Chapter 15
In The Shadow
Of The Spire
Disclaimer: Warning, this one has a take regarding season 4's Baron Reiter that would more then likely fit the definition of old school comic book hokeyness.
May 21st, 2011, Starling City, Washington, Foundry Basement
"In International News, the wedding of the Kahndaq King, Black Adam, is continuing to take the world by storm as the hugely surprising event is discussed by many. It should be noted that long has there been something of a strain between the King and the rest of the world due to his methods of handling certain things and there is some speculation about whether or not the unknown woman he married will try and usurp the throne from the King. And in further Inernational News, the Tour of Peace, spearheaded by the Amazon Queen, Hippolyta was even seen in attendance for the wedding as well. The Amazon Queen, until in recent weeks, hadn't been seen since the 70's. In which she was a well known crime fighter during that time period known simply as 'Wonder Woman'. She has only recently returned to the world to with a mission to try and better it in many an area. And even seek to join the United Nations as she no longer wishes for her Island Country to be isolated any more. Whether or not she will return to being Wonder Woman is uncl-"
"Hey! I was listenin' ta dat!" Complained Ted 'Wildcat' Grant as he stopped in his training session with John Diggle down in the Foundry Basement.
"Apologies, Mr. Grant, but Miss Waller and I come with some information you all need to know about." Declared General Shrieve as he and Amanda Waller made their presence known in the basement.
Waller's presence not being well liked at all by Oliver, Maseo, and Tatsu for that matter either. "Did you have to bring her with you? Cause now I'm gonna need a strong can of air freshener to get rid of her foul oder." Snarked Oliver nastily.
Waller merely smiled coolly at him as the good General just sighed. "Unfortunately? Yes. As one of her Agents has uncovered some disturbing information related to a little problem this city has been dealing with."
"And what would that be?" Wondered Tatsu as they all gathered together at one of the tables Oliver had brought down some time ago.
"As you know, the city has come under attack from a racist faction. One known as the New World Order, or NWO for short if you like."
A snort escaped the former castaway as the ARGUS director spoke. "Nice to know they aren't all that creative in group names."
"Quite, but they have been around for many years, Mr. Queen. At one point, we had believed them to be no more after the efforts of one Marion 'Cobra' Cobretti of LA's infamous Zombie Squads that saw the group in ruins."
Here, Waller placed down photos of the man she'd been talking about. Along with various other photos of the NWO group as she talked. Along with a few photos of the two others Cobra been with at the time of the events. "Yeesh, I forgot how ugly da Night Slasher was."
Maseo looked at the photos and then at Waller and Shrieve with a curious if confused expression on his face. "If this man, his wife, and many of the members of that time are now dead or still in prison, how does this relate to the city's current problem?"
It'd be Shrieve who'd speak up next as the others wondered the same. "Because, it seems the Night Slasher and Nancy Stalk had a son together. And he's one mean, racist S.O.B. who's followed in his parents' footsteps to the point he's helped bring back the NWO." Informed the man grimly as he brought out a photograph of the man.
And despite the fact it was just a picture of the man, Oliver and his friends could practically feel the man's hate radiating from the image. "And now this guy's here in Starling and looking to get rid uf us non whites." Remarked John with a shake of the head.
"Precisely, Mr. Diggle. It was fortunate that my Agent managed to make it out alive as Mr. Stalk's temper can be rather… Deadly when he's angered. And tell me, have any of you ever heard of an organization known as 'Shadowspire'?"
The group looked at one another and then at Waller and told her no. She merely nodded as if seemingly already knowing that that would be the case. "Very well then, Shadowspire is an organization that was born from the second World War after the fall of the Third Reich. Headed by a man known as Baron Blitzkrieg, or rather Baron Reiter to simplify things." Began the woman as she brought out more photographs.
Ones that included an oddly dressed man for that matter. "As you can clearly see, in addition to the numerous criminal activities the organization is involved in, they also have very clear ties in regards to the Nazi idealogy. One that the good Baron has never shied away from, even when he fought against the All-Star Squadron."
"And I'm guessing Stalk joined the guy's organization?" Asked Oliver knowingly.
"Indeed. Now here's the thing, Mr. Queen. Reiter is still very much alive in this day and age despite the fact he should either be dead or close to it due to his age." Replied the woman as Shrieve brought out photos of an African American male in blue and grey fatigues.
"This, folks, is Reiter himself." Announced Shrieve much to their shock and confusion.
"Dat ain't no old fella, partner."
Shrieve nodded in agreement. "And that's why Stalk and Shadowspire ended up seeing things very differently as he couldn't handle the fact a black man was heading up the organization. Even if said black man was actually Reiter himself."
That particular bombshell floored the group of budding heroes. "Uhh… How, how's that possible?" Wondered Diggle in shock.
"Did the Baron have a son?" Tatsu asked curiously as she studied the images of the two figures.
A shake of the head came from Waller. "As the General mentioned, the Reiter literally managed to change what he looked like. But it wasn't by choice as in the 60's, he'd been attacked by an unknown party and in the hopes of saving him, an experimental procedure was done to transfer his brain to another's body. Unfortunately, the only body available was that of an unknown African American male. Understandably, there was some issues with it but the Baron moved past it and continued on."
"Damn." Murmured Digg in stunned disbelief.
Stunned disbelief that was shared by the others as Oliver thought of something. "Are we gonna have to deal with these Shadowspire people on top of this Stalk guy?"
Since that was the last thing the city needed at the moment! But Waller shook her head. "No, as much as the Baron might like to end Brian Stalk's life, neither he nor his organization will do anything at this time." Informed the ARGUS head.
"I reckon den dat its gonna be up ta us ta put dis fella behind bars den." Muttered Ted.
But he didn't have a problem with that as the guy needed to be stopped before he really stirred up a damn Hornet's Nest that couldn't be easily stopped. "Agreed, did your Agent give you any leads on where we can find Stalk?" Oliver asked as he stared at the woman he wanted to kill just as much as he did China White for raping him.
Shrieve let out a breath. "Unfortunately, son, no. As it seems Stalk's smart enough to ensure that only a select few know where he's truly based out at. " He told Oliver and the others regretfully.
This didn't exactly sit well with the group as it only made any attempts to find the racist trash that much harder. But they were willing to put in the time to do so as Stalk and his bunch needed to be stopped as soon as possible. "Though as I'm sure you are all already aware of, the General and I can not officially be involved in this matter. Nor can we be involved in an unofficial way as well." Informed Waller and Shrieve had definitely not been happy about that when it came down the wire.
Oliver just scoffed as that was just the kind of thing he wanted to know about to make his day better. "Great, my day just got even better." Muttered the archer as the hated woman gathered up the photographs aside from Stalk's and made her way out.
"Believe you me, son, I'm definitely not happy about it either. But I have faith in you and your friends here to bring this son of a bitch down."
His confidence in the group was something they all greatly appreciated as Maseo wondered if there was a way they could reveal the information about Stalk without it causing problems for Shrieve and Waller. Even though he wouldn't have really cared if it did cause the woman problems but it more then likely would have caused him and his family problems and that wasn't particularly worth it where she was concerned. Soon, Shrieve was gone after a little more chatter between himself and the budding heroes. The basement was quiet for a moment until Oliver turned around and looked at his friends. "Let's make copies of that picture and when we go out tonight, we'll ask if anyone's seen the man." He decided and while it would probably be a long process, it very well could get them a desirable result.
Author's Notes: Well now, the group knows. But will their attempts to find Brian Stalk stir up trouble? Only one way to find out!