Chapter 5! I'm finally getting to do the real stuff here. If my writing seemed rushed before, it was because I wanted to get to the good stuff as fast as possible. Note that I do not have an ending in sight, which might make this a bit tedious in later chapters. I'm also renaming Wally West on my own, I think that his current comic name {just "The Flash"} is really annoying and obviously confusing, note that this is not his ACTUAL official DC Comics name, just my own renaming. Enjoy.
Batman surveyed the newly gathered superheroes. There were hundreds if not nearly one thousand, and he had noticed quite a few weren't even there yet. However, this was quite impressive for an immediate response, which is why Batman thought no more of it. He stood at the podium in the Hall of Justice (The Watchtower gathering had only been temporary), with a small group of motley heroes up there with him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered you all here today to inform you of a Code Red situation. You all know of the deaths of Skyman and Crimson Avenger, and The Atom has recently disappeared. We lost contact with The Flash a few days back, but the Watchtower indicates he is still moving around freely and simply doesn't want to talk to us right now, presumably because he thinks I killed Crimson Avenger. The reason for these deaths and disappearances is a massive crime spike. Lex Luthor has somehow completely organized all super-villainous crime, with something of a crime hierarchy going on."
Batman then turned and walked over to the other heroes up on the podium with him.
"We have decided to organize you into a few different teams. Zatanna here will be the leader of the magic division. I will be the head of the logistics and tactical division. Superman will be the head of the tank division (Hal was in charge of naming), The Blur – that's Wally West's new name, for who didn't know – will be in charge of the scout division, and Cyborg will be in charge of the tech division. We're willing to switch people around and even create brand new divisions, so stay on your feet. This is war."
As Batman finished, Kid Flash shot into the room.
"Batman, it's awful! I… I went and did what you said and found the people who aren't here but… but I -"
"Slow down, Kid Flash. What happened? What did you find?"
"I found as many heroes as I could. Fire and Ice are dead, Batman, and so are Firehawk and Crimson Fox. I managed to rescue Robotman, Wildcat, and Argent, and the rest of the heroes are doing just fine, they all had excuses for not coming. Ethan Avery was assassinated while unconscious after turning back from Damage, so we only have one Damage now, and he doesn't hit as hard."
"Hey!" A muffled protest came from the other Damage, and Superboy shot him an amused look.
Batman scowled even more than he already was scowling before turning back to the other heroes.
"This isn't good. They are after us. The only good news to come out of this is the fact that they've only taken out a few lower skilled heroes, as heartless as that sounds. People, you know who you are, let's get cracking. We're going to take this one city at a time if we have to."
Batman called a few heroes into a private back room for a security briefing.
"Alright everyone, we need as much help as we can possibly get. GL?"
Hal Jordan shook his head, his matted hair ruffled from a quick two-hour nap in the morning before getting right back to work.
"Sorry, Batman. The GL Corps is working on repairing the Source Wall, remember? We're already stretched pretty thin – we've had to face off raids by the Red Lantern Corps. Thankfully, we just dealt them a massive blow, and in the meantime Penelops managed to capture Larfleeze. So that's one Corps off the grid and another Corps reeling from their wounds. However, that doesn't change the fact that we can't help much. I'm the best you got."
"Understood, GL. Thank you guys for the help, it's nice to know Atrocitus won't be coming here – we don't need any more people to worry about. Mister Miracle, what is New Genesis' position?"
"Huh? Right, sorry Bats. Like GL, we're stretched thin. This would be what – the 590,764th war we've had with Apokolips? But don't worry, we managed to capture the Female Furies. They aren't going anywhere, much less Earth. I can get Orion to come help, but us two are the only help you're getting."
"Any help is useful, Scott. Wally, you were sent to negotiate with other Earthly forces, how did that go?"
"I'm afraid it didn't go great, Bats. The Immortal Men are waist deep in a bloody war with the Immortal Woman, the Challengers are not up for combat, but at least the Sea Devils are willing to act as paramilitary scouts for us, despite their lack of powers."
"Oh, well, good enough, I guess. Wally, I want you to gather your forces and get to Star City as fast as you can. The people haven't figured out there's anything unusual going on yet, so let's put this down as quickly as it started. Gather your loved ones and bring them to my moon base for protective custody if you deem it necessary."
The Blur quickly nodded and sped out. Green Arrow burst in with a bad look on his face.
"So, tactical leader, it seems you've sent the scout division to Star City. Must I wait for you here, or do I have your permission to go and defend my own damn city?"
Batman thought for a second, then looked at Green Arrow and nodded.
"Go on, Ollie, go help. Bring whoever you want from our division, but clear it with other division heads if you're grabbing one of theirs."
Green Arrow gave Batman a strange expression before walking out. On the way he grabbed Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow, Arrowette, and Speedy before hopping in the (now slightly crammed) Arrowplane and taking off.
Batman sighed before contacting Wally on the coms.
"Blur, have you arrived in Star City? What's your status? I'll send you the list of criminals working under Dark Archer. See if you can help the SCPD with any street crimes while you're at it."
"Understood, Batman. I'm currently here with Kid Flash, Impulse, and The Ray. Other heroes are on their way. We just spotted Harm assaulting a citizen, we're on the case."
Batman frowned, despite the news that his plan was working. He still felt an impending danger, but he couldn't seem to place it…
Meanwhile, in Star City.
"Kid Flash, flank him! Ray, throw him off his feet! Impulse, don't let him get away!"
Wally West barked out orders as he whizzed around Star City Park, beating up and capturing various thugs that were assisting Harm in what appeared to be a hostage taking operation. Many of the criminals had previously been part of The Dragon's criminal gang, which gave Wally some satisfaction – at least the organized criminals were being taken out just as quickly as the supervillains. As he finished tying up the last thug, he turned around to see Kid Flash deliver a satisfying uppercut to Harm's chin, followed by a full power blast to the chest by The Ray.
"Thank you, gentlemen, I'll take it from here. I've got a high security prison on Lian Yu with Harm's name on it. Why don't you check out the Warehouse District? I heard Damien Darkh set up shop there."
Wally turned in surprise to see Green Arrow emerge from the shadows, followed by Black Canary.
"Ollie? I thought you would have been patrolling yourself, not here."
"I was, captured Onomatopoeia in Lamb Valley. Decided to see how you boys were doing."
"Where's the rest of your Arrow-Family?"
"Picked up a lead. They're after Los Halcones. Hopefully they'll get lucky and catch them in a turf war with the Culebras or something so we can bag them both. Those two gangs have been a pain in our side for a while now."
Wally nodded and suddenly spotted something out the corner of his eye. Within a second he had disappeared and returned, this time with a heavily tattooed criminal wrapped like a Christmas present. Green Arrow looked shocked, but grinned wider than the Pacific Ocean.
"Hello, Ricardo – or should we call you The Dragon now?"
The man looked up at Oliver with fury in his eyes.
"Green Arrow. I'm telling you nothing – Merlyn appointed me as his right-hand man for a reason."
"Oh really? I'm sure he trusts you very much, Ricardo, so much that he appointed you to be in charge of his drug and racketeering operations. And you've handled that so admirably, haven't you? My friends here have already blown 7 cocaine storage houses sky high, and your little gang of thugs here is going into custody – including Harm, a full-blown supervillain. Dark Archer must simply adore you, huh? He'd never decide you're an abject failure and decide to silence you before you spill the beans, not at all. You're too successful to risk killing, aren't you?"
The Dragon looked up at Green Arrow with fear in his eyes, but it vanished in a split second.
"Never. I hunted down and captured a few heroes, you know – just like you. You don't scare me."
Green Arrow absent mindedly whittled a twig with a pocket knife he had retrieved from Diaz.
"Oh no, of course not. I'm sure I'm not that intimidating. But Merlyn is, isn't he? Very scary, yes. In fact, he's even more likely to kill you know considering you just foolishly revealed that you know where our allies are being held. We have mind-readers, you know. Merlyn simply can't count on you, can he?"
The Dragon's eyes widened, this time in genuine fear.
"I – you can't do this, he'll kill me! He has people, you know, people everywhere. The D.A., a few police, local thugs, even supervillains! I can't escape!"
"Oh no, you can't. But don't worry, I have a secure prison for you – a prison Merlyn doesn't even know exists. And don't worry, I know of D.A. Armand's treachery – and so do the cops. You can find him in the Star City jail during visiting hours, as well as all the dirty cops. But back to your safety. I have this high tech Arrowplane that could get you to that secure prison in mere hours – Merlyn wouldn't be able to track you. All you need to do is tell me right now where the captured heroes are, as well as where Merlyn is hiding. Or I could send you to the county jail with a full SWAT escort and wait for Martian Manhunter to arrive. I'm sure a SWAT team is sufficient to provide safety from a trained assassin and several metahumans, no? You'll also be waiting a while – Manhunter is on Mars, doing Martian things. It's very important to him, but he'll be back in 35-64 business days. I'm sure you'll be safe for that long, won't you?"
"Okay, I'll talk!"
The Dragon was sweating up a storm this time, and he looked like he was going to cry.
"Merlyn is hiding in a warehouse on Broadway and Main in the Warehouse District with Deathstroke. He's appointed villains to each neighborhood, they're in charge of local operations. Here's the list of criminals, their district, and where they're based out of. As for the heroes, I don't actually know where they are, but I heard Merlyn talking about Santa Prisca or Corto Maltese or whatever, but I'm not su- "
Before he finished a bullet penetrated his head, and he violently jerked before lifelessly slumping to the ground. Green Arrow looked up in alarm, but there was nothing there. The killer had vanished. Green Arrow growled, and kicked the corpse's side in frustration.
"Damn it! I had something! Ah, forget it. He didn't know much anyways."
As he said this Arsenal, Speedy and Red Arrow emerged from an alley.
"Is that The Dragon? What happened to him?"
"Assassin. Before he died I managed to get a list of criminals and their hideouts. How'd the lead go?"
"Good. We got lucky and bagged both gangs, even their leadership. It was all out. We even got the Spooky Crew, who were pulling a job near the war zone."
"At least there's some good news. Hey, where's Arrowette?"
"That's the thing – we don't know."
