34
Berlin had not seen such devastation in the decades following World War II. The Federal Guard had fought long and hard but in the end even their advanced technology and months of intense training were no match for the Justice Leagues' experience. The Legion trio sat out the battle to observe the loyalty of the JLers. The Crime Syndicate waited to be deployed should a JLer falter in their duty but that call never came.
The Justice League International in particular redeemed itself in the eyes of the LSV's founders. Only two of the JLI members had never served in the once larger Justice League Unlimited. Rising Sun and Goldstar were those exceptions. Meanwhile Booster Gold, Starman, Fire, Ice, and Dr. Light had all been proud members of the JLU.
Booster's leadership against the Federal Guard proved to Saturn Queen, Lightning Lord, and Cosmic King that Booster was ready to kill Rip Hunter when called to. Goldstar was his natural accomplice. They would be the perfect moles to insert into the Time Corps.
Martian Manhunter and Mr. Miracle displayed a ruthlessness not often seen from either one of them. But Superman still couldn't be persuaded to kill his human opponents. Darkseid had brainwashed Superman into conquering and annihilating dozens of alien worlds. But his resolve had been broken in the face of humanity.
Saturn Queen knew if he ever broke that barrier, he was hers for forever even as Ultraman already was. The Crime Syndicate killed any Federal Guardsman left alive by the Justice Leagues. The JLers didn't even protest which the Legion masters saw as progress. While the Germans sought NATO's aid in repelling the JLers, they activated a boom tube and travelled to the Russian Federation.
The Rocket Reds proved to be more capable opponents. Their armor was on par technologically with the Federal Guard's but their experience was far broader. Still, Rocket Reds #1-24 were rendered helpless by the Justice Leagues. Rocket Red himself proved more resilient in his Apokoliptan battle armor but the Crime Syndicate forced him to flee.
Rocket Red had been a member of the both the JLU and the JLI so he recognized his friends turned enemies. But the FSB had reported the formation of the Justice League of America to the Rocket Red Brigade. So querying the FSB analysis department, Rocket Red requested the location of the JLA. Having been routed towards the Hall of Justice, Rocket Red received a personal admonition from the Russian President to avenge the Motherland's fallen sons.
The Justice Leagues returned to OmniTech in order to refresh themselves before heading to China. Brainiac reported the successes the Rogues and the Legion of Doom had enjoyed in liberating their incarcerated comrades. He also reported several stray Legionnaires had reported in.
"Shall I grant them admittance?" Brainiac inquired.
"Yes, have them join us here," Cosmic King was amused by the situation.
The returned Legionnaires reported to the cafeteria as ordered. The group was comprised of members that had gone their own way as well as those liberated from GCPD central holding by Tala and Bronze Tiger who led the procession into an audience with Saturn Queen, Lightning Lord, and Cosmic King. Joining them were Major Disaster, Big Sir, Scarecrow, Major Force, Mad Hatter, Two-Face, Penguin, Killer Croc, Riddler, Query, Echo, and Psycho Pirate.
"I am also in contact with parties you have designated a desire to meet with," Brainiac revealed.
"And Talia al Ghul sends her greeting and those of the League of Shadows," Bronze Tiger spoke without permission, "The League has located Dr. Claire Connelly. She is working at LexCorp-Metropolis on an unspecified endeavor. But Mercy Graves has allocated unlimited funds and materials towards this 'black' project."
"Brainiac send our regards to Talia and thank her for her information. Make a note to amply reward her for this favor," Lightning Lord requested, "We'll need to dispatch a team to deal with Dr. Connelly and Mercy Graves."
"I'd say we already have a proven team put together," Cosmic King opined, "Send the Legion team under Signalman to kill Connelly and Graves."
"Agreed," Lightning Lord concurred.
"Make it so, Brainiac," Saturn Queen ordered.
"May I remind your Exaltednesses that Condor's Chaos Avatars are currently in Metropolis?" Brainiac pointed out.
"Excellent notation," Cosmic King was finally pleased with Brainiac's contributions, "Contact them and have them join in the hunt."
"As you wish," Brainiac said. A touch of condensation tinged his voice in Saturn Queen's estimation.
"I suggest we send the remaining Rogues as our envoy to Regulus and Basilisk," Lightning Lord suggested.
"I concur," Cosmic King voiced.
"Then it's unanimous," Saturn Queen agreed, "Brief them and send them out."
"As you wish, my Queen," Brainiac wasn't condescending that time.
"And let's send the Brotherhood of Evil to meet Majestic," Cosmic King suggested, "The Brain is a rolling turd but he'll get the job done."
And so Brainiac was allocated to dispatch the Brotherhood to Mongolia. Saturn Queen singled out the Riddler and his henchwomen, "Riddler, I believe you and your associates are the best option to send to John Lynch."
"You'll forgive me if I point out we're all wounded," Riddler demurred.
"Brainiac, see to it they spend time with the tissue regenerator and then send them along," Cosmic King enjoyed watching Riddler and his women squirm.
"Penguin and Two-Face, we have a particular task for you," Lightning Lord announced, "You will take the Scarecrow and travel to Bailya. There you will petition the Crimson Queen to allow us the use of her Crimson Jihad."
"The Crimson Queen is dead," Penguin protested.
"Then negotiate with her sister, Scarlet Rose," Saturn Queen smirked.
Two-Face tossed his coin and studied the results. He turned to Penguin, "Grab Crane."
"Bronze Tiger, you will lead a team to offer the Injustice Society an opportunity to join with us," Lightning Lord instructed.
"And if they refuse?" Bronze Tiger asked.
"Then inform them their days on this Earth will be numbered," Cosmic King declared.
After the teams went forth, the Legion trio met with Grodd's technical team and Merlyn. They reiterated their vision of a thousand year reign passed down from one Legion of Doom to a Legion of Super Villains. And Lightning Lord revealed why Claire could pose a threat to that vision.
"We need a countermeasure, gentlemen," Cosmic King sternly informed them.
"But you have time yet," Saturn Queen assured them, "First we must take measures against Luthor's potential to betray as all. And in order to do so, we're dispatching two teams on special missions. Grodd, you and Merlyn will be one team. Ultra-Humanite, you'll lead Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind on the other mission."
And then the trio explained what the teams' tasks were.
Once the JLers established themselves as a threat to Beijing, the Great Ten gathered and deployed to intercept the Justice Leagues and the Crime Syndicate. But their numbers swelled beyond the original ten. Mother of Champions had given birth to twenty-five of Socialist Red Guardian's children.
They were as radioactive as their father and as difficult to harm as their mother. They'd been born three days before. Aging ten years in a day, they'd spent the first two days just learning skills in how to combat threats as well as harnessing their own naturally derived powers.
Seven Deadly Brothers had split into seven identical Brothers. Each a master of one of the seven schools of Kung Fu that the original Seven Deadly Brothers had learned. Seven Deadly Brothers himself was over three hundred years old so he had a wealth of experience to pass on when he divided. In addition, each Brother took on an independent personality.
Thundermind split into two beings sharing one mind. So, when the LSV Founders led their expanded Justice Leagues team and the Crime Syndicate to China, they stepped back once again to observe the strengths and weaknesses of their followers. The addition of the Super Friends and others to the JLI ranks introduced a new potential instability in the ranks.
Superman was confronted by August General in Iron and a radioactive offspring. This was the confrontation the Legion trio were most interested in observing. But they had to allow Superman to choose their desired outcome.
"Superman, I do not know why you have invaded the People's Republic of China but the President and Premier have joined with the United Nations in condemning your previous and current actions," August General warned Kal-El, "Stand down and you and your comrades will be taken into custody and allowed to plead your defense before the World Court. If you refuse you will not appreciate the…alternatives."
Superman looked to Saturn Queen for her permission. August General caught the importance of that as she nodded her assent. Superman exploded into action.
The offspring unleashed a broad spectrum solar flare. Superman recoiled. August General recalled that Superman was a Kryptonian and vulnerable to red sunlight. So August General in Iron instructed the offspring to produce red solar rays and bathe Superman in them.
In effect it was like a red spotlight amidst the sun's yellow rays. But it sufficiently weakened Superman so that he was vulnerable to August General's energy spear. But Superman surprised him by being fast and strong enough to grapple with the metal skinned Chinese hero. The battle ended when Superman sliced the spear in half with his heat vision.
August General in Iron then began beating Superman with his Kung Fu training. But for all the damage Superman endured, his uppercut to August General's steely jaw flattened the Chinese operative. Superman lobotomized the Champion offspring with his heat vision.
Saturn Queen gleefully pointed out the action to Lightning Lord, and Cosmic King. They watched with rapt attention as Superman then burned away most of August General in Iron's heart. Saturn Queen knew they'd finally turned the corner.
"He's ours now. Mind, body, and soul," Saturn Queen reveled in that fact.
"So our phase two plan for him can proceed," Lightning Lord chuckled.
"Of course it can, who could serve us better in the 31st Century than Alexandra Kent?" Cosmic King didn't even have to ask.
"He'll take Diana by force until she conceives, and in gratitude for handing him his estranged wife, Kal-El will gladly hand us his daughter," Saturn Queen predicted.
"What about his other daughter?" Cosmic King reminded them, "The one he shares with Maxima."
"Kalea-El poses a very real threat to our ambitions," Lightning Lord agreed, "Which is why I hired Lobo to assassinate her."
"The last Czarnian?" Cosmic King sputtered, "He killed his entire race as a secondary school science experiment."
"And gave himself an 'A' for the class," Lightning Lord was amused.
"I think Laevar is trying to point out Lobo is unpredictable," Saturn Queen intervened.
"I'm trying to point out he's a damn psychopath," Cosmic King explained.
"That label has been applied to all three of us as well," Lightning Lord argued, "So let's not debate semantics. Lobo has his own perverse code of honor. He will kill his target and anything or anyone that gets in between him and his target. And with Darkseid claiming Earth Prime, the Gordanian threat is a moot point. They won't get a foothold in the solar system."
"He's right," Saturn Queen conceded, "The Gordanians are about to be plunged into a two front war for the next thousand years. The Dominators at one end and the Khunds at the other. Having the three waging one all encompassing war weakens them all enough that the United Planets will eventually be able to form up."
"And Vril Dox will form his damnable LEGION Corps that plants the UP's seed in the first place," Cosmic King knew the history as well as they did, "And the UP only formed up with Maxima's blessing. You deprive Almerac of being relieved of the Gordanian threat and you endanger the United Planets. And in case you've missed the whole point of this, we were all born on UP member worlds. If the UP doesn't form, or if Mordru gets his galactic conquest, then the Lords of Chaos reclaim the universe and Order is shut out. Which jeopardizes our future even more than Kalea can."
"It's too late to pull Lobo off the scent," Lightning Lord said irritably, "He's had two days to track the girl down. He'll undoubtedly be preparing to strike soon. And he won't respond to any messages until he's finished the job."
"Hopefully he's aware of enough interstellar politics to let Kalea finish her mission before attacking her," Saturn Queen frowned. Lightning Lord hadn't made sweeping unilateral decisions for some time now. Not since his schizophrenic belief that storms spoke to him had decreased. But Mekt had seemed slightly manic over the last two days and that was a sign his condition was worsening. As was this Lobo business.
Still, Eve Aries chose discretion in the matter and telepathically alerted Mekt Ranzz that she wanted to discuss his decision after they retired back to OmniTech. Laevar Bolto needn't know of their chat or her reasons for wanting one. But she knew they were both aware of the exponentially increasing variables in their timeline. They had witnessed the perfect outcome but things had already gone astray from that perfectly executed timeline. So now the future would be flawed.
And they were gambling with higher stakes than just control over Earth and the United Planets' territories. Existence itself was being threatened. So if destiny turned against them, Mekt, Laevar, and Eve would never become Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, or Saturn Queen. Instead, they would probably serve life sentences on Takron Galtos, the UP's dedicated maximum security prison planet. And if they never assumed their public identities then the entire Legion of Super Villains would never be created.
Accomplished Perfect Physician opened his mouth and employed his vocal sonic powers on Mr. Miracle. Mr. Miracle quickly discovered Accomplished Perfect Physician shared similarities with Silver Banshee's wail. But while Silver Banshee generally used her power to kill Accomplished Perfect Physician's primary uses were to create force fields, fly, heal others, and generate sonic energy blasts. But Mr. Miracle had been born on New Genesis and raised on Apokolips. As an adult he and Big Barda escaped to Earth where they vowed to sit out New Genesis' war against Apokolips. Scott Free was apprenticed to Thaddeus Brown and succeeded him as Mr. Miracle.
Despite Scott and Barda's refusal to participate in the eons old war, Barda had been the leader of the Female Furies and Mr. Miracle had been raised in Granny Goodness' Orphanage and literally fought to stay alive every day he was there. So while Mr. Miracle's gear was decidedly nonlethal, it could inflict a lot of punishment.
Mr. Miracle's Mother Box quickly deduced Accomplished Perfect Physician's primary weakness. He volleyed stun grenades at the Chinese soldier turned Tibetan champion and advocate in order to force Accomplished Perfect Physician to utilize his voice to erect a force field. While he did so, Scott swung around him on his hover discs.
Wrapping his arms around Accomplished Perfect Physician's throat like a noose, Mr. Miracle lifted the Great Ten member into the air and strangled him until he stopped resisting. Then Mr. Miracle dropped Accomplished Perfect Physician like the dead weight he'd become.
Martian Manhunter telepathically controlled the Champion offspring and forced it to consume itself in nuclear fire. Thundermind, the original one, confronted J'onn Jonzz, "Excellent. A fellow telepath. I so rarely get a challenge in the mental realm."
Thundermind reeled as J'onn attacked him with his mind. It wasn't a spear point or a broadsword. Rather, it was a scorched earth attack. J'onn's desire was to burn up Thundermind's psyche.
And J'onn attacked him physically simultaneously. Thundermind matched J'onn's strength but he was out of practice fighting a twofold war with an opponent. Thundermind couldn't maintain his concentration well enough to control his other body so he reabsorbed it. But even that pittance wasn't enough to protect him any further.
Thundermind's last conscious thought was, How can this be so?
Booster and Goldstar used their force fields to protect themselves from Socialist Red Guardian's solar radiation. Socialist Red Guardians was the single most radioactive being on Earth. More so than Captain Atom, Major Force, Atomic Skull, the Firestorms, or even the Firehawks. As such, his containment suit was a vehicle-like suit of armor. And it was this armor that Booster's proton blasts and Goldstar's magnetic repulsors were tearing apart.
As the armor began to lose containment, Socialist Red Guardian thought of simply exposing his radioactive body to the population of Beijing. But the exposure would contaminate all of Northern China, most of Mongolia and Far Eastern Russia and the fallout would drift as far as North America, or Australia, or Europe depending upon the prevailing winds.
So Socialist Red Guardian evacuated himself. He made it to his stronghold in the heart of the Gobi Desert before his suit lost functionality. Locking himself in his containment chambers, Socialist Red Guardian could do little else than wait for technicians to arrive to affect repairs on his armor.
Starman and Rising Sun simply absorbed all of the solar radiation of four of Champion's offspring. Unlike their father, they couldn't easily replenish their radioactive natures from an inexhaustible well within themselves. So they crumbled to dust as their very life essences were pulled from them in the form of solar rays.
Dr. Light erected photon barriers against the two offspring that she fought. And she projected photon bursts at them. All in an effort to distract them until Rising Sun came to her assistance. Kimiyo Hoshi presumed she would have felt badly for the twins at one point but now she simply exalted in their deaths.
Seraph used Moses' staff to intercept the magically charged arrows Celestial Archer fired from the Bow of Yi. The bow endowed Celestial Archer with uncanny accuracy and instructed him on who and what to target. Ice simply created solid barriers for the arrows to shatter. Fire's plasma form was immune to them.
While Fire distracted Celestial Archer, Seraph rushed him and used Samson's fabled strength to wrest the Bow of Yi from Celestial Archer's hand. Finding himself a mortal man once again, he was vulnerable to Fire's plasma storm. Ice froze him over before all of his flesh burned away.
Hood battled the first Seven Deadly Brother. Hood had never battled a Kung Fu master before. So, like Batman had advised him, he mapped out the Brother's responses to attack and also how tested Hood's defenses. But he only did so with a single discipline.
When Hood felt he had a grip on the Brother's skill set, he began employing his own multidisciplinary range. After Hood had beaten the Brother senseless, he killed him. And for the very first time, Hood didn't even feel remotely guilty for it.
Nightrunner's strength was overcoming urban challenges. So he led a Brother on a merry chase through Beijing before scaling a large building and disappearing. As the Brother looked over the roof's edge to find Nightrunner, he shoved the Brother off of the building and into the traffic stories below.
Wingman enjoyed a similar experience as Hood versus a Brother. Cross trained in multiple fighting disciplines, he too, like all former members of Batman, Inc, had been advised as to the efficacy of unraveling your enemy's secrets when it came to the breadth of their abilities. Wingman correctly gauged when the Brother had displayed his last skill and then killed him without remorse.
Man-of-Bats and Raven Red fought as father and son against two Brothers. Not as broadly trained as Hood or Wingman, they still held their own against their foes before slipping behind them. Utilizing leather thongs as garrotes, they each strangled their foes to death.
Shaolin Robot fought Tasmanian Devil and Maxi-Man in purely physical terms. Originally built as a terra cotta clockwork automaton five thousand years ago, Shaolin Robot had been imprinted with his designer's consciousness.
Since being dug up fifteen years before, Shaolin Robot had employed China's ever burgeoning tech industry to advance himself. Now he was a mechanism on par with Red Tornado or Chrysalis. Seeing Socialist Red Guardian flee, and detecting elevating radiation levels off of him, Shaolin Robot refashioned his arm into a neuron blaster and overloaded the JLers' nervous systems before flying off to assist Socialist Red Guardian, presuming of course he was headed to the containment stronghold in the Gobi.
Echo simply reflected the offspring's radioactive fire back on itself. The more it tried to burn through her defense, the more it consumed itself with its own power. Soon there was nothing left of it.
Reverb used his powers to liquefy two offsprings' internal organs before they could even employ their power against him. Then he checked in on Echo. It was the first time that she'd realized the affection he had for her.
Dark Ranger led a Brother into the streets of Beijing before losing it and then turning around and becoming the hunter. Dark Ranger enjoyed making the kill. But he wondered why he didn't feel guilty about such actions any more.
Olympian's demigod status made him immune to the offsprings' solar powers. He simply crushed their skulls together. Then he tried to remember why Godiva wasn't in China with the JLI.
Knight fought the last Seven Deadly Brother while Squire took dirty shots at him. When the Brother finally wheeled on Squire, Knight stabbed him through the chest with his electro sword. And as he watched the Brother die, Knight wondered what kind of example that had been for his son.
Apache Chief fought two offspring. The first he simply caved the man's face in with his fist. Unwilling to tempt fate by simply enduring solar radiation with his molecular density hardened, Apache Chief phased his body and radiation bursts went through him.
Then Apache Chief dove through a wall and the offspring was so intent on pursuing, he began to melt the wall. Meanwhile, Apache Chief rose out of the sewers behind him and shifted his density again and crushed the offspring's heart between his hands.
Black Vulcan cooked two offspring with his electrical powers. Their heads burst on fire and their hearts exploded within their chests. But he could see where he was still needed.
Samurai controlled the winds to lift two offspring off of the streets. Pulling a Fukushima Daiichi response maneuver, he dumped them far out in the Pacific with no chance of recovery or survival. And that's when he noticed Apache Chief and Black Vulcan moving to aid fellow JLers.
Cascade had transformed her own body into water to act as a coolant for the offspring she fought. But being threatened with drowning drove it to try and boil her away. Apache Chief repeated himself and shoved his hand through the offspring's chest, gripping its still beating heart.
Cascade became human again, "Thank you."
Apache Chief hadn't spoken at length with the Indonesian woman before. And he knew no one had. She struck up a conversation to check on her well being, physically and emotionally.
Sandstorm used his silicate particles to confuse and beleaguer the offspring he fought. Then Black Vulcan used him as a conductor to terminate the offspring. Sandstorm reformed and congratulated Black Vulcan.
"Thanks," Black Vulcan said distractedly. Somehow it all seemed wrong.
Tundra's powers cooled the offspring but it couldn't rapidly freeze him or disable him. Samurai ignited the offspring and burned him to death. Tundra seemed eager to watch him die but Samurai wasn't certain he could bear to witness it.
Thundermind's clone abruptly vanished leaving Ultraman simply facing an offspring. Its solar flare ability burned at Ultraman but all that did was insure that he would kill it. Taking a moment, he saw Superman had killed an offspring and August General in Iron.
Kal-L smirked. It seemed he and Kal-El might be closer to being brothers than anyone thought after all. But Saturn Queen had approached him first even though Kal-El was already her slave. So he had the favor of his mother and fathers and Superman was just now proving himself to be worthy. He wondered if they'd assign him to mentor Kal-El.
Ghost Fox Killer had been sent to Hong Kong from the Kingdom of the Ghost Fox Women. Her touch was lethal to all men except August General in Iron. And because of his pleas to her she'd joined the Great Ten…and fallen in love with him.
Superwoman used her lasso to quickly break an offspring's neck. And then she turned her attention to Ghost Fox Killer. Superwoman was protected by her gender from Ghost Fox Killer's touch. But she also knew others means with which to fight with.
And it seemed the Amazon was a physical match for her. Ghost Fox Killer rattled Superwoman for a second but rather than capitalize on the moment, Ghost Fox Killer sought to learn August General's status. Seeing his chest melted and his heart burned out, Ghost Fox Killer felt she had no reason to remain in Beijing. So she opened the rift that led to the Kingdom of Ghost Fox Women and slipped away.
Atomica delighted in the fact Mother of Champions seemed to be immortal and unkillable. Which meant Atomica could simply maim and torture her to her delight. Remembering their briefing on the Great Ten, Superwoman bound up Mother of Champions. The Legion had plans of crossbreeding Mother of Champions with Doomsday.
Power Ring trapped the last offspring within a construct and it burned itself out trying to escape. But the Ring of Volthoom alerted Jessica Cruz that Immortal man in Darkness was on approach. The pilot of the Dragonwing was bonded to the alien strike fighter.
It could change shape, operate atmospherically, extraterrestrially, and underwater. But the price for these abilities was that the living ship slowly ate away the pilot on a molecular level. So Power Ring thought she'd speed the Dragonwing's metabolism up.
Power Ring pushed Immortal Man in Darkness to his limits. They flew to the Moon and back. They flew through cities and mountain ranges. They entered the deepest fathoms of the oceans. Soon, the plan began to pay off.
Dragonwing began devouring the pilot. And he knew it and feared for his life. The Ring of Volthoom sensed that fear and gorged on it while the Dragonwing did the same to the body.
"I guess they really weren't worthy to join our cause after all," Lightning Lord was amused by the end results.
"Except our little brood mare," Cosmic King chuckled.
"We should return to base," Saturn Queen suggested, "Our envoys should have been received by now."
So they used a boom tube to return to OmniTech in Los Angeles.
The Chinese responders found that August General in Iron's remaining heart segment was regrowing itself. Accomplished Perfect Physician was also recovering and would be able help heal August General. When the corpses of the Seven Deadly Brothers were reunited they merged back into a single body and then they were restored to life. It was determined that Accomplished Perfect Physician's first patient would have to be Celestial Archer. If they thawed him, his injuries were almost certain to kill him. No one could fathom what had afflicted Thundermind.
Shaolin Robot had reported in from the Gobi. He was rebuilding Socialist Red Guardian's containment armor from spare parts and had several design improvements in mind. He estimated their return in twelve hours time.
So that just left the mysteries of where Ghost Fox Killer had gone and where Mother of Champions had been taken to. Only August General knew how to contact Ghost Fox Killer. And Socialist Red Guardian would probably go berserk over Mother of Champion's fate. And the military needed to go through the Immortal Man in Darkness candidate pool once the navy had recovered the Dragonwing.
It was decided at the highest levels to clamp down on any and all information regarding this defeat. China couldn't appear vulnerable, especially since it was, and there was no strategic value in alerting the enemy that they'd failed.
White Rabbit's sources began reporting in. Through them she learned of the Legion's impending attack on LexCorp. And that the Rogues were meeting Basilisk in southern Mexico. She now knew the Brotherhood of Evil was approaching Majestic in Mongolia and that Riddler and his henchwomen were contacting John Lynch in the same country. A Legion team was travelling to Bailya to try and recruit the Crimson Jihad. And Bronze Tiger was leading a team with the same ambition towards the Injustice Society. Coordinates were also provided.
Gypsy brought Praxis to Galatea's bedside. Blackhawk gave him a quizzical look and Praxis explained, "Gypsy and I are going to try and liberate Power Girl from her mental prison. If we're successful we'll do the same for Teth-Adam and Adrianna Tomaz."
Ahmud Tomaz heard the comment as he was returning to his sister's room. He was angry that Galatea was chosen before Adrianna. But Ahmud received his summons from Slade Wilson. Horus was needed.
Ahmud quickly went outside. Satanus had originally given him a grant of power from the god, Anubis. But Anubis had revoked the grant when he realized Satanus wouldn't give him control over Ahmud's transformed body. But Anubis had been the only god to respond to Satanus' entreaties on his own.
Swallowing his pride, Satanus approached his sister, Blaze, and together they had swayed Horus. But Ahmud was beginning to suspect Satanus and Blaze shared a measure of the power he was supposed to receive from Horus. And he knew their father, Shazam, didn't operate that way.
But Shazam had chosen Adrianna not Ahmud. So he had to go with the offer laid before him. But the name he had to recite in order to receive Horus' gift gave away who was truly in control of Satanus and Blaze's partnership.
"Blaze!" he shouted and lightning struck him transforming him into Horus. Now he was prepared to meet Deathstroke's summons.
"How are things going?" Mercy asked Claire as she toured the building's sublevels.
"Thanks to the use of corporate jets I've recreated my original design teams. Most of them scattered across LexCorp's various holdings when I left for Paris. A few declined but for the most part, the bonuses you offered were incentive enough," Claire revealed, "No one ever knew the full capability of my designs before. The idea of time travel was strictly a theoretical exercise."
"But you knew better," Mercy added.
"Having a husband who's from the 25th Century helped," Claire ruefully admitted.
"And now a sister-in-law as well," Mercy reminded Claire.
"Anyway, everyone bought into the practicality of my designs in creating temporal stasis around damaged cells so the nanobots could affect repairs without further cellular degradation," Claire completed her thought.
"How are you doing towards a large scale application?" Mercy wondered.
"I've modified nanite designs into large insect scaled models," Claire punched up schematics on a monitor, "Each one will have a similarly augmented temporal displacement field strength. The goal is to deploy a clamshell encasement, drop the nanobugs, and have them swarm the target will creating a temporal ejection field propelling them into the future."
"You sound bothered," Mercy noted.
"Even with field testing the equipment all we'll be able to measure is that the target object has moved out of our time frame. We'll have no means of knowing when we sent it," Claire said glumly, "Booster and Michelle are the only people in our time frame with a working knowledge of time travel."
"Just build as powerful a field emitter as you can and trust it'll be enough," Mercy suggested.
"But wouldn't we just be dumping our problems on some future time?" Claire felt compelled to ask.
"And what do you think our three 'guests' jailors did by sending them to us?" Mercy grew colder, "Claire, I know you're a problem solver both personally and professionally. We're talking about your husband's life and that of his sister. Those are very real and personal stakes. These people came from the future and that's when society is better equipped to handle them."
"I suppose you're right but it just seems like the justice system in the future didn't know how to deal with the trio either and that's why they sent them here," Claire commented.
"I know I'm right," Mercy remarked, "Just ramp up the temporal field strength and hope for the best."
The whole building shook down through the sublevels. Mercy snarled, "Damn! They know you're here."
Mercy made it to the security offices, "Status report!"
"Infinity, Inc. deployed moments ago and have engaged the Legion of Doom," the Chief of Security reported.
LexCorp's Everyman Project had utilized incomplete research stolen from John Lynch to activate gen factors in seven volunteers. Those volunteers had become a new Conglomerate-styled team of meta-humans promoting LexCorp as they performed heroic deeds throughout Metropolis. So far it had been a public relations bonanza. But now Infinity, Inc. faced its first real test.
The team was the second to bear the name. The original incarnation had been populated by the original Star Spangled Kid, Atom Smasher, Hourman, Jesse Quick, Jade, and Obsidian. Now the ranks were filled with unknowns whose names were just becoming recognized by the public thanks in part to LexCorp's PR juggernaut.
The new team was composed of Trajectory, Fury, Nuklon, Vaporlock, Everyman, Matrix, and Skyman. Eliza Harmon was known as Trajectory and her gift was super speed on the level of the Flashes or Jesse Quick. Erik/a Storn was called Fury. S/he possessed unbreakable claws that could slice through virtually anything but the unexpected aspect of Fury's meta-gene was that his/her gender was fluidic and could transition between male and female at any given moment.
Unlike the original Nuklon, who was an atomic powered villain in the Justice Society's early history, Gerome McKenna took the name as an attempt to redeem it. Nuklon's power was biofission like Multiplex. But unlike Multiplex, Nuklon had a limit of twelve doppelgangers. But each had enhanced strength on the scale of a Commander Steel or Hourman.
Steel's niece, Natasha Irons, had transformed into Vaporlock. Like Vapor, Natasha shifted into being a living mist. But unlike the JLer, Vaporlock wasn't acidic.
Hannibal Bates had become Everyman. A fully realized shape shifter, Everyman could literally become anyone. And so far his capacity for size alterations seemed limitless as well.
The supermodel known simply as Sierra had adopted the guise of Matrix. An artificial life form with that moniker had briefly tried to assume Supergirl's place while Kara In-Ze was in the 31st Century. Matrix had given her life in the defense of others. It was assumed by the Everyman Project bioengineers that Sierra shared that level of commitment. Her powers included flight and invisibility.
Skyman was really Jake Colby. His singular ability was flight. But his skin had adapted to supersonic speeds and his agility was equal to an Owlwoman's. Skyman served as the team's leader.
During the intense, but woefully brief, battle Matrix turned invisible and fled from the Legion. Fury had transitioned from being Erik to Erika. Darkwing had attempted to rape her after she sliced him to pieces. Psi had pulled him off and strangled him into unconsciousness.
Trajectory was the last Infinitor standing. Her LexCorp instructors had included updated details as to the status and whereabouts of every super team in the United States. So she knew the JLA was just across the state border in Brooklyn. So she headed straight for them in an effort to persuade them to help.
Trajectory had no sooner left Metropolis' city limits when Mercy personally called her back to LexCorp. The Injusticers had arrived and appeared to be friendly. But Mercy wanted Trajectory on hand to ascertain the extent of Nyssa al Ghul's goodwill.
Black Spider found himself taking the beating of his life. While Inertia wasn't the strongest foe Black Spider had ever faced, he was the fastest. And his speed and momentum carried enough kinetic energy to provide a mule kick with every punch.
But he finally managed to trip the teen, almost at the cost of dislocating his hip. While Inertia tucked and rolled, Black Spider fired a grappler line and lifted himself off the street onto an overhanging glass and metal awning projecting out over the LexCorp building's entrance. Inertia had lost track of him in the roll that carried him under the awning.
While Black Spider assembled the rifle he carried in a case strapped to his back, Inertia ran to and fro looking for him. Finally the teen came to an abrupt halt. Black Spider took careful aim and fired at Inertia's head.
But Trajectory swatted the bullet into the street pavement. She pointed the way while Inertia stared at her in disbelief, "There, idiot!"
Black Spider grappled his way to a higher point and then used an explosive charge to destroy a window and affect an entrance into LexCorp. While Inertia busied himself with uselessly dismantling the awning, Trajectory raced inside of LexCorp to deal with Black Spider herself.
Trajectory caught up with Black Spider on the Twelfth Floor. She sped past him a hundred times in under thirty seconds. Each pass she'd shoulder check him or punch him. It didn't take much longer than that to put him down.
Psi's TK power kept Sun Girl's solar projections at bay but poor King Shark was rapidly devolving into a mindless eating machine. Psi knew Sun Girl didn't give a rat's ass about the gawking spectators and Psi wasn't certain she really did either but Psi didn't want to have to fend off her own teammate while dueling with Sun Girl.
So Psi shoved King Shark into the milling crowds and broke and ran. As King Shark went on a feeding frenzy, Sun Girl debated what to do about it. Psi fled two blocks over and hailed a cab on. Her skimpy outfit guaranteed she caught at least one cabbie's eye. She demanded the driver take her to the docks.
Enigma had already learned El Diablo really wasn't in control of his pyrokinetic ability. ARGUS' files on him indicated he'd just begun displaying the power after disappearing for three weeks' time as well as suddenly sporting body tattoos. And his shaven head was theoretically to prevent him from catching his hair on fire not a symbolic gesture.
Enigma had deduced how El Diablo telegraphed the manifestations of his power with his eyes. He would stare at a specific spot before his eyes glazed over. It all happened within seconds but it was more than enough time to keep Enigma ahead of him.
So she was able to approach him unscathed. While he prepared to manifest his ability, Enigma held her ground. And she targeted him with an electrical stream from the head of her question mark topped staff. Even out cold, El Diablo twitches sparked embers all around him.
Magenta knew as soon as Shrapnel blew himself apart, he had no idea who she was or what she could do. She caught all of his component shards, recently recast into useful bits again, and flew them across town to a wrecking yard still owned and operated by Metallo under an alias. She dumped the components into the crusher and magnetically flipped the switch. Then she listened to the squeal of metal being crushed with some satisfaction.
Girder had looked forward to a rematch with Blockbuster. Rather than engage her directly, he used all the available vehicles on the street to batter her with. After he'd smashed a tractor trailer over her head, he finally beat her into the ground with his hands. She literally sank into the ground as the street caved into the sewers underneath.
Signalman used every tool at his disposal against Joker's Daughter but to no avail. Finally he concluded that no rational mind could withstand that barrage. So Duela Dent had to be quite insane. And she had one mother of a hammer she was beating him with. After he went down she tenderized him for a while longer just for giggles.
"We are both members of the League of Assassins, woman!" Darkwing snarled, "You should be by my side serving my every need and desire."
Syonide cracked him in the balls with her electro whip. As he sank to his knees with a keening whimper, she went behind him and looped her whip around his throat and activated in order to electrocute him. She'd dreamt of this moment for several years now.
Lady Flash blew out all of Volcana's flames before beating the pyrokinetic senseless. Giganta sulked, "We should be working together, Ms. Flashy. Do you know where my Flash went?"
"Nyet, and we cannot work together as long as you serve your new masters," Lady Flash warned her, "Renounce them and join the Injustice League. I will make a new home for you."
"Sorry, I don't swing both ways," Giganta giggled at her own double entendre.
Lady Flash raced around Giganta until she formed a vortex. As the air thinned, Giganta was lifted helplessly off of the ground. Lady Flash kept on pouring the speed into it until Giganta simply passed out. The Lady Flash skidded to a halt.
As Giganta collapsed, Lady Flash checked her own hands. As Christina had feared, they were shaking rather badly. She could feel the need burning within her. A non meta would have consumed their body's resources by now. Instead, Ivanka Christina Borodin Molotova would be crippled by addiction's desires if she didn't receive a fresh dose of Velocity 9 soon and very soon.
Christina had always had an addictive personality. At first it was the mere rush of having super speed. She endured the painful transformation and served her country's most brutal needs in exchange for the ability to run faster than sound traveled. But then came Red Trinity and they were even faster than Christina. Then the Flash had entered her life and he was the fastest of all.
The knowledge drove the two male members of Blue Trinity mad and they lost control of their more psychotic impulses. Christina was assigned to take them down. So she did…permanently. Then she faked her own death and traveled throughout the world to find a means to match or supersede the Flash at his own game. Along the way she learned about the original Flash, Jesse Quick, Kid Flash, Inertia, Reverse Flash, and Rival. And just when she'd lost all hope of redemption, Vandal Savage found her and offered her Velocity 9.
Savage recruited her to join Nyssa al Ghul's Injustice League. Nyssa supported Vandal Savage's World Army and his efforts as CONTROL to assume the same over the world. But the Justice League had thwarted Savage's plans and set back Nyssa's own ambitions.
Lady Flash had stayed with Nyssa for the simplest of an addict's reasons. Nyssa controlled the supply of Velocity 9 now that Savage was…indisposed. So long as Nyssa controlled the supply of the drug, Lady Flash's demand would keep her loyal.
Blue Jay struck Sparrow Hawk from behind. She slashed in his general direction with a snort of disgust, "Figures you'd be coward enough to attack me from behind."
"Let's see if you can really fly after all," Blue Jay darted off into the cityscape.
He wove in between buildings, out in and around suspension bridges, and a merry chase between ocean liners. But he always led Sparrow Hawk back to the spires of Metropolis. And he took aim directly at the LexCorp building.
Sparrow Hawk was so focused on catching him; she'd sheathed her sword and was oblivious to all other traffic. She nearly collided with a dirigible as Blue Jay veered around it. And then she was out of earshot to hear him recite an incantation as he neared the LexCorp tower.
Blue Jay suddenly came to an abrupt halt mere inches from the pane glass covering the skyscraper. Sparrow Hawk had no such recourse as one of Silver Sorceress' spells to instantly redirect her. She bounced off the plate glass so hard it shattered the window she'd struck.
Blue Jay caught her by the leg and gently lowered her to the ground. For all her homicidal tendencies, Blue Jay had to respect Danya Helstrom's dedication to her cause. It was complete rubbish but she was devoted to the Legion the way she'd once been devoted to Thanagar in her universe. He also suspected that she hadn't quite forgiven the remaining fifty-two universes for surviving when her universe had been obliterated.
She had no universe to return to and no world in this universe to belong to so she simply flailed about seeking a cause worthy of her devotion. It was just sad that she'd picked such a piss poor one.
"You're going to be polishing my containment suit with your tongue when I'm through with you," Major Force promised.
"If this is you seducing me, it's no wonder you're lonely," Silver Sorceress quipped.
"Bitch!" Major Force snarled, "I'm going to make you my personal foot soldier. When I tell you to wipe my ass you'll beg me to tell you how many times in between polishing my knob."
Silver Sorceress snapped her fingers and Major Force's radioactive matrix suddenly found itself out of his suit and between Mars and Jupiter, "Oh really? I guess you should have tried candy and flowers then."
Blacksmith transmuted Big Sir into organic steel and had him looming over Major Disaster. Major Disaster took a step back, "Okay, I give. Turn him back and I'll do whatever you ask me to."
"Not so fast," Blacksmith countered, "Where does the Legion hang its hat nowadays?"
"I don't know," Major Disaster confessed, "Luthor is holed up in the Hall of Doom. That may be in Florida or maybe somewhere in Brazil. I really don't know and haven't cared until now. The three controlling the Legion now had Brainiac directly input the coordinates into my boom tube controller. I arrived to a traditional building. I wasn't shown much with an exterior view but it was a city built along sprawling American lines with an ocean view."
"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Blacksmith countered.
"I have no love for these people," Major Disaster promised her.
"Then why do you work with them?" she wondered.
"My ability is to create and control natural disasters. I can't control naturally generated events. I can only affect those I or someone else creates. Try putting that on a job résumé," Major Disaster complained.
"Then work for me," Blacksmith offered.
"I'm listening, but first…" Major Disaster motioned at Big Sir's shiny body.
He reverted to flesh, "Major Man! Wha' hoppin' ta me?"
"I'll explain later. Best behavior now. We're having a job interview," Major Disaster straightened out Big Sir's helmet.
Blacksmith suddenly realized the depth of the affection between Major Disaster and Big Sir. It was a father-son bond. It wasn't at all the kind of exploitation she'd expected it to be.
Psycho Pirate made various faces at White Lightning. And he could see he affected her deeply. But she wouldn't back down.
"Take off the Medusa Mask," she finally ordered.
He found he obeyed without question. White Lightning smirked, "Now hand it to me and then beat your head against that lamppost until you knock yourself out."
And again, he complied without question. White Lightning studied the mask. It could prove useful or it could screw with her own hypnotic ability. In any case, it would make a nice present for Nyssa.
Condor studied Fury as Erika shifted into being Erik once again in his/her dreamless sleep. Condor chuckled, "A true union of the male and female gestalt. The Lords of Chaos will honor your sacrifice."
An arrow pierced his ball sack. Tears came unbidden to Condor's eyes as Nyssa nocked a second arrow to her bowstring, "You!"
"You should have healed around that shaft by now so I truly hope you enjoy pulling it out," Nyssa saluted him.
He pulled it and its exit did more damage than the entrance. Nyssa tipped her bow so Condor could see what type of arrow she had ready, "Recognize this?"
"It can't be!" Condor gasped.
"But it is. One of the last three arrows crafted by the Lord of Order Quoin Ta herself. The League of Assassins sat on these ever since the last war between Order and Chaos and the Age of Order was established," Nyssa explained, "All three were lost amongst the archives and the purpose of the three was lost in living memory. So here we have the only three weapons on Earth that can kill an Avatar."
"But you said…" Condor was still reeling.
"They were lost?" Nyssa was mercilessly mirthful, "So they were but before I was expelled from the League of Assassins I had divined the true purpose of these weapons and stolen them."
"What do you want?" Condor asked.
"I want you and yours to stay out of my way or I'll simply kill three out of four of you," Nyssa proposed.
"If you can," Condor spat.
Nyssa drew the arrow, "Should we test my ability to do so?"
Condor was the oldest and most powerful Avatar on the planet. And a great deal of his power had been drawn from killing other Chaos Avatars. They only reason Osprey and Kestrel were still alive was because the Lords of Chaos had forbade their destruction. Swan was more obvious. She was Condor's lover.
Condor relented, "Clearly state your terms."
"Withdraw from the Legion's service. When I and my own are no longer involved, do what you will. But never oppose any in my service or I will find you and destroy you one by one," Nyssa promised.
"You drive a hard bargain, al Ghul," Condor conceded.
"You've lived a very long time on Earth, Condor. You're the oldest of your kind and the corpses of those you've ridden upon would fill the grandest of canyons. I'm certain you can make your masters see the necessity of one little compromise," Nyssa stated.
"It will be done," Condor promised.
Nyssa accompanied Condor as he retrieved Osprey. David Cain was more than a little amused, "So it worked."
"So it did," Nyssa agreed.
Condor literally dragged Swan away from White Canary. Cain gave White Canary the signal to stand down. And she watched as the scene replayed itself when Condor commanded that Kestrel back away from the fight with the Wrath.
Kestrel had a female host again and Kestrel wanted to test its limits. Wrath certain looked eager to oblige but he wisely stopped provoking Kestrel when Cain gave him the silent order to back down. So the four Avatars departed Metropolis even as Nyssa gathered the various Injustice teams.
"I see you have…?" Nyssa nodded towards Major Disaster and Big Sir.
"Volunteers," Blacksmith boasted.
"I see," Nyssa was somewhat less receptive to the idea.
"We also have this," White Lightning handed Nyssa the Medusa Mask.
"So we do," Nyssa brightened. She called in a teleport request and they all vanished in red flashes.
Cheshire and Arsenal approached the Basilisk camp from the surrounding jungle where the ISA had teleported them. They carried a letter of introduction from Slade Wilson. Apparently Deathstroke's name carried enough weight with Regulus that it got them past the perimeter and escorted to Regulus himself. There they found he was already in a parlay with the Rogues.
Captain Cold had stripped down for the weather while Heat Wave finally looked comfortable. Regulus chuckled, "I'd already agreed to meet with envoys from the Legion. Now I have a simple test for you all: trail by combat."
As Regulus stepped away, Arsenal fired a crossbow bolt into Captain Cold's cryoblaster. It discharged and frosted Captain Cold over. Heat Wave got his thermal blaster clear of its holster while Arsenal reloaded. Arsenal got a shot off after Heat Wave had fired over his head.
The bolt jammed itself into the emitter head of Heat Wave's gun. It exploded when he tried to shoot again. Heat Wave's protective suit smoldered as he lay unconscious.
Cheshire used a series of spin kicks to mercilessly beat Pied Piper unconscious before he could ever play a note. She whirled on Mirror Master. He kept two mirrors between them at all times. But her feints and lunges were intended to give Arsenal the opportunity to come behind Mirror Master and use his crossbow to beat the Rogue senseless. Which he did in short order.
Regulus applauded them both, "It seems you are the worthiest. Unfortunately I'd already committed to aiding and abetting the Legion's plans. Their goals for the meta community match my own. But you have purchased safe passage from my camp. Return unbidden and you will die. Face me in the field of battle and you will die again."
"How many times can we be expected to die?" Arsenal's impertinence amused Regulus.
"Ask Slade some time," he suggested, "Now go."
Brain fumed while Mallah fretted. Majestic had taken over and rebuilt an ancient stronghold. China refused to assist Mongolia in ejecting Majestic. The Rocket Red Brigade had dispatched Rocket Reds #25-48 and Majestic had killed every last man. Majestic considered himself a feudal lord far removed from other metas or team threats.
But he hadn't counted on John Lynch to be a mere fifty miles away. Majestic's one fear was that since Lynch had activated his gen factor, he would also discover a way to deactivate it. And in a sense that was true. Lynch had the youngest of Slade Wilson's children with him.
Joshua Wilson, code-named Jericho, could control minds over vast distances. In a very real sense, Jericho was the one threat Saturn Queen hadn't anticipated. But Lynch was too shortsighted for that. He merely wanted to control Majestic.
The Brotherhood had gathered outside of Majestic's fort. The blue flashes delivering the Teen Titans startled them all. Red Hood's explosive munitions devastated Brain's life support chassis. Fairchild managed to knock Mallah out with a single blow.
Ravager stayed ahead of Mammoth's swings. Using her swords to strike key nerve clusters, Ravager paralyzed Mammoth in seconds. And then he used her superhuman agility and strength to beat him until he was out cold.
Miss Martian paralyzed Shimmer with her telepathy. But M'gann M'orzz took a perverse delight in knocking Shimmer out with a right cross. She was beginning to see why the others enjoyed it so much.
Superboy and Wonder Girl did a reverse variant of their hanging Elephant Man trick from their last encounter. He was quickly knocked out. Superboy used his tactile telekinesis to bury Elephant Man up to his neck.
Phobia was under the distinct impression her fear inducing powers were ineffective against Red Robin. The opposite was true. But Red Robin's iron resolve let him continue on despite the fear. He knocked her out in seconds using knockout gas pellets and then tied her up afterwards.
Bunker created construct manacles for Houngan and held him while Skitter stung him. As the venom knocked Houngan out, Skitter webbed him up. Then they watched the final conflict on the field.
Gemini immediately surrendered to Kid Flash and Solstice, "Please, I'm done with the Brotherhood. I'd rather serve my prison sentence than endure another day with the Brain."
Solstice looked to Kid Flash for guidance. He gulped, "Okay, we'll see what Red Robin has to say."
Majestic emerged from the fort, "Obviously these fools can't even stop a group of teens. What hope do they have in conquering the world? What hope do their masters have in the face of a real challenge?"
"Then we'll just be on our way then," Red Robin offered.
"You have to buy your lives by defeating me," Majestic growled.
Superboy was the first to respond with a left-right combination. Majestic's responding swing knocked him out cold. Wonder Girl lassoed him and struck him with thunderbolts while she hammered away at him with several kicks. He used his lower arms to pull her in and head butt her. As he shrugged off the lasso, his right cross ended her participation.
Bunker manacled him while Skitter stung away at Majestic's back. He shattered Bunker's constructs and the psychic backlash knocked him out. Grabbing Skitter he swung her into Red Hood while Jason Todd emptied his clip of explosive bullets into Majestic.
Miss Martian came at him psychically and physically. Majestic was reeling since he had no telepathic shield besides his own overwhelming anger. M'gann felt that anger begin to consume her and she just stopped fighting. Majestic saw her hesitation and smashed several right crosses into her until she was unconscious.
Solstice began firing concentrated light bursts at Majestic. He was about to crush her when Kid Flash scooped her up in a bridal carry and carted her safely away. Fairchild joined the fray at that point.
Her strength was nearly equal his. Only his speed, experience, and savagery carried the day and Fairchild fell before him. Gemini gave Red Robin and Ravager a pleading look.
Rose grinned at Red Robin, "Ready?"
"Of course," he admitted.
Ravager went first. She ran up Majestic's body and then vaulted over as she plunged a dagger in his eye. Red Robin was right behind her with his staff batting away at Majestic. Majestic possessed all the same vulnerable points as an average human. It was just his invulnerability and regenerative capacity made them capable of absorbing more punishment than most.
While Red Robin hammered away at Majestic's weak points, Ravager unsheathed a sword and severed both of Majestic's Achilles' tendons. He collapsed into the dirt.
Ravager knelt and jerked her dagger out of his eye, "You'll heal."
"But you'd best stay out of other conflicts. You posed this challenge and you got your result even if you don't like it. And remember, we're just teenagers. Imagine how the rest of the meta-community will respond to you," Red Robin counseled Majestic.
Kid Flash returned with Solstice in his arms. She looked delighted. Red Robin pulled transponder tags out of his belt and handed them to everyone, "Affix one of these to everyone we want to bring out with us."
As Kid Flash darted about, he still left a few people for Gemini and Solstice to tag. Red Robin studied Rose, "How did you know that would work?"
"My father designed the contingency. I just field tested it," Ravager shrugged.
"Good to know," he murmured. When everyone reported back, the ISA teleported them to the Watchtower. The Brotherhood was isolated and teleported to Iron Heights. Gemini was interviewed and voluntarily returned to Blackgate. The Teen Titans were deposited at the Hall of Justice.
Medical staff attended to the knocked out Titans while Red Robin gave Kid Flash and Solstice time off, "Rose and I will handle the debrief."
Hula Hula collected an after action report from the pair. Afterwards, Rose and Red Robin went to the living quarters section of the Hall. Rose had already tucked away her mask in her belt and she gave him a rapturous smile.
"Alone at last," she sighed, "So, your guest quarters or mine?"
"Rose, I'm not sure we should…" Red Robin stopped talking as she put a finger to his lips.
""Beryl, I'm just suggesting we take some time to be ourselves. Our real selves and let the rest of the world take care of itself for a while. Anything beyond that is sheer bonus," Rose promised him.
"I'm not sure I remember the real me anymore," Red Robin complained.
"Then we'll just have to find him together," Rose's smile was inviting.
"I think I'd like that," Red Robin confessed.
"So, the question remains, should I show you mine or will you show me yours?" Rose laughed.
Riddler's crew met with Lynch in the village he was staying at. Gunslinger was a mile off sighting them all in with her scope. Riddler, Query, and Echo weren't the threats here. Lynch himself barely qualified as one. But Deathstroke had made it abundantly clear Jericho was.
So when Jericho shuffled out, eyes glazed, and obviously drugged into being nearly comatose, Gunslinger understood why Slade had designated him as the mission's target. Slade had told her killing Joshua was a mercy shoot. And she hated him because he'd sent her to finish a job Slade wasn't certain he would do on his own.
Lynch suddenly jerked his head in her direction and she knew her shot was about to be obscured. So she reflexively fired and stayed on station long enough to watch the back of Jericho's head spray all over the hut he was standing in front of.
Patricia Trayce quickly wrapped up her gear and called for a teleport evac while Lynch's men responded. She was gone before they found her position. But after the Watchtower relayed her to the Hall of Justice, Pat went searching for the bar hidden in the agents' lounge.
Crimson Jihad met Penguin, Two-Face, and Scarecrow at their arrival site outside of the country's principle international airport. Scarlet Rose informed them they could stay armed but if they attempted to attack the Crimson Queen, Crimson Jihad would literally take their heads.
Deathstroke had made his way into the palace undetected. But he wasn't surprised to find her alone on her throne waiting for him, "You're supposed to be dead."
"I was dead," Crimson Queen promised him, "But Mary Seward reached me before I was completely dead and she revived me with her blood. And I became a vampyr."
"Mary's dead and the rule of a sire is that when they die those they've turned die as well," Deathstroke pointed out, "But Felix Faust had arranged it so that she became the sire of all known vampires."
"Yes, and Faust I made an arrangement. He transformed me from being a vampyr into a succubus," Crimson Queen confessed.
"Must be hard on your lovers," Deathstroke commented.
"It can be," Crimson Queen admitted, "If I sate my appetites with a single person for a prolonged period, they weaken and die. But they die delighting in the manner of their death."
"I'll take your word for it," Deathstroke retorted.
"Why are you here, Slade? What's your mission? Because I can tell you already know you can't kill me," Crimson Queen asked.
"I know where El-Fadil is," Deathstroke announced.
The Crimson Queen froze in place, "You know where my son is?"
"Yes, and I can get him for you," Deathstroke premised.
"There's always a price with you, Slade," Crimson Queen recalled.
"Deny the Legion's request and El-Fadil will be back in your arms," Deathstroke declared.
"Why hasn't Lex taken him if he knows he's alive?" Crimson Queen had to ask.
"Because Luthor doesn't know his son is alive," Deathstroke revealed, "There are few on Earth who do. Until today even I didn't know it."
"The Legion has powerful friends. Friends that could hand me what I want," Crimson Queen countered.
"They don't know or care about El-Fadil. And one of their allies holds him without revealing the fact to Luthor or the Legion," Deathstroke explained, "So weigh your options accordingly."
"Who has El-Fadil?" Crimson Queen demanded.
"And why should I surrender my leverage so early in the game?" Deathstroke wondered.
"I'll agree to your terms if my Crimson Jihad accompanies you," she counter offered.
"And I'll accept that demand if Scarlet Rose accepts my being in tactical and strategic command," Deathstroke replied, "Otherwise your sister will get all of us killed."
"We have a bargain then," Crimson Queen conceded, "Now, find someplace unseen to be."
Deathstroke had only been hidden for two minutes when Crimson Jihad brought the Legion petitioners before the Crimson Queen. Scimitar kicked the back of Two-Face's knee and Ramjet and Pylon did the same for Scarecrow and Penguin. Scarlet Rose spotted Deathstroke and quietly approached her sister's throne and alerted her of the potential assassin.
"He is in my employ," Crimson Queen whispered to Scarlet Rose, "He knows the location of El-Fadil. You and the Jihad will accompany him on a rescue mission. His word will be my own and you will all faithfully serve him as you would me."
"Anything to retrieve my nephew," Scarlet Rose promised.
She took her place with the rest of the Crimson Jihad while Crimson Queen addressed the Legion, "Gentlemen, I have reviewed the proposal forwarded me by Brainiac. And I must decline participation in your scheme…for now."
Deathstroke knew that was a shot across his bow. Crimson Queen continued, "My eternal loyalties lie with the Bailyan people. My external politics, though, depend a great deal on outside factors. Certain factors are at play even as we speak. Should they fail to deliver, then by all means, Bailya will side with your forces."
"We have an answer for you now," Two-Face tossed his coin. Scimitar created his psychokinetic sword and caught the coin with the flat of its blade. The clean side presented itself, "You have your time."
"How…gracious of you," Crimson Queen wondered if they had any idea of who or what they were dealing with.
Scarlet Rose remained in the palace with the Crimson Jihad escorted the Legionnaires back to the airport. Deathstroke made his presence known, "Nice attempt at blackmail."
"I spoke the truth, nothing more or less," Crimson Queen assured him.
"So where are we going?" Scarlet Rose inquired.
"To Nepal to a little kingdom known as Nanda Parbat," Deathstroke shared what Nyssa had revealed to him.
Crimson Queen's eyes widened. So that explained Talia al Ghul's overture of peace when she'd assumed control over the League of Shadows. It was a lie of omission Talia would now regret.
Cinder, Horus and Tattooed Man quickly defeated Killer Croc and Mad Hatter but Tala and Bronze Tiger vanished. And moments later the trio found themselves surrounded on all sides by Bronze Tiger and Tala joined by the Injustice Society. The Wizard, Icicle, Tigress, Solomon Grundy, Shiv, Ragdoll, Gentleman Ghost, Shade, Rival, Geo-Mancer, and Killer Wasp looked ready to level the very forest they stood in order to kill the Titans.
"It seems we have unwanted interlopers to deal with," Wizard announced.
"Great Darkseid is busy at this time," Steppenwolf announced to Grodd and Merlyn, "What petitions do you bring before the Dark Lord?"
"We request the Female Furies be reinstated to Earth," Grodd explained.
"Can't you people ever conquer your own planet?" Steppenwolf asked wearily.
"There are questions of loyalty that need to be answered about the Female Furies and about Luthor," Grodd pointed out, "Luthor has plans to interfere in the current campaign to secure Earth Prime for Darkseid. The Female Furies could insure his loyalties remain pure. And he wouldn't be able to refuse their presence because they would be sent for his own 'protection'. To refuse them would be to admit treason."
"The Furies will be sent," Steppenwolf announced, "That is all."
"Our thanks," Grodd bowed.
As they reentered the boom tube, Merlyn had to wonder, "Why was I even here?"
"To kill me in case they handed me over to Desaad," Grodd confessed.
"Hell-o, lover," Santana leered at Ultra-Humanite as approached from her African camp. She reached under his metal plating that served as an open loincloth, "Still all hard and nasty when you see me?"
She grinned, "Why yes, you are. How nice."
"We need your help, Santana," Ultra-Humanite could see Dr. Sivana's mind rolling around scenario's where he could force Santana to have sex with him.
"Who's 'we' beside your nasty minded company?" Santana purred.
"The Legion of Doom among others," Ultra-Humanite shared, "Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind are only two of my associates."
"And how's Rachel?" Santana smirked, "Are you two exclusive or is there wiggle room for me to ride Mr. Big Happy a dozen times or more before we talk business?"
"I'm as free as you are," Ultra-Humanite assured her.
"Boys, make our guests comfortable," Santana ordered her devotees as she led Ultra-Humanite off to her private tent.
She left them with a mutated humanoid rhino with an implanted human mind. The same was true of the lion and the badger with him. The badger served as Santana's aide decamps.
He snapped his fingers, "Follow me."
"Any chance of any carnal recreation?" Sivana questioned the badger.
"The local villages have women who come to us every night to be pleasured by our troupe," the badger explained, "Those who haven't been chosen by Mistress Santana can cavort with the women. So many arrive that we can't possibly attend to all of their needs. So chances are good they'll even settle for a human."
The badger peered at Sivana's shoulder, "I'm doubtful regarding your worm friend's chances though."
"I'm a caterpillar," Mr. Mind's vocoder voice grated.
"Well then, that changes things. I'll have some of the elephants bring bundles of local tree branches. They should sate your more obvious appetite," the badger promised.
"Sounds delightful," Mr. Mind suddenly had visions of unlimited foliage.