34
Superman addressed the civilian population of Corto Maltese. With his super powers, he didn't even require a loudspeaker to be heard across the entire crowd. It seemed the entire island's population had turned out.
The commanders of the four nation peacekeeping force also stood alongside Superman while the Justice League joined the crowd. Superman explained why the peacekeepers were there and the upcoming arrival of election monitors. When he explained that free elections would be held in six weeks the islanders looked confused rather than excited. It seemed democracy had never flowered in Corto Maltese.
But when Superman concluded his remarks, the crowds roared as they cheered him on.
"Wow, he can be charismatic," Power Ring commented.
"There's a reason why when all else fails people follow him," Green Lantern remarked. But John Stewart still refrained from telling Jessica Cruz she'd been chosen as the next Green Lantern to defend Earth.
While the JLU milled about the air strip and slowly began boarding the Invisible Jet, Penny O'Brien caught up with Zinda Blake before the former Lady Blackhawk could board her fighter plane, "Everythin' all right? Y'all missed quite a speech."
"I've known many charismatic leaders over the years. Now they're all dead or long gone," Zinda replied.
"What about Anatoly?" Penny asked.
"You know what happened when Vandal Savage kidnapped the Kapitalist Kouriers and injected them all with Velocity 9. Their connection to the Speed Force evaporated. They shut their business down and headed west. It was a very short goodbye," Zinda reminded Penny.
"Ah'm truly sorry but y'all can't give up on life," Penny replied.
Zinda laughed, "Who says I have? I've just fallen back on my one true love. That's always been flying."
"Your time will come, Zinda. Y'all will find your perfect man…or woman," Penny offered.
"Penny, are you propositioning me?" Zinda seemed surprised.
"Um…no," Penny seemed bewildered.
"I'm just teasing," Zinda let her off the hook, "And your plane is full of impatient passengers. So scoot!"
"Ah'll se you in the air," Penny cast off a jaunty wave.
"You know it," Zinda promised.
"Who are you?" Steve Trevor asked Blackwing inside of the Hall of Justice's cafeteria.
"You know who I am," Blackwing challenged Trevor, "But you can call me Blackwing."
Shayera Hol had just arrived with word that Ulla Paske reported that Dick Grayson was still in Bludhaven helping her pick out a wedding cake. Ulla's mother was also in town helping her daughter select just the right wedding gown. Like Dick, Ulla had a substantial trust fund so price really wasn't an object. But the bridesmaids list was a little sketchy. Ulla couldn't find half her prospects and a large majority had died at the hands of the Kryptonian ranger scouts.
"Careful, Steve. He's extremely dangerous," Shayera advised Trevor.
"Listen to her, Colonel. I'm Owlman's final message from beyond the grave," Blackwing warned him.
Shayera barely managed to tackle Trevor to the floor with the colonel only taking a single wingarang in the shoulder. The four guards present each took one in the throat. Blackwing made good his escape. The sounds of fighting filled the corridors.
"Damn! He is just as good as Nightwing," Trevor pulled the wingarang free; "We need to analyze these."
"And summon reinforcements," Shayera suggested, "Owlman was almost as good as Batman and completely lethal. This disciple of his has followed in his footsteps."
"The Hall of Justice is on lockdown. That act alone automatically summons a squad of Black Razors," Trevor explained, "But we have to move to try and contain Blackwing and minimize casualties."
"Blackwing was Owlman's Talon. Owlman and Talon were the pinnacle of Earth-3's Court of Owls. Ulla told me Dick has been fighting a new player in Bludhaven. A player that matches him skill for skill," Shayera told him.
"Because Blacking is Nightwing's alternate Earth doppelganger," Trevor was extremely unhappy as they exited the cafeteria and saw the carnage, "My troops are culled from the best units the Armed Forces have to offer. Blackwing is cutting through them like they're tissue."
Shayera pulled her mace off of her belt, "Then let's even the odds."
The Hall of Justice contained two small arms armories. They happened to be near one. Most of the weapons were now scattered amongst fallen soldiers. But one experimental rifle remained. Trevor inserted the oversized clip and pulled a plunger to cycle the gas and begin superheating it. He gripped a satchel that contained two more power cells and two more gas canisters.
"I'm ready," Trevor stated.
"That looks like a Thanagarian plasma rifle," Shayera frowned.
"Your people didn't leave with everything they brought with them," Trevor informed her.
Shayera knew the Thanagarian invasion had been cultural contamination in the worst way. Trevor's rifle just reinforced that conviction. But at least Earth hadn't been obliterated like the High Command had wanted.
"We should take him alive," Shayera suggested, "He can lead us to the Crime Syndicate."
"If it doesn't endanger any of my remaining personnel," Trevor qualified his answer, "And if I feel he can provide the answers we want."
"You're taking this personally," Shayera observed.
"I already lost Team 7. I'm not losing everyone in this command," Trevor vowed.
But Shayera watched his face and eyes cloud over as they discovered the trail of bodies leading to the Motor Pool. And Shayera knew Richard Grayson/Charles Bullock had signed his own death warrant. And Shayera wasn't inclined to save him from Trevor.
Hula Hula had sealed off Ops from the rest of the facility. Which just irked Atomica. She'd delivered her requested item to the motor pool but this delay would screw with her timetable for joining Blackwing. Eventually she found a library with internet access. She encoded the email attachment she'd been instructed to send and then went off to get away from this freakin' disaster. Blackwing had gone completely off the reservation and the Justice League would be the ones to wrangle him back into it.
Blackwing got bogged down as a stationary target in the motor pool while he fumed over Atomica's absence. Trevor and Shayera arrived to see Blackwing kill the final guard. The space was filled with bodies.
"I haven't killed a Thanagarian since their botched invasion of my Earth," Blackwing taunted her, "Let's how fast I can get back into practice."
"I'm surprised the Crime Syndicate could work beside anyone long enough to repel an invasion," Shayera retorted.
"I guess the Owlman reference was too over the top to ignore," Blackwing chuckled, "Or was it my driver's license?"
"The license was enough to make me call Dick Grayson. The rest was just obvious after that," Shayera replied.
"You really aren't one of the mindless brutes that populated my universe, are you?" Blackwing was surprised, "But your little ambush is already a failure."
"We'll see," Trevor raised his rifle and took aim.
Blackwing mocked him, "Shiny toy."
Atomica came out of the overhead air duct and landed between Trevor's shoulders. He went rolling so she was thrown off of her feet. Then she vanished again.
"Damn, here we go again with her," Shayera groused.
Knowing the element of surprise lay with the two Syndicaters, Trevor took a knee and attempted to draw a bead on Blackwing. But Shayera engaged him before Trevor could shoot. Even Blackwing seemed startled by the ferocity of her attempt to bash his head in.
Atomica grew to her natural stature and smashed Trevor's face with her knee as she did so. Then she tore the plasma rifle out of his grasp. But he used his signal watch to trigger its self destruct mechanism. Atomica was disgusted.
"Killer app, Colonel. But I don't have time to kill you," Atomica declared, "So just stay down."
She sprinted for a very specific SUV that turned to already be unlocked. And she had the remote electronic key for it already. Atomica shouted at Blackwing.
"Hurry up, dumbass!" Atomica scornfully hurled the insult.
Blackwing managed to avoid Shayera's mace and knock her to the concrete floor. Her broken wing flared pain and Shayera actually grunted. Blackwing jumped into the SUV as Atomica started.
The garage door opened and the Crime Syndicate operatives peeled out and raced out of the garage.
They rammed the outer gates and drove off. Trevor and Shayera found the vehicle's GPS tracker outside on the street. Trevor was hardly pleased.
"Dammit! They got away," he snarled.
"If I could fly I could track them," Shayera said dismally.
"It isn't your fault, Shay. You can't help your injury. And it looked like Blackwing was pissing in his tights while he fought you," Trevor reassured her.
"I saw you had to blow your plasma rifle apart," Shayera wasn't sure whether to be glad or sad.
"I can get another," Trevor saw her quizzical glance, "MARS International and Caldwell Arms have a joint venture called ARMS Control that is developing weaponry based on captured alien tech."
Shayera noted that, "We need to know what Atomica was after. Blackwing was the distraction to keep us from noticing her."
"Pilfer personnel from Ops," Trevor instructed, "Meanwhile I'll find out just how bad the damage is and how many people we lost."
In the end, neither of them had any good news to share.
Spoiler and Bluebird arrived at the disaster that had developed at Three Towers. Spoiler confided her assessment to Bluebird, "What a mess."
"UN cops vs. UN cops and bad guys standing around to see who is left standing," Bluebird commented on the situation.
"What do you make of those three women fighting the big guy with the mirrors?" Spoiler asked, "Who are they anyway?"
"It's none of your concern," Batman said from behind them.
"Geez! Give someone a heart attack why don't you?" Spoiler complained.
"That's because you're untrained and untested," Batman dourly replied.
"I was good enough for the JLA," Spoiler said haughtily.
"And where are they now?" Batman sarcastically inquired.
"You were going to train me but you bailed," Bluebird said scornfully.
"Go home, Harper. Watch over Cullen and live another day," Batman instructed.
"He knows your whole family?" Spoiler was dismayed.
"He's Batman," Bluebird shrugged.
"And you Stephanie, focus on your father and his cronies. Leave Gotham to me," Batman demanded.
"My father?" Spoiler played dumb.
"Arthur Brown the Cluemaster," Batman stated flatly, "Who is presently on his way to Iron Heights prison to break out the newest members of the Kings of Catastrophe and thereby secure their loyalty. But if you leave tonight, you can intercept him. The Mighty Bruce was sloppy and left encrypted plans of the operation on the Cloud. Here are those files," Batman handed them to Bluebird.
"I can't go," she protested.
"You're scheduled to begin a four week rewiring and installation at Wayne Manor starting tomorrow," Batman told her, "Mr. Wayne is happy to assist you in this fiction."
"And Cullen?" Bluebird was warming to the idea.
"Take him with you," Batman suggested.
"Road trip?" Spoiler asked Bluebird.
"Maybe Cullen will meet a nice guy to take his mind off of things here," Bluebird said wistfully.
"The condition is you leave this matter to me," Batman insisted.
"How do you know all of this stuff?" Spoiler turned from her view of the conflict at Three Towers. Batman was gone.
"What the effin' hell?" she blurted.
"He does that," Bluebird told her, "I guess we should pack."
"Cullen is so gonna freak," Spoiler said happily.
"Can you blame him?" Bluebird agreed.
Knave used her staff to throw Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard off of the stairwell and he plunged thirty stories to his death. Ravager ran Black Python and Sawtooth through with her swords and she pulled her blades free to behead them just to be on the safe side. Red Hood shot King Bullet and Pharangula between the eyes as he stormed out onto the stairs.
Gunfire erupted below them as the Outlaw archers engaged Ruby Ryder's mercenaries. Knightfall came out to inspect, "Not bad, all things considered."
"We'll take these mercs coming up to get you but we won't fight United Nations personnel," Red Hood advised Knightfall.
"Normally I wouldn't either but they came to my home seeking my head," Knightfall was genuinely angry, "There will be a reckoning."
"We'll leave you to it then but we'll standby to extract you if you need to retreat," Red Hood offered.
"It's not in my nature," Knightfall warned him, "But things do happen."
Talon, Hawkfire, and Batwoman had almost subdued Mirror when he broke free and drew twin pistols, "Now you won't cheat death again."
"Mirror! Stand down!" Knightfall commanded as she returned to the rooftop balcony.
Bonebreaker and Bleak Michael swept the area for threats. Mirror snarled the beginning of a protest, "My mission…"
"Doesn't apply to them," Knightfall's voice was filled with quiet menace, "And you know it. You're only free to chase your mission objectives because of me. You refuse to do what you're told and I send you back to that hole inside Blackgate I found you in."
Mirror subsided and Knightfall addressed the Spyral agents, "Ladies, let's discuss our current situation."
Gretel had also seized the Replicant's mind and she pitted him against Frankenstein in conjunction with Bigfoot's efforts. But by ignoring the Bride, Gretel left herself open to attack. And even without four handguns, the Bride's four arms and hands were dangerous enough.
Rather than shoot Gretel, since their orders from SHADE were to capture the Disgraced alive, the Bride used her pistols as clubs rather than as firearms. As Gretel struggled with the Bride, she gradually lost control of her mental captives. And the United Nations forces slowly reunified.
Grotesque kept the DEO at bay once they were united in purpose once again. Agents Fite n' Maad and Agent Veritas felt some payback was owed to them. Cameron Chase and Manhunter stood aside to give their comrades free rein. Bonebreaker nearly crushed Grotesque's shoulder and the fighter halted.
"Knightfall wants a word," she warned him.
Knightfall arrived while Bleak Michael went to check on Gretel, "Hello, Agent Chase. Can you explain why the DEO is here?"
"You have unregistered metas on premises. That makes it our business," Cameron replied.
"Really, Agent Chase. That's the flimsiest straw of all. Check with ARGUS and I believe you'll find my associates are all documented," Knightfall told her, "The US Secretary for Meta-Human Affairs' offices have signed of on my people."
"But not the UN," Cameron snorted.
"Really? You want to go there? Is the United Nations going to start licensing people to breathe?" Knightfall snarkily retorted, "Fortunately for your agencies, Ms. Carnes wasn't on the premises. But she'll be duly informed and I predict she'll seek legal recourse. And let's face it; Ms. Carnes has a bigger bankroll to fund a legal action or defense than the United Nations."
"This isn't over yet," Cameron vowed.
"Yes, it is. You're just too blinded by prejudice to see it," Knightfall warned her, "And how is your own meta gift these days?"
Cameron stalked off and summoned the DEO chopper to retrieve the agents. SHADE's helo came in of its own accord. Talon diverted Spyral's to a helipad nearby. She and Hawkfire and Batwoman still had matters to discuss with Knightfall.
Bonebreaker and Bleak Michael led Knightfall down the stairs. It would take a few days to have the elevator repaired. They simply followed the trail of bodies to find the Outlaws.
Facing a numerically inferior but lethally inclined superior foe, the mercenaries had broken off to withdraw and spend the deposit they'd been paid up front. They assumed Ruby Ryder would be incensed and seek revenge but they'd dealt with vengeful employers before.
"You've impressed me," Knightfall removed her mask again and threw back her cowl, "And that isn't easy to do. We even share similar methods and goals."
"Gee, thanks. I think," Speedy snorted.
"I've determined who hired these mercenaries. Care to deal with them for me?" Knightfall asked.
"Who and where are they?" Knave wondered.
"The who is Ruby Ryder and her accomplice is Disco Mummy. The where is the penthouse atop Ryder Industrial," Knightfall explained.
"Hold it," Ravager told her associates, "This is a separate contract. Draw up a new contract and make the appropriate deposits and we'll body bag `em."
"Very astute," Knightfall handed Red Hood a manila folder, "Here we go."
"You came prepared before we ever arrived," Red Hood was as impressed as he was chagrined.
"Of course," Knightfall shrugged.
"And your people will deal with anyone we miss, correct?" Red Arrow asked.
"Again, a matter of course," Knightfall confirmed it, "Take note of the bonus clause if that contingency is unnecessary."
"Not everything is about money," Speedy angrily retorted.
"Maybe not at Queen Consolidated. But here in the real world, it is," Knightfall lied.
"You know who we are?" Green Arrow was uncomfortable with this revelation.
"Most of you. Rose Wilson-Worth is obvious. Mia Deardon and Conner Hawke appear by means of a Queen Consolidated corporate jet whenever Green Arrow and Speedy hit a town. Rumor has it Oliver Queen had a daughter by the name of Emiko. That would be you."
Red Arrow neither confirmed nor denied. Knightfall turned to Red Hood and Knave, "You two, however, are mysteries. You don't appear in any government or law enforcement databases, not even as Red Robin. A formidable feat."
"That's why you revealed yourself to us," Red Hood guessed.
"I'd hoped for a little reciprocation. But even you, Mr. Hood unmasked, don't show up on any facial recognition files," Knightfall smirked, "And it's too handsome a face to hide out of bounds."
"We'll be going," Red Hood replied, "We need to scout out the target area."
"Feel free," Knightfall agreed, "You have an open invitation to return at any time."
The Outlaws were silent as they departed. Knightfall turned to Bonebreaker and Bleak Michael, "I need to be Charise Carnes again for the GCPD's imminent arrival."
When Charise had changed clothes and the Disgraced had as well. Mirror, Grotesque, and Gretel vanished into their apartments within Three Towers. Bonebreaker cleaned up to be a statuesque Greek or Roman statue. Bleak Michael also changed into a suit.
"You were right," Bonebreaker reported, "We earned spectators."
She handed over the tablet with the imagery pulled up, "He was sloppy to be seen."
"It wasn't carelessness," Charise corrected her; "It was a very measured message."
"What about Spoiler and Bluebird?" Bleak Michael inquired.
"Batman pulled them away," Charise stated, "I think he'll continue to keep them out of our way."
"Will he be a problem?" Bonebreaker looked forward to the challenge.
"White Rabbit promised me she'll keep Batman from interfering," Charise reminded them both,
"Can you trust her?" Bleak Michael asked.
"Let's put this way, she knows Batman's true identity yet she hasn't given it up to anyone. Even when they're working at cross purposes," Charise informed.
"How do you know?" Bonebreaker was amazed.
"Because she's in love with him," Charise smiled, "And she won't betray that trust because of it."
"That's the White Rabbit," Bleak Michael countered, "What about Batman if he does interfere?"
"Batman will either stand aside as we continue our grand design or he will join us. If he chooses to oppose us, he'll be permanently dealt with. I'm good with any option," Charise admitted.
The Talon that ambushed Enigma nearly took her head off with a Ji. The iron bladed tip function as both spear tip and edged weapon. Mounted below it on the shaft was a curved blade. Enigma used her question mark shaped staff to defend herself.
But the Talon was vastly superior in the arts of combat. But Sigma had one gambit to play. She thrust the curved head of her staff into the Talon's chest and electrified it until the Talon's flesh ignited.
But as the Talon burned it used the Ji to gut Enigma. As she sank to her knees holding her innards together in her hand, she wondered is her father had died in a similar fashion. Helpless, hopeless, and dying for a cause not his own.
As Enigma collapsed into the grass stained with her own blood, her final thoughts were concern for Duela Dent and the original Injustice Titans.
Inertia used vacuum force to pin two Talons together while Sun Girl incinerated the flesh off of the bones of a third. Inertia built up an electrical charge from the static he was creating and hurled it at one of the two Talons he was confronting. The lightning effectively rebooted the Talon's nervous system.
Sun Girl repeated her tactic against the last Talon. But the second Talon had awoken for the first time in a century. And the world she faced was far different than the one she had left. She managed to trip Inertia and cause him to roll across the lawn while Sun Girl attempted for a hat trick.
But the newly freed Talon escaped into the woods beyond Arkham and scaled the cliffs to Gotham's harbor. Inertia tried radioing Enigma and only received silence and static as a reply. So they went looking for their esteemed leader. And they found her already dead.
"The hell with Nyssa effin' Raatko. We're better off on our own," Inertia raged.
"We need to find Duela," Sun Girl said quietly.
"Why do you want to look up that nut bar?" Inertia was still angry.
"She deserves to know," Sun Girl insisted, "I'll do it alone if I have to."
"No," Inertia forced his anger to subside, "You're right. We can cover more ground together. But we need to leave right now."
"Not a problem," Sun Girl agreed.
Windfall used wind shear to flay the skin off of a group of Owls deemed security personnel. TNTeena was confronted by a genuine Talon. She blew one apart but a second arrived out of seeming nowhere and sliced her fingers off. Without the mechanism to transmit her explosive energy, TNTeena became a literal bomb. The Talon was blown to pieces in her death throes.
Windfall fell to her knees and sobbed over the loss of her friend. The first time anyone had ever mourned TNTeena's absence.
Persuader used the Atomic Axe to cleave a Talon in half from head to toe. Then she went after the other one. Disruptor's gauntlets interfered with the body's electricity that powered the nervous system and she killed Owl after Owl until they finally fled from her. Dreadbolt used his electrical projectors to killed Owls until they also fled from him.
Persuader had chopped her last Talon into small pieces by that time, "I thought they were supposed to be tougher."
"They're tough enough," Dreadbolt countered, "They have numbers."
"I say screw Nyssa and let's strike out on our own again. It's time we define what the Terror Titans are really about," Disruptor declared.
"For once the little psychotic bitch has a point," Persuader admitted.
"Thanks," Disruptor sneered.
"I'll grab Teena," Dreadbolt decided.
"Who invited her?" Disruptor was indignant.
"Leave it alone," Persuader stared off to where Windfall grieved.
"Where's the little slut?" Disruptor was still aggrieved.
"Pretty much everywhere," Persuader guessed.
"Really?" Disruptor brightened, "Hell, this might be a good day after all."
Dreadbolt reached Windfall and his voice cracked, "Is she…?"
"She blew up," Windfall said between sobs, "I didn't know that was possible."
"Neither did she," Dreadbolt shared, "Helluva a way to find out."
"What do we do?" Windfall plaintively asked.
"We move on," Dreadbolt was numb, "I guess."
Windfall didn't know if she could do that again.
No one gave a thought to Match and his role of supporting Injusticers in jeopardy. Which was good because Match was diligently seeking out Superboy with the single-minded obsession only a Bizarro clone could experience. He'd find and kill Superboy and then join a real team of super villains.
Blacksmith transmuted a Talon into living steel but it fused into a statue rather than obey her commands, "Hell, that won't work."
Murmur was busy eviscerating Owls and having a delightful time of it. Girder pulped Owls by the twos and threes. Magenta used the Talon statue to draw fire and used its weapon to decapitate its former masters. Plunder conducted his own mass shooting.
"That's it! We are so done," Blacksmith decided.
"You giving up, boss?" Plunder inquired.
"There's no profit in this despite all of Nyssa Raatko's pretty lies," Blacksmith explained her reasoning, "I see we go back to just being the Rogues and kick Flash's ass if he ever comes back from wherever he is."
Everyone agreed. Even Magenta and Wally West was her ex-boyfriend. But she'd never revealed that to the others.
"And if Captain Cold objects?" Plunder wanted to know.
"If they join us, we'll let them live. Otherwise, out with the old and in with the new blood. Us," Blacksmith declared.
Scandal Savage configured her left Lamentation Blade into its stabbing configuration and the right into slashing mode. And she gleefully tore into a cluster of Owls. Knockout caved skulls in with single blows. All the while her sexual tension built and Scandal looked forward to releasing it. Afterwards the couple was covered in other people's blood.
"That was certainly disappointing," Knockout complained.
"The Owls have run out of every Talon," Scandal told her, "We've been fighting the last of them."
"Oh well, nothing good lasts forever," Knockout groaned.
"Except maybe us," Scandal promised.
"We'll see. But let's find a bush to hide behind and let's get it on," Knockout suggested.
"Shouldn't we clean up first," Scandal wondered.
"No," Knockout was adamant, "The blood stays."
"Then let's do this," Scandal agreed. It was a new kink but ho w bad could it be? "I forgot to tell you we've been offered places in a new meta-human outfit to be called the Secret Six. Word is they're promising to go head to head with the Justice League."
"Hot damn! Sign me up!" Knockout enthused.
"I'll tell Gen. Lane after the bloody sex," Scandal promised.
"Nothing ever gets in the way of the bloody sex," Knockout assured her lover.
Nyssa fired the first arrow as she dodged gunfire. Merlyn and Dark Archer did more of the same. Owls fell before them as though they were simply lined up as targets. But Merlyn had begun slipping lately and Dark Archer and Nyssa had to extract Merlyn in a fighting retreat that led outdoors where the Injustice League waited.
"Can we continue now?" Nyssa dryly asked Merlyn.
"Careful, Demon's Hand. I serve your wife not you," Merlyn advised Nyssa, "Tread lightly or I will share the truth behind your ventures."
"Dinah and I are of one mind if not one flesh," Nyssa warned Merlyn, "Try and poison our relationship and I fear for your safety because you will have raised the Demon's Head's wrath against you."
"No relationship is ever that perfect, Nyssa," Merlyn scoffed.
"Care to find out?" Nyssa challenged him.
Nyssa's confidence unnerved him and Nyssa it in his eyes as he backed down, "Shall we return to the fight? I promise we'll keep you safe."
David Cain and Wrath used advanced weaponry to target Owls. They resorted to machetes when they needed to reload to drive the Owls back so they could do so. The Court of Owls had deemed itself royalty for so long that the Owls found fighting beneath them. And it showed. They found combat distasteful and bringing its full unpleasantness to bear drove the Owls back into their labyrinths.
Aresia beat Owls to death with her bare hands. Even a lone Talon couldn't withstand her. As she fought, Aresia decided on a code name for herself. The world would know her as 'Fury' from this point on.
But while White Lightning controlled the Owl men, the women overwhelmed her and killed her. Cain and Wrath barely noticed her loss but Fury chose to avenge her. The Owls broke into a retreat before her wrath.
Syonide fought with pistols and when she'd run out of ammo she broke out her electrowhip. As she scattered Owls, she saw Wrath and Cain standing about while Fury tore into Owls. So she confronted them.
"Why is Aresia doing all the work?" she demanded to know.
"She's angry because White Lightning died because she was stupid," Wrath sneered.
Syonide cold cocked him, "Respect the fallen."
Wrath came up with a gun in hand, "Why should I? She was a simpering slut. She never deserved to be one of us."
"That wasn't your call to make," Syonide objected.
"Fine. I quit this chicken shit outfit," Wrath stomped off.
"Should we stop him,?" Syonide wondered.
"Why bother?" Cain wondered, "His ego is too big to be a group player."
Fury joined them. Cain looked at the blood splashed across her, "Are you done?"
"I've just started," Fury promised.
"Good," Cain said coldly.
Lady Flash used a sword from a fallen Owl to hack and slash her way through the Owls still inside Arkham. Major Disaster created an earthquake to keep them off balance and away from the terrified Big Sir. Killer Frost froze a contingent of Owls and Lady Flash shattered them into pieces.
"Now what?" Lady Flash wasn't even winded.
"We regroup and found out why the hell we're even here," Killer Frost decided for the group.
What they learned was far different. Nyssa took Cain, Fury, Syonide, Merlyn, and Dark Archer into the tunnels beneath Arkham in an effort to eradicate the last Owls left in Gotham. Before did so she dismissed Major Disaster and Big Sir, Killer Frost, and Lady Flash from her service.
"Each of you has received a five million dollar gratuity for exemplary service. This is in addition to the ten million mission objective stipend you were paid for beginning this campaign. You have been retroactively reimbursed ten million dollars for each campaign we undertook," Nyssa announced.
"What about the Rogues and Titans?" Major Disaster asked.
"The survivors have scattered with the exception of Windfall. My agents will now find her appropriate foster care and her guardians will oversee her continuing training in addition to her needs," Nyssa explained.
After concluding, the hunting party set out into Arkham manor. Major Disaster asked the question on everyone's mind, "Okay, what's next?"
"I could use a drink," Killer Frost spoke first.
"Cold?" Lady Flash asked.
"As hot as I can get it," Killer Frost corrected her assumption.
"That's one step. What happens afterwards?" Lady Flash brought up the painful subject again.
"We join the Justice League," Big Sir hoped.
"You have to be kidding," Killer Frost rolled her eyes.
"No, it's a good idea," Major Disaster replied.
"Have you lost your mind?" even Lady Flash was skeptical.
"Max Lord contacted me. He knew this was going to happen months ago. He offered Big Sir and I places in a new regional Justice League," Major Disaster explained.
"What region?" Killer Frost sharply inquired.
"We'd be Justice League Antarctica," Major Disaster enthused.
"You have got to be shitting me," Killer Frost deadpanned.
"What she said," Lady Flash joined in.
"No, you don't get it. The JLU has a base in Antarctica but they never even visit it. I doubt if any of them even remember it exists. Lord is putting together a Justice League from the rest of the world," Major Disaster shared with them, "China is fresh out of heroes but the Russians were never going to send any Rocket Reds. They have group called the People's Heroes that would join up. And they have a Firestorm they've kept under wraps. Lord is trying to recruit Dr. Mist and his group."
"So why not call it Justice League International all over again or go retro and name it the Global Guardians all over again?" Killer Frost wanted to know.
"The JLI and Global Guardians carry a stigma because they went defunct. But our JLA would be fresh in people's minds and ears," Major Disaster added.
"And the old JLA still has good report with people," Lady Flash mused.
"We'd be off the books. The UN would think we're a reserve unit but in reality we'd have access to countries the JLU doesn't dare step into," Major Disaster enthused, "I would have already agreed to it but I felt some loyalty towards Nyssa. It's obvious she doesn't feel the same."
"This would better suit the promise I made to Godiva," Killer Frost began to relent, "Better than her damn sister has so far."
"Where is Goldilocks?" Lady Flash asked.
"Who cares?" Killer Frost snorted.
"So, do I call Max Lord or not?" Major Disaster put to a vote.
"We join Justice League?" Big Sir burbled.
"Yup," Major Disaster confirmed it, "That's my vote anyway."
"Big Sir join Justice League," he happily announced.
"I'm in," Killer Frost decided.
Lady Flash hesitated, "My relations with Russia are…complicated. I'm wanted for multiple murders."
"Max can make the charges vanish as a price of participating," Major Disaster promised.
"Then I'll join too," Lady Flash agreed.
"Hot damn!" Major Disaster clapped his hands together, "This really does call for a celebration."
"Damn skippy!" Killer Frost decided to just enjoy it.
"I think we should change clothes first," Lady Flash suggested.
"No, Christina. We'll just go out on the town naked," Killer Frost teased her.
"People do that in Gotham?" Lady Flash was confused.
"Only in college locker room dreams," Major Disaster clarified.
Calvin Rose and Strix fought three of their fellow Talons. It was a brutal affair that ended with all five Talons dead and dismembered. Lincoln March barely felt remorse, "At least the traitors have been dealt with."
Lady Shiva quietly approached and ran two of the Owls through the heart from behind with twin sai. Bronze Tiger came through the window. He stabbed the third Owl with his clawed brass knuckle styled weapons. Lincoln March backed against the bar.
"I can give you this city if you kill them," Lincoln promised Baytor.
"Who says I don't own its hearts and souls already?" Baytor laughed.
"Choose. You can stand trial at Nanda Parbat or you can spare us the trouble of transporting you," Lady Shiva offered.
To add to the injury, she tossed a kris blade into the counter beside Lincoln. He was still defiant, "You shouldn't give me a weapon. I'll never be taken alive."
"That's actually preferable," Bronze Tiger assured him.
"I'll never die for forever," Lincoln bragged.
"Every stronghold the Court of Owls possessed across the world has crumbled before the League of Assassins," Lady Shiva promise d him, "There's no one left to bring you back to life."
"Have you killed my daughter?" Lincoln asked.
"She lives and is safely ensconced within Spyral. How long she remains so is up to you," Lady Shiva changed bargaining chips.
"So if I kill myself you'll spare Helena?" Lincoln wanted clarification.
"Precisely," Bronze Tiger assured him.
Lincoln expertly thrust the dagger underneath his rib cage and up into his heart, "Now we'll see what you're word is worth."
Those gasped words were his last. Baytor spoke, "I'll hold the League to that bargain."
"Very well," Lady Shiva agreed.
"Too bad about those two," Bronze Tiger nodded towards the heap of Talons.
"We were going to kill them anyway," Lady Shiva said dismissively.
Summit, Colorado fittingly enough, or unimaginatively enough, was located within Summit County. But the county seat was Breckinridge. The entire County comprised the Summit-Breckinridge Metropolitan Area.
Despite the various corporate presences in Summit and the world famous tourism in Breckinridge, the Global Concern ran the thinly veiled Summit County Ministries campus in an otherwise unoccupied area between the two cities. Despite its ostensibly Christian affiliated purpose, the Global Concern ran a hotspot for Dr. Zadar and Brain Emperor's warped worldviews for the purpose of indoctrinating American youths. The curriculum was radical jihadism and militant global activism, typically referred to as terrorism.
And the Brain Emperor directed the Evil Brain Trust from the safety of the campus protected by his human shields.
The following morning at the FEMA installation the MLJ currently occupied, everyone noticed the happy bubble and glow shared by Paul Patton and Kim Ward even after they'd become the Fox and Fly Girl again. Then the only question was, did they or didn't they? Maria noticed Joe Higgins was also much happier before he emerged from the locker room as the Shield. She could only assume Joe and Marcy Holt had shared a moment or two…or twenty.
Maria quietly transformed into the Jaguar while everyone else geared up except Robert Dickering. The Hangman had not prowled Summit's night in agreement to Carol Anne Strander's wishes. It seemed Hangman wanted back into Special Agent Strander's good graces and especially those of Gen. Jack Latham.
When the teleporter engaged KitCat and Kenny Wisdom immediately checked the system logs. Kenny reported their findings, "It's legit. Latham ordered it from Liberty Station."
And then Steel Sterling materialized…he was not only alive but thirty years younger. Shield broke the astonished silence, "Jack?"
"In the flesh or so it were," Steel Sterling joked, "I'll explain that in a minute."
Suddenly he was barraged by a chorus of questions. Steel Sterling held up both of hands, "Whoa! One at a time."
"Maybe you should explain how you never really died and the Project CRUCIBLE scientists managed to revive you," Carol said reviewing Steel Sterling's personnel dossier on her tablet.
So Steel Sterling complied, "So I walked away from it with new abilities."
"Like?" Web barked to be heard before anyone else spoke.
Steel Sterling's skin became metallic, "I transform into what's been termed "biometal' and my magnetic powers aren't external anymore instead the control my body."
His hand molded itself into a claw hammer and then a scythe blade and then a crowbar. Steel Sterling then stretched his entire body and twisted it like Plastic Man or the Elongated Man could, "But right now I'm more like the Elongated Man because I can stretch, bend, and twist but I can't make bodily transformations like Plastic Man."
He reverted back to being Jack Sterling again replete with human flesh tones, "And like Ralph Dibney, I'm finite. I have limits to my abilities and mass."
"What happened to your so-called 'super' strength?" Web sneered.
"I'm stronger than ever," Steel Sterling scowled, "Want to find out for yourself?"
"I would!" Web declared hotly.
"Stand down!" Shield blocked Web.
"Get out of my way, Human Flag," Web snarled.
"Everyone stand down!" Carol shouted and MLJ Security personnel had arrived armed with tasers and shock batons. The Mighty Crusaders were already on edge. But unsurprisingly, no one was lining up to support the Web.
"This isn't over," Web promised Shield.
"It was over before you tried to begin it," Shield warned Web.
"Web, a word please?" Carol asked politely.
He started to balk when the security agents charged their equipment. Web could note that while Robert Dickerson wasn't a potential threat and Inferno and Black Hood seemed inclined to sit a fight out, everyone else was on Steel Sterling's bandwagon. And those odds were hard to beat. Especially with War Eagle eying him like prey.
"General Latham would like a word," Carol informed Web as he stiffly fell in line.
"Good. I want to tell Latham how me and mine are being marginalized," Web angrily stated.
"There are reasons why things happen on God's green earth," Carol quipped back at him, "Latham is one of them."
As Special Agent Strander and the security team escorted Web top a secure communications room, Steel Sterling ruefully asked, "What else have I stumbled upon?"
"We've located the Brain Emperor," Shield told him, "Actually, the Web Hosts did."
"They really are good people," Fly Girl promised, "Even if their so-called 'leader' is a dick."
They returned to the Situation Room and Shield used a holographic table map to lay out the territory encompassing the Summit Ministries campus, "War Eagle spotted a military encampment ten miles away. Only, the DOD can't find a record of any military units being attached or deployed to this area. Everyone who is stationed at Fort Carson is accounted for."
"Which leaves private contractors," Black Hood interjected, "And since the Global Concern is behind the Ministries campus we have to assume they aren't deploying their own known assets. Domino is too smart for that. But the only contractors with sizeable enough assets to place that many units on the ground and still cover other commitments are Meridian and the Zither Group."
"Besides which Domino is a game player," Comet added, "This is all a game of 'Risk' to her."
"The DOD has ties to Zither and all reports indicate she's not operating within the domestic United States or her territories," Shield informed everyone.
"What do we know about Meridian?" War Eagle wanted to know.
"Serious bad asses. Almost every one of them recruited for Spec Ops. We're talkin' Delta Force, Special Forces, Rangers, Marine Force Recon, and SEALS. And that's just the ones representing the US. She recruits worldwide," Fox reported.
"She?" Fly Girl asked.
"Meridian is the woman who runs the company. She also prefers to get her hands dirty in the field," Fox told her, "I ran across some of her operatives before. They say no one has ever seen Meridian herself and lived to report what she looks like."
"Her soldiers may be bad asses in a fight but around her they're all pussy whipped," Darkling shared.
"You've seen her?" Shield was alarmed.
"I made a delivery to her operations in New Orleans," Darkling explained, "She was done up in a hajib and robes but she was Caucasian. And American judging through her horrible fake accent."
Carol had briefed Shield regarding the larger details of Darkling's past. But it seemed those details could provide invaluable intelligence on occasion. And it seemed Meridian's reputation as an impeccable disguise artist had chinks in it after all.
"Maybe she'll be hands on this time too," Fox suggested.
"Web has some reason for pissing on everyone," Fly Girl ventured, "I'd bet several Web Hosts are nearby."
"Staying at the Embassy Suites, actually," KitCat interjected as she joined the group, "Now, while Latham s reaming Web out I'm supposed to tell you three SUVs from the motor pool have been loaned to you."
"I'll fly," War Eagle said disdainfully.
"I'm with her," Comet winced at the glare he received, "Not with you with you but with you with you."
"You are such a strange man," War Eagle judged.
"But I have my moments," Comet pointed out.
"We're still waiting for one," KitCat tossed back at him.
"Once night falls, the Hangman will join the flyers as well," Dickerson promised.
"And I can absorb electromagnetic radiation to stealth us," Comet promised.
Darkling glanced at the map, "I'll meet you there."
"How?" Jaguar asked.
"I have my ways," was all Darkling would say.
"She really doesn't like being asked questions," Comet confided with Jaguar.
"Too bad," Jaguar sniffed.
"Hangman will shield us all from prying eyes if Comet can mask us from electronic surveillance," Dickerson offered.
"Your mission is just to observe until we gather to finalize our assault plan," Shield advised him.
"I'll do my best to restrain his sensibilities," Dickerson promised.
"Aren't you flying there too?" Fox asked Fly Girl.
"I'm more of a sprinter," Fly Girl warned him, "I come out strong and climax hard."
Everyone took note that she wasn't actually referring to her flying gear. Things had definitely progressed between Fox and Fly Girl. But no one could guess if it were for the better.
After sunset, War Eagle led the way while Comet slowed himself to flying nearby her. Hangman flew astride a nether worldly owl. Shield turned to Darkling.
"And you are…?" he wondered.
She swung her cape across herself and vanished within its folds. Steel Sterling was impressed, "Okay, I want one of those."
"Okay folks, three to a SUV. Pick out your driving buddies," Shield instructed, "Jaguar, you're with me."
And no else wanted to ride with the undesignated team leader. Web had returned chastened by Latham and ridden out the afternoon in sullen silence.
"I hope Darkling can prove herself," Jaguar opined.
"She comes with a lot of baggage and an arrest record an average super villain would envy," Shield confided.
"Then why does Latham let her stay?" Jaguar asked.
Shield wondered if Maria de Guzman and Jaguar were really that naïve, "Darkling has powers we don't understand and inside information on crooks we haven't fought yet. She's had her finger on the pulse of the underworld since she was thirteen. And she's trusted in many circles."
"So she's our spy," Jaguar realized it, "Does she know?"
"I don't think much of anything escapes her notice," Shield replied.
"So? Are we there yet?" Fly Girl wheedled.
"What are you, five?" Black Hood snapped at her, "You're worse than my kids ever were."
"You. Have. Kids," Fly Girl deadpanned.
"Lots of people have kids," Black Hood was annoyed by her surprise.
"But that implies a woman liked you enough to have sex with you," Fly Girl noticed Fox seemed to be choking on something.
"My wife probably agrees with you at this point," Black Hood shared for no fathomable reason.
"You're effin' married?" Fly Girl yelped.
"Last I heard," Black Hood seemed sullen.
"He writes her and the kids every day and mails the letters every time we go to a new city," Fox had observed.
"I thought he was paying his bookie," Fly Girl confessed, "Seriously? A wife and kids? How many?"
"One wife, two children, a boy and a girl," Black Hood couldn't imagine why he was still participating in this conversation.
"And they know what you're doing?" Fly Girl was relentless.
"Yes," was his terse reply.
"God, you're going to pay therapy bills long after you're dead and until they die," Fly Girl ventured.
"Shut up or get out," Black Hood decided.
"I…" Fly Girl began to protest.
"You can get out at any time. I don't have to stop because you can fly, right? Try sprinting your way to the rendezvous," Black Hood offered his ultimatum.
"A little help?" Fly Girl appealed to Fox.
"I think you overdid it," Fox was seemingly of no help whatsoever.
"Fine," Fly Girl, and everyone else, fell into a disturbed silence.
"You seem down, Frank," Steel Sterling observed, "Any reason why?"
"Call me Inferno," he snapped.
"I take it that's got a personal reason behind it. Maybe related to all that metal under your skin?" Steel Sterling asked.
"What do you know about it?" Inferno almost raged.
"My magnetic powers, until yesterday, worked on foreign objects. I detected you had prosthetics in limbs and braces in your torso," Steel Sterling explained.
Web perked up at hearing the conversation. Inferno was still angry, "I'm a goddamn android."
"And you didn't know," Steel Sterling realized, "Latham told you."
"He told me what I am, not who I am or why I have someone else's memories inside my skull," Inferno retorted.
A ping came from Web's suit and Inferno grew to be even more agitated, "Did you just try to hack me?"
"Unsuccessfully," Web complained.
"Thank God for small favors. I'd hate for someone to take it into their heads to try and dismantle me after I roasted you on a spit," Inferno warned Web.
"Any other news?" Steel Sterling inquired.
"Isn't that enough?" Inferno was incredulous.
"There's something more," Steel Sterling was convinced.
"Yeah, Latham's tech doped it out," Inferno scowled and then in an obvious image shift he transformed into a clean shaven twentysomething with a full head of hair.
"Oh, my effin' God! This is incredible," Web hooted.
"Shut up or I will fry you on the hood after I kick your ass," Inferno advised Web one last time.
"You realize this makes you perfect for undercover work?" Steel Sterling wanted to know.
"Great, I'm a friggin' narc," Inferno miserably complained as he reverted back to his original image.
"You're always a man of many surprises," Steel Sterling congratulated him.
"Except I'm not a man at all," Inferno bitterly complained.
"Tell you what; a machine doesn't feel love, pity, remorse, sadness, happiness, or anything. You feel all of them and more. I've shared beers with you and you've got hopes and dreams a machine couldn't possibly have. And you probably convert alcohol into fuel rather than flab. Millions of people would be jealous if they knew, "Steel Sterling shared.
"And a machine can't be an asshole so you've got my vote," Web broke his silence.
"Well, I'd rather be an asshole with you assholes than suffer by myself," Inferno managed to joke.
"He just managed to call us assholes," Steel Sterling grinned.
"That he did," Web confirmed it, "Except of course, I don't deserve it."
Inferno and Steel Sterling broke out into raucous laughter. Steel Sterling commented, "Just keep thinking that, Web. But all of us together, the entire Mighty Crusaders, we're transforming into a family. A highly dysfunctional one at best but we're still becoming family of sorts."
"God help us all," Web complained.
"I got us past their defenses, now where do we land?" Comet wondered.
"There!" War Eagle said a split second before diving.
But he reached the ground first, "Slowpoke."
"Harrumph," War Eagle huffed.
Hangman alighted and his owl evaporated into black smoke, "We're not alone. Are we, Darkling?"
Darkling moved closer and she seemed to absorb the moonlight from a waning gibbous, "It's been quiet inside. They're on routine patrols."
"How could you see that from here?" Comet asked.
"Because I went inside the buildings," Darkling chided him.
"The Shield would not approve," Hangman advised her.
"Shield can suck it," Darkling replied, "Besides which, he isn't even here."
"I agree," Hangman admitted, "I sense hundreds of unrepentant souls stretched out across this valley."
"Does this mean you're gonna kill everyone in sight again?" Comet wondered.
"Hopefully," War Eagle replied, "It would save us time."
"Only the truly unrepentant," Hangman clarified.
"Which is everyone down there," Darkling opined.
"Y'know you're not the only Hangman. Right?" Comet asked.
"You speak of Eric Adams, the blinded legal activist chosen by a Native American shaman to avenge evil and right wrongs beyond the deeds within a courtroom," Hangman sounded as though he was reading a litany, "I shall gladly stand aside if I'm no longer needed."
"Or wanted," War Eagle added.
"Need is an absolute. Wants are fickle," Hangman dismissed War Eagle's notion out of hand.
"No wonder Latham can't get you to quit. You're too hard headed," Comet realized.
"A matter of opinion," Hangman sniffed.
"Rather like your master, Satan. He is already defeated in the ultimate sense yet he keeps fighting in a desperate gamble that an infallible God had made a mistake," Darkling retorted.
"That too," Hangman conceded.
"Look, headlights," Comet pointed. As the three vehicles approached, they cut their light and stopped a few hundred feet away. And then the Mighty Crusaders disembarked from the SUVs.
"Excellent, everyone's present on the appropriate ridge," Shield congratulated the group.
"Next time make it an actual challenge," War Eagle snipped.
"The basic plan the MLJ envisioned would be easier if we could bypass the gates and the grounds," Shield observed.
"We can. I can just teleport people where they need to be," Darkling offered.
"Are you certain?" Web asked.
"I've been in and out of this entire campus waiting for everyone else to arrive," Darkling pointed out.
"Believe her when she says she can do this," Hangman promised them.
"I'm more concerned on how you casually risked our infiltration," Shield voiced.
"I just knew where and when to be someplace to get a look without being seen," Darkling explained.
"I think I can ignite fires from a distance without streaming flames," Inferno suddenly revealed, "I've been working on it before we went to Los Angeles. The distraction would double our ability to slip unnoticed.
Steel Sterling gently nudged Inferno's arm with his fist, "Way to go, Frank."
"Try it, and then we'll see about the teleportation option," Shield instructed.
The entire fence line ignited and swathes of flame approached the campus, "That about right?"
"Better than hoped for," Shield admitted.
"I suggest we deploy into three teams," Web interjected.
"We'd better make it four," Shield overrode him and gave his recommendations for team rosters.
No one but the Web was inclined to protest or object. But Web would obviously refuse to let it go once the mission had been completed. Shield turned to Darkling.
"It's your turn," he said.
She threw her cape up wide stretched between her arms and Shield could swear he started to see stars twinkling in its folds and then he was in a hallway inside a building, "Holy Christ! That's sudden."
The building they'd entered had three passageways with rooms staggered down each passageway. Stairwells were at either end of the passages. Darkling and Jaguar were with Shield. Jaguar sniffed the air.
"We aren't alone," she informed the others.
"Darkling, you've been doing great. But are you ready for this?" Shield had to wonder.
"Those Female Furies back in Los Angeles have to have been worse than anything we'll come up against here," Darkling was confident sounding.
But Sgt, former 2nd Lt, Joe Higgins had led men into combat and he could tell when bravado filtered into a statement like that. Darkling was confident, he had to give her that, she just wasn't completely confident.
Shield chose to split the group down each corridor and to travel up the stairs together at the other end of the building. As he quietly proceeded he realized things were far too quiet even with Inferno's blaze roaring outside. The security had fallen back into their secondary roles as EMTs and firefighters. But evacuations should have been underway. No campus was ever truly deserted. Yet there were no students milling about or gawking at Shield anywhere to be found.
And then Martial Law swung out a classroom with his nunchuks flying. Joe's Shield armor protected him from the worst of it but he actually felt every blow. Shield rallied with a punch that staggered Martial Law. But while the Kung Fu expert recovered, Shield prepped his crowds control stun charge.
Chromium nearly took Jaguar's head off with his opening punch. His skin, except his lower lip, was metal. A result of an earlier attempt to create what had been just accomplished with Steel Sterling. Fly had told harrowing tales of battling Chromium. And it fell to her to carry on that fight.
But she found her superhuman strength to be as useless as her claws against him. His second punch rattled her into leaning against a wall for support, "Haw! That wimpy Fly found out how hard it is to fight me. My only regret now is I wasn't the one to kill him."
And Jaguar let her feral nature go.
Darkling was surprised to be confronted by two very, strangely garbed foes. One looked like a Nativity scene piece and the other had stepped out of a bad BDSM layout. Frankly, Darkling was still incredulous about what bad guys would wear to work.
"Seriously? And who the hell are you two?" Darkling wanted to know.
"I'm the Black Witch," the dominatrix wannabe, declared.
"Shouldn't you be retirement age?" Darkling scoffed.
"That's my predecessor," Black Witch snarled, "She abandoned the American Crusaders and vanished without a trace leaving her good name behind for me to pick up."
"And extort people out of money with it. Got it," Darkling deduced. Black Witch was flummoxed while Darkling addressed the robed character, "And your story is?"
"I am the Magi, a practitioner of the ancient Persian arts of magic and sorcery," he told her.
"And your picture is on a billion Hallmark cards every Christmas," Darkling scoffed, "So what happens next?"
"Now we kill you," Black Witch seemed to relish the prospect.
"You'll forgive me if I defend myself," Darkling drolly replied.
"If you must," Magi sounded bored
"Oh, but I do," and Darkling looked forward to it.
In a dormitory, Web took in the ghoulish sight of Sting's skull mask and discharging electrical gauntlets, "I'm wearing one of the most advanced exo suits on this planet. Do you really think you can go a round with me?"
Sting discharged twin streams of electricity that nearly overloaded every one of Web's systems. He picked himself off of the floor and his suit was still smoking, "Okay, I can see you think so."
"Oh my, oh my, oh my," Metal Master was excited, "I can smell the metal on you. Where, pray tell, are you hiding it all?"
Steel Sterling transformed into his organic steel self, "It is me."
"Too perfect," Metal Master crowed with delight.
Black Hood encountered a medieval knight of all things. The Black Knight spoke to him, 'Hold fast, thou varlet."
Black Hood dimly recalled Black Knight being delusional who believed he was the embodiment of the legendary Arthurian villain. With the weaponry and armor to match the archaic dialogue.
"'Hold fast' this," Black Hood pelted Black Knight with two shotgun blasts. But he was surprised to determine that Black Knight's armor was in reality not metal based but an advanced nylon weave in a multiple generation Kevlar. But the shotgun shells had sent the Black Knight onto his back.
Black Hood could only revert to Monty Python quotes, "It's only a flesh wound. Come on ya pansy."
The Black Knight cast aside his double bladed axe. The sight of which made Black Hood's blood race. And the knight drew his sword and charged headlong into the peril.
In the other dorm, Hangman led Inferno and Fox into the danger looming ahead of them, "I sense great evil. We must be cautious. Or at least you should cautious."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Fox quipped.
"Confidence has nothing to do with it," Hangman advised him.
"I'm ready for anything," Inferno boasted.
"Are you?" Hangman wondered, "Are you really?"
"Let's split up so I don't have to hear your rambling," Inferno demanded.
"Very well," Hangman agreed.
Hangman found himself confronted by an elderly woman in a traditional Halloween version of a witch's outfit. She was irate, "Curses! I can't draw power from a hell spawn to restore my youth and beauty."
"You must be the Crone," Hangman stated.
"Aye, my reputation precedes me," Crone cackled.
"As does your great evil," Hangman spat, "And you are the Druid. A disgrace wearing a noble title."
"Crone can feed on your mortal form when dawn breaks," Druid bragged, "And together we shall hold you here until then."
"You can try," Hangman agreed to their terms.
Inferno found himself stretched into an "X" shape by Magnetic Monster. Magnetic Monster was gleeful, "Does that wonderful metal lace every part of your body?"
"Come closer and find out," Inferno grated between clenched jaws.
"Oh ho! I'm quite happy here where I'm at," Magnetic Monster crowed.
Inferno decided to teach him otherwise.
War Eagle stepped out of the admin building at the sound of approaching UAV drones. She turned to her teammates, "I'll deal with those."
She took flight and found herself facing four drones. All armed to the proverbial teeth. And they proved to be just as maneuverable as she was. But she still managed to down one on her first pass. But the other operators learned from that pilot's mistake. Especially since General Mechanix killed him.
The Fly had told Fly Girl about Arachnus. A thief whom Chromium had paralyzed from the waist down. And Arachnus had constructed a framework with six arms to add to hsii natural ones. He'd had his useless legs amputated to give him a spider-like ability to climb and crawl. And the frame could project adhesive lines like webs.
The frame allowed Arachnus to continue as a thief and pitted him, spider to fly, against his arch nemesis. Now Fly Girl had seemed to inherit his unreasoning enmity. But was determined to buzz gun him half to death.
Dr. Harvey had chosen to be known as Ozone amongst the super villain set. He'd accidently activated his own gen factor and given himself the ability to shift and manipulate atmospheric ozone in order to project intense solar radiation beams from the sky. But "Ozone" was principally a foe of the non-powered Black Hood.
He knew Comet could absorb radiation but his limits hadn't been charted even by the MLJ. So Dr. Harvey decided to conduct a controlled experiment to see just how much radiation Comet could absorb and redirect before he exploded. It would be such fun!
Brain Emperor and the Mad Professor contacted Meridian at her camp. She began to direct the next wave of the Evil Brain Trust's attack and decided to lead from the front. Unknown to the Mighty Crusaders or MLJ, the Mad Professor had begun equipping Meridian with next gen weaponry as advanced as anything ARMS Control had ever produced utilizing alien technology. And Dr. Zadar had the Global Concern on standby to assist if necessary.
Tremor stood by to cover a retreat if Brain Emperor chose to withdraw. His armor's ability to create localized earthquakes would create enough havoc as it brought the campus buildings down around the Mighty Crusaders to extricate Brain Emperor to safety. And the members of the Evil Brain Trust caught in the destruction could always be replaced whereas Brain Emperor was unique and irreplaceable in his own mind.
Sting's attack had triggered Web's distress beacon. So the Web Hosts on an opposite ridge began to muster up support. And they saw Meridian's force approaching in four helicopter gunships as well as armored vehicles and personnel transport trucks.
"Looks like the cavalry is needed," Buster warned her fellow Web Hosts, "We have mercenaries to dissuade."
