue hair was waving in the wind.
"Great! I'm summoned in the perfect condition! What do you want from this Lance, master?"
With a secured pair of identical golden swords behind the shoulder blades, there, a man glittering with golden color gazed with blazing intensity of scarlet at Jason and crossed his arms.
"We have come in the mantle of an Archer. Prepare to assist us to end this farce."
Wearing a black tricorn and a red coat with a brown leather belt around the waist, there, a man tipped his hat with the muzzle of a flintlock handgun. He draped the black coat around his shoulders like a cape, the golden epaulette on the coat gleamed under the moonlight.
"Stonehenge, huh? It's been a while. I'm the Rider. Let's get along well, kid."
Jumping and revolving around Jason, there, a girl with the fox ears and three fox tails smiled charmingly at him. Her blue junihitoe swayed with the wind.
"Mmmm…...! This redolence of the handsome soul! How can I resist it!? This Caster will serve you, oh my master(hubby)!"
Armed heavily with a black sword, armor and shield, there, a giant stood as if he was there in the first place but non-existent at the same time. A pair of pale lights under the white skull mask with many scratches looked serenely into Jason's soul.
"Do not fear, Contractor. Servant Assassin, the Old Man of the Mountain hath come forth. I hath nat min name. Call as thou wantest."
Next to Assassin, there was a blurred figure in the black mist. Considering their prana consumption, they must be a Berserker.
"Shrrrrrr…"
And finally, a holy maiden.
"I'm Servant Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc. Nice to meet you, little brother!"
Jason blinked at her form of address of him.
"…little brother?"
He and every Servant save Assassin and Berserker looked at Ruler.
The renowned holy maiden was flustered under their deadpan gazes.
"Umm, did I say something wrong…?"
It was Jason who broke the awkward silence by snorting.
"Well, she is not completely wrong."
Everyone understood what he meant when he engaged the Spiritual Gear. With the black armor and flag, he looked like her punky, blackened brother.
Before anyone start to speak, he swung his grey flag, catching everyone's attentions.
"For now, let's move to my workshop. It will be hassle to be exposed by the Heroic Spirit candidates of this age. Introduction can wait."
Extending his shadow, he heaved it up and enveloped all of them.
[Postscript]
Do you guess who is who?
By the way, Solomon do have his reality marble which is The Grand Temple of Time. It was not just coincidence the name of last Singularity was Solomon. The Grand Temple of Time is his reality marble, Ars Paulina, thus it is Solomon.
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