Jurisdiction

The robot was in decent condition if you discounted the back of the head, which was crushed in. That was courtesy of Hawkgirl's mace and it was clear she hadn't held back.

John was kneeling next to it, examining it to the best of his abilities. Despite the fact it had been in a heated fight with the Thanagarian, not to mention on the wrong side of his power ring, it showed very little damage to its exterior. Obviously this thing was made to withstand incredible force. Part of John wondered if Superman or Wonder Woman couldn't damage this thing.

Hawkgirl was also looking the robot over with her heightened eyesight. If there was something he missed, she would catch. It also helped she was an experienced detective, so she was trained to look for things that would escape most people's attention.

"What is this thing made of?" the redhead asked after awhile. "If it weren't for its head, I'd say this thing was almost indestructible."

"It does appear that way," the Green Lantern agreed. He then raised his ring hand up and fired a beam of light. The beam went thin almost immediately, angling itself towards the robot's head. Then the thin beam moved down its body, scanning it the entire time.

Once it reached the feet, the beam vanished. John then held the ring up in front of his face, staring at it as it did its analysis. Then it finished.

"This thing is covered in some material called Promethium," John reported even as the ring continued to feed him information. "It's incredibly durable, maybe even indestructible." He glanced to the head again. "Though I'm guessing whoever made this missed a spot."

"Lucky us," Hawkgirl quipped.

"Seems to be pure, no other materials included in its making. Apparently races that use this metal like to combine it with other materials during its manufacturing. That actually makes it indestructible, potentially self-repairing." John frowned. "And that's it. The scan didn't even penetrate the armor."

"So there's nothing on its interior?"

The dark-skinned man nodded. "Yeah. That's never happened before. I've been able to scan the Watchtower's computer and was able to get a full schematic. All my ring is literally showing me is the exterior—a shell, basically."

"Then I guess we need to open it up so you can get a better look into how it's made," Hawkgirl suggested.

John looked the robot up and down. "Where do you want to start?"

"Why not the head? That's a known weak point."

Before the Green Lantern could agree, there was the sound of screeching tires. Turning his head, he saw a series of SUVs turn a corner, rushing towards them. Standing up, he stepped towards them as they began to slow down and come to a stop a short distance away.

"John, there's more of them," Hawkgirl suddenly reported. Turning his head, John saw more of the black SUVs, along with an armored truck coming from the other direction. They were effectively surrounded.

Returning his attention to his front, the lead SUV had come to a stop perhaps a few feet away. Doors were flying open and men and women in suits damn near leaped out. From other vehicles were men in dark combat fatigues, assault rifles held tightly in their hands.

One of the suits made a beeline right for the Green Lantern. "Justice League, we appreciate your work subduing this threat," a man of perhaps middle age said, a pair of sunglasses perched on his face. "We'll be taking it from here."

John frowned before he pointed his ring figure towards the robot and fired a green beam. The beam formed a circle around it, then stretched up from the ground towards the sky, creating a cylinder. "Hold on a minute, who are you people and what are you doing here?"

Even as he spoke, the Green Lantern could see people running around. It was clear they were forming a perimeter, so there was some form of law enforcement training here. Were they government perhaps? FBI? ATF?

The agent in front of him did not appear put off by his action or question. Coolly, he reached inside of suit jacket and pulled out a wallet, flipping it open to reveal a badge. "We're an agency of the U.S. federal government, the Advanced Research Group Utilizing Superhumans, or A.R.G.U.S. if you wish."

A.R.G.U.S. was it? He hadn't heard of them before, but that wasn't too surprising. Most government agencies weren't known until they had a massive screw up. The ATF wasn't known by the public until their botched raid of the Camp Davidian in Texas, for instance. Still, John felt he would've known of this group in some form or fashion due to his time in the marines.

"Alright, whatever you are," Hawkgirl spoke, an irritated tone in her voice. "What are you doing here? We have everything under control."

"We're here to confiscate that unidentified object that you've apprehended. It needs to be researched and studied to determine what it is and how it came to be."

"We were just doing that when you came parading in. Now if you don't mind, we'll get right back to figuring out just what this thing is."

The agent shook their head. "I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from damaging the object any further. We could risk losing vital information with any further dismantling. We have trained researchers on standby that will be able to prevent this loss."

Hawkgirl narrowed her eyes at the man. "Are you saying we don't know what we're doing? I'll have you know I've been investigating stuff like this since my time on Thanagar. I know my way around unknown creatures and robots, thank you very much."

The agent stared the Thanagarian down for a moment before he let out a sigh. "I was hoping not to have to do this, but I am now invoking the sovereignty of the United States to police and maintain its borders. Since we are on U.S. soil, that object is now the property of the United States Government. Any further resistance on behalf of the Justice League will be seen as a violation of this country's sovereignty and it will act in accordance with the protection of its citizenry and territories. Please vacate the premises immediately."

John felt as if his wind was knocked out of him, figuratively of course. He was used to government officials using their position to their benefit, frustrating League investigations. It wasn't the first time a U.S. official had used it on him either. However, having this previously unknown agency use it was shocking.

"You're going to have to drag me from here," Hawkgirl growled back as she took a step towards the agent. Out of the corner of John's eye, he noticed several of the armed men raised their rifles, taking aim at the winged woman. "This is our crime scene and we're going to investigate—"

"Hawkgirl, stand down," the Green Lantern interjected, stopping the redhead in mid-rant. An incredulously look appeared on her face as she looked at him. "I don't like any more than you, but they have jurisdiction."

"You can't be serious!" Hawkgirl exclaimed. "You're just going to let them take it?"

"We don't have a choice," he shot back. "We're on U.S. soil and the government has a say on who investigates what. This isn't like dealing with local law enforcement, who usually gives us leeway."

Despite his words, he could see none of them had calmed the redhead down. In fact, she was openly seething. That did not bode well. Returning his attention to the A.R.G.U.S. agent, he said, "Our apologies. The scene is yours."

The agent nodded his acceptance. "We thank you for your cooperation. Now, if you don't mind…"

Returning the nod, a green aura enveloped the Green Lantern and he took off into the air, Hawkgirl following behind him, a dark cloud of anger. He didn't like this any more than she did, but they didn't have a choice. As the Justice League, they had to act as an independent organization and that required they follow the laws of the countries they were assisting.

However, it wasn't as if they were out of options. There were multiple robots throughout the country. One of the others could remove one so long as it wasn't completely wrecked.

Raising a hand to the comm link, John made the call, sooner rather than later. There was no telling if this A.R.G.U.S. was on the way to the other scenes right then. It was best to assume they were and act accordingly.

The photographs were of the damaged street in front of Wayne Tower. It was after the battle with Batman conferring with J'onn J'onzz about what the hell they had been fighting.

Apparently there had been a number of those robots all over the country. Further digging had shown this had been a worldwide incident with the most resistance occurring where the Justice League had intervened. Multiple cities had reported electrical fluctuations and breeches through their firewalls.

Bruce didn't like this one bit.

Already he was puzzling out what this was a sign of. Obviously there was some sort of larger plan in play and the world was receiving its first notice. Whether this had been going on prior or just started was an unanswerable question at the moment, not without gathering more information.

To compound on this, a group of government operatives had appeared on the scene shortly after the battle outside. Bruce had left the moment the trucks had been spotted, leaving J'onn to ascertain their purpose. Their operating name was A.R.G.U.S., or so they claimed. He hadn't heard of them, not that he couldn't find that out. A remote transmission to the Cave had the supercomputer there compiling information on the group.

Their purpose for being in Gotham came clear mere moments into their interaction with J'onn. They had recovered the robot, claiming governmental jurisdiction. J'onn hadn't put up a fight, though that was expected. The Martian was a representative of an independent organization and he couldn't argue for long with them, especially since they were right in regards to jurisdiction.

However, if they thought they had collected one hundred percent of the remains, they were going to find a hand missing. That could be chalked up to it being completely destroyed in the battle and A.R.G.U.S. would accept that rationale.

In actuality, that hand had been ferreted out by the vigilante before he had left the scene. He stayed during the government team's activities and their withdrawal. J'onn had told him what they had said, which is how he knew what occurred in the conversation. Confiding in the Martian that he would be following up on this robot on his own, he recommended his friend return to the League to further their own investigation.

As Bruce perused the photographs of A.R.G.U.S. scrambling around the battlefield—pictures obtained from the camera in his cowls' lens and printed—he made sure he could account for each agent's movements and actions. He wanted to make sure they were leaving anything behind, such as surveillance equipment. The last thing he needed was a government agency trying to get a foothold in Gotham, not after the actions of the National Guard last year. There was something else afoot, he just knew it.

The door to the room opened and in stepped Lucius. He came in empty-handed, which was a rather peculiar thing for him. The older man always had some sort of document, file, or briefcase in hand, so this was very different. However, Bruce had been expecting this. After all, what he had the man doing was something they couldn't afford to leave a paper trail.

"I don't know where you found that hand," Lucius told him then, "but that is without a doubt the single most advanced piece of machinery I've ever seen."

That's what Bruce had expected, but the confirmation was nice. "I got that from the robot that was infiltrating our network. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Yeah. The lab boys have no idea what that thing is made of. There's no record of it even existing on Earth, not until today. Even the wiring and gears are made of some unknown material."

Bruce nodded. "Anything else?"

Lucius took a seat near him at the table. An exasperated look appeared on his face. "If I didn't know any better, I would say this is some sort of alien technology. It's way too advanced in comparison to the technology our own R&D department makes. With this hand alone, we could jumpstart a technological revolution that hasn't been seen since the steam engine."

Again, the younger man had expected this. In fact, this was all something he could have discovered using the supercomputer in the Cave. He had a reason for having Lucius conduct this part of the investigation, however.

"Would it surprise you that Gotham wasn't the only city attacked by this thing?" Bruce asked then. "I've been checking for similar attacks and I've found this was a worldwide thing."

"There are more of these things?" Lucius questioned incredulously.

"I'm afraid so. And if what you suspect is true, that this is alien in origin, I'm getting the feeling this is only the beginning. Whomever, whatever produced these first robots surely has more, potentially more advanced ones as well. While this could very easily just be some alien civilization scouting us out for academic reasons, it could be the first wave of an aggressive species."

"You're talking of another invasion, Bruce."

He nodded his agreement. "I am."

"And you think you may become more involved in the near future."

"It's certainly a possibility. I'm checking with a few other contacts right now for more intelligence, but I'd rather be ready in the event this is another invasion."

Slowly, Lucius nodded his understanding. "I'll see what I can do to arrange some off time for you. How much do you think you'll need?"

"A couple weeks, maybe. I think I can keep running the company for the next few days, at least until these new aliens make their next move. Once we know their intention, then we can act."

"Of course. I'll begin shifting your responsibilities towards myself for a smoother transition."

And that's why he wanted Lucius to study the hand. With his assumption as head of Wayne Enterprises, he had a more integral role than previously. The two men had a serious discussion about this and it was something Bruce had taken to heart. He wouldn't let Lucius down if he could help it.

However, if there was an invasion coming, he couldn't be tied up by the company so much so that he failed to act. As long as he was upfront with Lucius and get him to understand what was going on, he would be agreeable to the Bat taking a larger role in his life.

There was a sigh, interrupting the dark-haired man's thoughts. "In all honesty, Bruce, I hope you're wrong about this," Lucius said.

"So am I, Lucius. So am I."

Meetings in the Watchtower were common place among the assembled Leaguers. From around a large, round table, the six heroes of various origins and appearances sat, briefing themselves on the most recent event.

Superman listened intently to the others, comparing everyone else's observations and stories to his own. A lot of similarities could be picked out, from how durable these robots were, firing beams of energy from the hands, the lack of emotion, even the fingers that became cables.

One other thing that stood out was how hard each fight had been, being turned around when either a second Leaguer arrived or the hero in question managed to find a creative way to deal with the robots.

On a map of the planet, various red dots appear over known locations where these things had gone. While quite a few were on the North American continent, the rest were spread out over the rest of the planet. The story was always the same: disturbances in the electrical grid, any and all machines that had a Wifi connection would turn on then off, and it would occur in a large, metropolitan area, somehow affecting the immediate areas around it, including some satellite and commuting towns.

Naturally, wherever this took place, there were also reports of identical robots, each one with the same description as the ones the League had faced. At this point, there could be no denial: something was up.

"Anybody know what these things were trying to do?" the Flash asked, scarfing down the last of a twenty burger meal he had brought along with him. Some of his words came out slightly muffled thanks to him talking with his mouth full.

J'onn himself showed no signs or offense at the speedster's lack of manners. He simply glanced at a printout he had, before answering, "There were multiple data breaches wherever these robots appeared."

"What were they looking for?" Hawkgirl cut in, leaning forward. Thanks to her mask, she looked fierce and ready for a fight.

"That is still being ascertained. These hacks were not limited to secure networks, but to every electronic device in the region. These include everything from top secret government mainframes to privately used desktop computers, and other devices such as phones and iPads and other such electronics," the Martian described. "Nothing was off limits, and no firewalls were strong enough to resist intrusion. By all accounts, if it was within range, it was hacked."

You could tell from the sound of Hawkgirl's voice that she was frowning as her mask did much to hide her emotions. "That makes no sense. It's highly impractical to do something like that. What were those things looking for that it required as many of them as there were?"

"Cooperation from the more secretive agencies has been very difficult," J'onn remarked. "None wish to compromise what information they have, despite the fact that their cyber security has already been compromised. However, there is more. After we had dealt with enough of these foreign invaders, the rest activated a self-destruct feature. While much of their bodies could be retrieved, their hardware was damaged to the point of being useless. The only ones with their circuitry intact were the ones we defeated prior to any destructive safeguards being activated."

"And those were confiscated by A.R.G.U.S.," Green Lantern added.

"Not all of them," Flash cut in with a slight smirk. The remark had Superman giving the speedster a look, but it was one that showed not an ounce of disapproval.

As A.R.G.U.S. had begun to move in, the Flash had secreted away one of the robots, specifically the one that Wonder Woman had been fighting. While there was damage to it, much of its interior remained undamaged, if you took into account that its core was violently removed. Sometimes it paid off to be the fastest man alive; you could work quickly enough that even a few seconds to hide away a very large and heavy robot was more than enough time. If the Kryptonian recalled correctly, Flash had given A.R.G.U.S. the excuse that the Amazonian warrior had hit it hard enough to send the hostile machine up into the atmosphere and that it should be coming back down any moment.

"Well, since we got it up here, it's half true," had been the speedster's reasoning.

"Our specimen is currently undergoing analysis, standard scans both for its physical designs and soon enough its digital," the Martian Manhunter continued with the briefing. "I will be handling that aspect of the investigation and will inform you all about my findings once I have them."

"In the meantime, we need to see about finding out what A.R.G.U.S. is up to," Green Lantern picked up. "Perhaps, if they're feeling up to it, they might be willing to include us in on their end. We're going to need to make contact at some point."

"I believe that I may be able to help," Wonder Woman offered. While her statement attracted the rest of the League's attention, the dark-haired warrior waited a moment before continuing. "I have had recent dealings with A.R.G.U.S., nothing too groundbreaking, but I have noticed they have been cleaning up after my battles. While their reach is greater than I previously thought, I have spoken with a few of their agents. Hopefully, whatever rapport I have managed to build up with them may allow us the chance to learn more."

"Mind if I come with?" the ring-wearing hero asked.

"I don't see why not," Wonder Woman replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I do know they happened to be headquartered in Washington D.C. It stands to reason that is where they will be taking the robots they retrieved."

Superman found himself nodding, accepting the reasoning. This was his first time dealing with this organization, and while his journalistic instincts were demanding him to look deeper into it, the Man of Steel held back, choosing to rely on others to gather the necessary information they needed so they could better prepare for what came next.

"The rest of us will take point on calming the public down," Superman said, taking charge of this next part. "People will be panicking, wondering if there is going to be a third invasion." Not even Hawkgirl's mask could hide the scowl that now appeared on her face. The Gordanian incursion was still a sore spot for her, it seemed. "We'll release a press release, assure that the League is on the case. We'll extend an invitation to any and all governmental bodies to help repair any damages caused by this event, then get ready in case of a second incursion."

"It would really help if we knew what these things were looking for," Flash remarked, holding up a single French fry between his fingers. Huh, so he had gotten combo meals. "Might tell us what they wanted in the first place."

"Based on what the robot that called itself Brainiac reported, it was cataloging information," the Martian responded. "It made multiple references to studying and acquiring information. What it did not mention were any specifics. Based on the multiple testimonies, as well as what evidence we have gathered so far, it appears that these robots were trying to access everything."

"It could be a shotgun approach," Hawkgirl suggested, looking from one League member to another. "Instead of the slower infiltration method that Despero used, these Brainiac robots were gathering all information to go through later. Maybe that's how it plans to invade."

"Even if it gathered all information on the planet, why were they all blowing themselves up?" the dark-skinned Lantern spoke up. "If these things took too much damage, they self-destructed. Even the ones that we weren't able to reach in time did the same. Why were they going through all this if this was how it was going to end?"

At this point, Superman felt this was the time for him to add something from his encounter. "Maybe there was no need for them to leave." When that attracted all attention from the others, the Kryptonian explained, "Before the one I fought blew up, it tried to send a transmission of some kind. This could mean that once these robots managed to get all the data they could, they were going to send it all back, perhaps to some central hub."

"Meaning the place they originated," Wonder Woman concluded. "If this transmission did go through, then we should expect another incursion, and soon."

"Then it would be best if we proceeded to our tasks," J'onn stated. "We have warning long before an invasion is set to start. The more we know of our foe, the better we will be to counteract it, hopefully before it reaches Earth."

"Yeah, no time like the present," Flash agreed, being the first to push himself away from the table.

"Hold on."

Six of the Leaguers paused, turning to face the one who spoke. Hawkgirl was giving a look towards the Martian, staring him down. "I noticed that one of the cities targeted happened to be Gotham. Did he get involved?"

There was no need to say who he was. It was still a sore subject, but not the kind that was present in every situation. Nonetheless, no one deliberately went out of their way to bring it up, at least not anymore. However, only the Martian Manhunter was expected to answer the question that was put forth.

"I was able to intervene after he had already engaged with one," J'onn confirmed. "Batman will be pursuing his own investigation into the matter."

"And he's not going to combine forces with us. Typical." It seemed Hawkgirl was already a step ahead.

"Well, maybe if we give him some time, then go and ask, maybe he might help out? Maybe he'd find something out that we didn't. I mean, that's kinda how things go when Bats gets involved, right?" Flash was attempting to ease the situation, but the damage had been done. You didn't need x-ray vision to see how the rest of them were attempting to physically move themselves away so as to escape the awkwardness the briefing had become.

"I will act as liaison until further notice," J'onn stated. "If I find out anything, you will all be the first to know."

Hawkgirl stared the Martian down for a moment before nodding her head and getting up from her seat. Superman refrained from doing or saying anything. There was no need to unintentionally antagonize anyone.

Besides, he had his own leads to follow. It did not escape him that his robot had targeted LexCorp; and with what he had learned here in mind, the fact that the headquarters of Lex Luthor was hit went without saying. This meant that if there were other clues to be found, LexCorp would be the place to start.

However, it wasn't as if he could go over there and ask Luthor himself. No, he would need to try another way, one that stood a better chance than showing up as the Man of Steel. Hopefully a journalist would have better luck getting past the receptionist desk.

Though odd to say, this looked like a job for Clark Kent.

The vastness of space always presented challenges, even to those who travelled it regularly. Travel, communication, and survival held no guarantees. The logistics for each of those listed were incredibly complex, even for the greatest of minds.

In the middle of this void, something unseen traveled through it, moving at speeds that could surpass those of even the fastest space-faring vessels. It was made of energy, working to the utmost limits of its wavelength to reach its destination. The longer it travelled, though, the weaker it became. If this continued to occur, the contents encoded in this energy would be lost or highly degraded. Time was of the necessity if it was to fulfill its purpose.

Fortunately, it was able to reach its destination. Remaining stationary in the endless, empty expanse was a station, one of an ominous design. Most would describe it as a skull, though a skull of what remained unknown. Trailing beneath it were four, long extensions, what some species would refer to as tentacles. For the moment, these protrusions hung limply, lifelessly, as did the rest of the ship.

It was here that the transmission made contact, and was received. While the outside of the station appeared devoid of life, the inside was another matter. Specifically, deep within it was a large chamber, enormous by all definition. It curved about, circular in nature and was lit up only by numerous, holographic screens.

Each screen laid out information and data, some fast moving, others more slow. Occasionally, another screen would appear, alerting that a new transmission had been received. Algorithms would decide which would receive priority, and place them accordingly in the long menu of items to be assessed and later collected.

After centuries, this was a streamlined process, one so efficient that its programmer did not have to do anything. Though he, the programmer in question, stood before the innumerable holographs, his eyes remained shut, his face slack with calm and absolutely expressionless. His participation was unnecessary, and was better used in a resting state, staying out of the way.

A new window opened, a recent transmission received and downloaded. A new planet had been found and the data recovered was being assessed. It did not warrant anything, not even attention.

At least until the image of the planet's dominant species appeared in the window. In particular, the representative of this species wore a garment that was formfitting and blue in color, a red cape tucked in around the neck region. A symbol was worn over the chest, a common enough phenomenon that did not warrant any interest whatsoever.

Then the results of a DNA scan appeared next to the images, reporting that the creature's genetic sequences were identical to those of Kryptonian descent.

The programmer's brow twitched.

Automatically, several more holographic windows opened up, pouring over files that had not been opened for what felt like an age. One of these screens possessed information on a long visited world—Krypton—and its current status as being destroyed. The odds of any lifeform surviving such a devastating end was set at zero percent.

Another window listed the various abilities this alleged Kryptonian displayed, and compared this information to that which had been collected. According to the file on Kryptonians, these abilities had never been witnessed or documented. Not only that, these undocumented abilities were known throughout the newly discovered planet's dominant species.

Two taboos had been violated by this alone: contradiction and contamination. This new data, by all accounts, should not exist. Yet its very existence contradicted the data that had already been collected and filed away. Next, that other, until now unknown, species had been contaminated by this contradiction, exposed to an anomaly that had the potential to alter its natural course of progression and evolution.

This was unacceptable. Nothing like this should happen, or ever happen.

Not beyond his control.

Immediately, another window opened up, this one altering the priority status of the newly received transmission. All others were now secondary so that this breach of protocol could be attended to with all due speed.

An emotion that had not been experienced in centuries began to well up within the programmer, even though outwardly he showed no signs of affect. It was frustration, and it grew when it became informed that due to the natural degradation of the transmission, the exact coordinates of this planet could not be identified. However, the area where this planet could be located was narrowed down to the edge of the galaxy, one so isolated and hidden that it was near miraculous that it had been found in the first place.

While not ideal, it was an improvement over searching the entire galaxy for it. Once it reached this particular sector of space, more probes would be released to accelerate the search.

The large, skull-shaped ship began to move, no longer dormant. Its search for its next destination beginning. These new developments would be resolved, and everything would be put back into place. It would find this planet and make the appropriate corrections.

This renegade Kryptonian would be found, the secrets of his abilities unlocked, and once all the knowledge that could be gained was obtained, the standard collection protocols would take place, and the rightful order of this chaotic universe would be reestablished.

There would be no oversights this time.

FlackAttack: Again, this chapter tends to answer your questions before I can get to them, with one exception. I have been speaking with ShadowMajin about Aquaman, but so far we have yet to come up with anything concrete for the time being. Yes, I know, he did show up in Fallen Olympus, but for this new timeline, I can't say much yet. If or when he is finally reintroduced, it'll have to be something that is worth this character and does him justice.