37
Jake Elliott pulled into the parking lot servicing the public areas of the Rainier family estate. He was within running distance of the museum. Cluemaster, Dennis Quatrain, and Alan Davis were the first out to pop the rear hatch and gather their gear. Alan had surveyed the building's plans and determined the front doors allowed the easiest entrance and exit.
Dennis had his equipment prepared to utilize the security card reader to hijack the system and the video surveillance. Cluemaster knew the actual display case was guarded by an interlocking mechanism that could be disabled by inputting a security code devised by the king himself.
While Cluemaster watched the clock, he signaled his men, "The guards have made their sweep. We have fifteen minutes until another patrol reaches us."
Libra had exited the Range Rover's passenger side and retrieved his staff-like Energy Transmogrifier. He took up position at the entrance. Cluemaster turned to him.
"Are you sure you're ready for this encounter?" Cluemaster asked.
"I've been prepping for this for the last year," Libra breezily assured him.
"These two women aren't Starling City cops. One is a member of the Justice League and the other is my brat daughter. But don't underestimate her. She's the biggest damn pain in the ass I've ever had to deal with," Cluemaster warned him.
"Maybe you're too close to the situation," Libra remarked, "Capt. Lance and his Major Crimes Unit are getting soft now that I've beaten them so many times. It's time for a fresh horizon where I can prove myself."
"Good luck then," Cluemaster entered the museum with his cohorts.
From the rooftop, Catwoman radioed Batwoman, "They're in."
"Copy that. Bat Glider prepped and ready. Spoiler and I are heading in to the target now," Batwoman called back.
"Now we get to see what's in the man's pocket," Catwoman sounded gleeful.
"`Bout damn time," Catgirl was all repressed nervous energy right now.
Catwoman heard Kitrina Falcone's anger and realized that while Selina Kyle had made her way from being a prostitute to a socialite-jewel thief she'd never championed her "noble" causes the way Catgirl did. Catgirl was flat out obsessed with righting her family's wrongs in a way that inflicted punishment upon them and their peers and made Catgirl a healthy bit of coin besides. Catwoman thought she overdid it on the former and respected the latter.
"Hold tight until I swoop in over the parking lot like we discussed," Batwoman pleaded with Spoiler.
"Just get me close. I'll do the rest," Spoiler promised her.
Batwoman had an easy guidance chore as she aimed at the only vehicle in the parking area. She swept low and Spoiler bailed off and rolled to a halt next to the Range Rover. She extended her collapsible batons and rapped on Jake's window. Jake had been busy trying to track Batwoman's glider.
"Open up, dumb ass," Spoiler insisted.
Jake fumbled with a pistol tucked in the front his pants. Spoiler could see it was one of the newer models with a trigger safety and no external safely block. And Jake had his finger firmly on the trigger.
"Seriously dude, you're gonna blow your dick off," Spoiler warned him.
Jake yanked it and it cleared out of his hands. Hitting the passenger floorboard, the knockoff model discharged. The bullet hit Jake in his calf. Fortunately for him it was a clean entry and exit wound. Spoiler could see the dent in the side of the SUV.
"Are you done yet?" Spoiler was absolutely incredulous. Where had her dad dredged this guy up? The Road & Track issue of Soldier of Fortune?
Spoiler gave Jake up as a lost cause and went to help Batwoman now that she'd engaged the mysterious Libra. Spoiler had generally known her adversaries in the past. She'd grown up around them. Something she shared with Rocki's friend, the other Batwoman. Kathy Duquesne had been on the gift list of half of Gotham's notorious. Cluemaster had never commanded the respect that Carlton Duquesne had but even Cluemaster knew enough to hire his muscle from Duquesne.
But Kathy had shut that side of the business down as she renovated Duquesne Security into a legitimate specialized security for hire force. Half the workforce had even gone straight to stay with the company and its new vision. But Carlton would never have seen the light of legitimacy while in prison if Kathy and Rocki hadn't joined with Sonia Alcona in becoming Batwoman. Sonia was dead and Kathy was a full time member of the Justice League of America. Rocki said she would only be a part-timer but Spoiler had a feeling that wouldn't be true.
Batwoman nearly grazed Libra with her Bat Glider twice before he employed his Energy Transmogrifier. It absorbed half the electrical output being supplied to the building. And then he unleashed part of it at Batwoman. The insulation she'd insisted the trio put into their Batwoman suits saved Rocki's life. But her Bat Glider was a certain fatality.
Batwoman managed to steer the stricken glider towards Libra before she abandoned it. He belatedly realized it was coming right at him. He evaded it and it crashed, skidding into the museum's outer wall. Batwoman took aim with her smart metal batarang and threw it.
It struck Libra in the chest and the transformed into a straight jacket. Libra seemed amused, "Smart metal? Not many in that field. Even fewer women. Give or take a guess I'd have to say you aren't Dr. Noel Fielding. I doubt that dowager could tuck and roll that easily. So that leaves Rocki Ballantine. How are you doing, Dr. Namesake?"
"What I miss?" Spoiler asked as she joined Batwoman.
"Let's see here…" Libra applied a specialized electrical current to the restraint and it reverted back into being a batarang, "You really should vary your electrical stimuli inputs once in a while, Rocki."
"Why does he know who you are?" Spoiler dreaded the answer even as she asked it.
"I really don't know," Batwoman admitted, "Did you scare the driver."
"Idiot shot himself," Spoiler told her, "It's not a stretch to imagine he soiled himself in the process."
"Oh good," Batwoman said flippantly.
"Ladies, I believe you were dealing with me now," Libra chided them.
"Egotistical much?" Spoiler shot back at him.
"You won't think so in a minute," Libra promised.
"Well, isn't he an annoying piss ant?" Spoiler wondered.
"I think we really have no idea yet," Batwoman warned her.
Inside the museum, Cluemaster, Dennis, and Alan tasered the guards they came across. With Dennis' mastery of the security system, they remained undetected and were aware of the guards' patrol movements. Using the guards' own zip ties, they bound them. Fortunately for Cluemaster, only one guard was ever armed during the watch. The others relied upon stun guns.
Finally, they reached the desired crystal. All three men eyed it with a new perception despite the actual dimmed light. It wasn't an elusive prize anymore. It was an actual capture.
"It's even more beautiful knowing it's going to be all mine," Cluemaster whispered.
"At least until you give it away," Alan remarked, "I'm glad I got paid up front but I will enjoy the completion bonus."
"This last security lock is all yours," Dennis told Cluemaster, "You said you'd deduced the king's code."
"Easy, it's Grace Kelly's birthday," Cluemaster entered in the dates and the case unlocked. Dennis lifted the bulletproof glass shield. He handed the crystal to Alan.
"You can play bagman, Mr. I Got Paid Up Front," Dennis slid the crystal into Alan's duffel bag.
"Jeez, this thing's heavy," Alan complained.
"Pussy," Dennis snorted.
"Gentlemen, if we can finish measuring who's is what, can we get going?" Cluemaster asked, "That power drain earlier had to be our good friend Libra fighting Spoiler and Batwoman."
"Are you really going to let him off your kid?" Dennis asked.
"Stephanie chose her side," Cluemaster growled.
"Still, it's cold, man," Dennis remarked.
"Cold enough to get me into the Legion of Doom?" Cluemaster inquired.
"Yeah, that," Dennis conceded. He recalled Arthur Brown had been a popular game show host at one time on a game show he'd developed. So when the show lost popularity, Cluemaster had lost his investment as producer and like Edward Nygma, his career as a game developer was killed. Which afterwards, the networks largely avoided game shows anymore anyway. And even dedicated game show networks kicked Arthur Brown to the curb. It had taken an obsessive personality to develop the Cluemaster persona.
The trio exited the museum out the front doors as planned to find Libra engaged in a battle against Batwoman and Spoiler. Just as predicted. Cluemaster was livid.
"Damn that girl! She doesn't have the god given sense to stay out of my way!" he fomented.
"I really think she's the last of your problems right now, Arthur," Catwoman leapt off of the roof and landed in a crouch before kicking Dennis' legs out from underneath him.
Cluemaster finally drew the gun he'd held in reserve. But Catgirl came in at a flying kick from the roof, "Puh-lease! Go back to your day job."
"Why you little…" Cluemaster began to say.
He never finished because Catgirl's jump kick connected with his jaw like an uppercut. Cluemaster's head snapped back and he staggered. Catgirl applied the heel of her hand to Cluemaster's masked nose. It squished like a soggy mess.
Catgirl could see the blood staining his mask, "Whoops! I did it again."
"Gah! Not Britney Spears you little…" Cluemaster raged.
"Be nice," Catgirl chided him, "I'm impressionable."
Catwoman let Alan run straight towards the SUV as planned. But she softened Dennis up with some karate before feigning like he'd escape through his wits. Catgirl saw Alan and Dennis run away and she pretended to be have pulled a muscle to urge Cluemaster to give it up and run away as well. She thought he was going to be stupid enough to try and fight her but he wised up and retreated.
Libra spared enough attention to actualize Catwoman and Catgirl's hesitation by making them dodge electrical bolts. Then he returned his attention to fending off Batwoman and Spoiler. Finally Cluemaster called out to him.
"Libra, we are leaving!" he informed Libra.
Libra planted the Energy Transmogrifier in the ground and volleyed a few electrical waves at the surrounding JLers. While they did the duck and cover, he broke and ran. He expended the last of the energy he'd absorbed in a few final shots before hopping into the SUV.
The last thing the JLers heard from the "master criminals" was Jake yelling, "Get that thing outta my face!"
After the Range Rover had squealed out of the parking lot, the INTERPOL representatives ARGUS had been working with came out of hiding from elsewhere on the palace grounds. The INTERPOL Chief Inspector in charge of the operation asked, "Madame Kyle, you are certain these men have booked a charter flight out of Monaco?"
"That's our information, Chief Inspector Rousard," Catwoman assured him.
"And you previously secured the real crystal?" Rousard felt compelled to ask.
"It's in the security office's supply closet as agreed," Catwoman felt slightly insulted.
"Just how did you accomplish that?" Rousard had to ask.
"The tours are conducted in fifteen minute intervals and the cameras are notoriously unrealiable during peak viewing hours," Catwoman explained, "Two things which can be exploited. My protégé here did the actual swap."
Catgirl looked as proud as she deserved to. The fact a teenage girl did the work unnerved Rousard, "Yes well, the royal family, INTERPOL, and the local police will make the necessary laments and declarations of outrage before the crystal 'mysteriously' reappears and is put back in display in…let's say two weeks?"
"That should be plenty of time, Inspector Rousard," Catwoman assured him, "This was fun. It reminded me of the good old bad days."
"Pardon me, and the rest of INTERPOL, for preferring the new good days," Rousard quipped.
"And so do most collectors, legal and illegal," Catwoman graced him with a languid smile.
"As per our agreement with ARGUS, you four were never seen in Monaco," Rousard promised, "I must confess I was surprised to learn of Catwoman's continued association with a Justice League."
"Try to keep it under your hat," Catwoman requested, "Because that's the idea. Now if you'll excuse us, we have one last day as civilians to spend in Monte Carlo. And with the pressure off, we mean to make the most of it."
"Who am I to deprive such valiant beauties of the wonder of my country?" Rousard smiled.
Batwoman had spent her time arranging for the International Security Agency to collect her glider and teleport it back to the Hall of Justice. Then the quartette barely squeezed in Selina Kyle's rented Porsche Spyder. A fact which Rocki had a comment for.
"Have you ever driven a practical car?" she irritably wanted to know.
"Tut tut, such an attitude. And you being an up and coming entrepreneur," Selina chided her, "Relax. Live a little. Maybe we'll even get you laid."
"No!" Rocki blurted in a strident tone, "I mean…maybe some other time."
Selina and Kitrina exchanged curious glances. Selina thought it might be time to look into Rocki's background a little more thoroughly.
Wonder Woman confronted Steve Trevor regarding the JLA's command hierarchy, "Why should I follow you into battle, Colonel?"
"Besides the little thing called a chain of command it's because I have more combat and special operations experience than any member of the team," Trevor told her, "And as such I was designated the JLA's field commander. I'm sure Director Waller probably showed you my service record so that means you're real issue here is you don't want to take orders from a man, correct?"
"Yes," Artemis was a little surprised Trevor had the insight to realize that, "In my home of Bana-Maghdad, we weren't graced by the goddesses with immortality. We incorporated man folk in our Amazonian colony. They made useful servants and breeding stock. Yet we still had to continually put down their petty uprisings begun over imagined slights."
"I get the impression those slights weren't so imagined," Trevor remarked.
"Of course you'd say that. You're just another man," Artemis practically spat at Trevor, "You have hardly proven your worth to me, Colonel."
"Follow me and we can settle that," Trevor offered. He led her to one of the sub-basement training arenas. Inside, Question and Huntress sparred and Katana fended off both Ri and Darknight in a full contact weapons exercise.
"Here we are," Trevor told her, "If you'd just step into the center octagon."
"What is this place?" Artemis wondered.
"One of our training facilities. This one is designed to facilitate handheld weapons training and hand to hand combat exercises," Trevor explained. He called everyone over to witness the planned bout between Trevor and Artemis.
"The rule is simple," Trevor stated, "If you can strike my face with any kind of blow, I step down as field commander and you can appoint whomever you wish to take my place. Including yourself."
Artemis adopted a ready stance and Trevor asked her, "Are you ready?"
Artemis thought the man must be addled. She was obviously ready and he just stood there smiling at her like some idiot. She realized this so-called bout would be over before it ever began.
"Whenever you are," Wonder Woman gave him one last chance to prepare himself for a fight.
"Go for it," Trevor said without changing a thing. Wonder Woman decided he deserved whatever he received.
Artemis exploded into action but try as she might she couldn't land a blow on Trevor's face. So she attempted body shots to distract his defense but he blocked, evaded, or redirected each of those blows as well. And then he began throwing her all across the ring.
Artemis grew more and more frustrated as the perceived slights and indignities mounted. She grew increasingly aggressive and even more reckless. Then Trevor began slapping her rather than striking a truly effective blow as though he were mocking her.
The newly christened Wonder Woman used every technique and skill that had earned her the title of Champion of the Gods and still Trevor toyed with her. Suddenly, he plucked the Lasso of Truth off of her belt. It was the only weapon she hadn't set aside before entering the octagon. He roped her and cinched the lasso tight, knowing it was unbreakable.
"Release me!" she demanded.
"No," Trevor said simply, as calmly as he had stated the rules at the outset of the contest, "I guess I'm staying at the top of the food chain."
He climbed out of the ring and exited the training room. Artemis turned to Question and Huntress, "You! Faceless one, release me at once."
"I'd rather not," the Question replied and he and Huntress began to exit as well.
"Sister, can you truly abandon me?" Artemis pleaded.
"Watch me," Huntress snorted.
"You! Fellow sister! Release me at once!" Artemis roared at Ri.
"I think not," she politely replied. Darknight escorted her out.
That left Katana. Artemis could tell she was as much a warrior as Wonder Woman herself, "Don't leave me here."
"A modicum of courtesy and respect would further your cause," Katana stepped out.
Artemis angrily struggled with her bonds. Huffing a massive sigh she got out of the ring by flying over the ropes and headed out the door. Out in the corridor, Trevor and Katana waited for her.
"Ready to play nice now?" Trevor calmly and collectedly inquired.
"I…I concede, Colonel. You certainly deserve the right to lead this team," Wonder Woman allowed, "I will willingly serve under your leadership."
"I don't want you to serve anything but your own conscience. But I would like you to work with me under my leadership," Trevor amended for her.
"I can agree to those terms," Artemis relaxed.
"I'm betting you'd prefer I didn't touch you more than I have to so Katana here will untie you," Trevor surprised her again, "Meet everyone in the briefing theater in twenty minutes."
Katana loosened the lasso and Artemis pulled it over her head, "Are all men like that?"
"Not in my experience," Katana admitted, "But a rarified few are."
"What an interesting world I've entered," Artemis mused as she returned to the training room to collect her personal weapons.
Katana wondered just what it was between men named Steve Trevor and Wonder Women.
Black Adam stood on a rise and gestured across the sweeping terrain of Kahndaq, "This is my ancient homeland. As a boy, the Pharaohs liberated my country from nomadic invaders. After the wizard chose me as his champion, I served Khufu as he ruled over the Upper and Lower Nile countries, the Sinai Peninsula, the Negev Desert, and my own beloved Kahndaq. When Khufu fell I ruled over the lands until the Wizard entombed me."
"And my family descends from Kahndaq," Isis told Black Mary, "A fact my brother, Ahmud, constantly reminded me as Adrianna Tomaz when I became an Egyptologist. He wanted me to study our ancient homeland to which I would remind him didn't exist anymore."
"So…you're planning on taking over the country," Mary wasn't certain she'd understood Black Adam.
"Yes, those that carved out and reforged the country anew have sunken into wallowing over the scraps of their prize. Infighting has begun. Libya mounts forces to retake the land and Egypt covets it from the halls of Cairo. In order to secure Kahndaq's future, we must secure it," Black Adam proclaimed, "It is the destiny of the Black Marvel Family to preserve this kingdom. It is your destiny now as well, Black Mary. Can you not hear the gods speaking within you to hold these lands at all costs?"
Mary could. That was the problem. Isis had explained that the Egyptian pantheon had enjoyed unrivaled worship and adoration within Kahndaq. Perhaps even more so than in neighboring Egypt. Mary instinctively knew the gods had plans for this tiny nation. Plans that would make it a rival for any national power. The question was, did she owe the gods her allegiance?
"I'm in," Mary finally decided after much debate and inner struggle.
"Excellent, child. We shall being our campaign at first light tomorrow," Black Adam decided.
"What about Osiris?" Mary asked. Black Adam and Isis had conceived the child in their Black Marvel forms and the Egyptian gods had endowed Osiris with unspeakable power. He had no mortal form. Mary had a feeling Osiris was intricately linked to Kahndaq's future.
What she and the other Marvels didn't realize, but Shazam and the Question did, Osiris was the fulfillment of the single conspiracy lacing history to conceive Osiris as the ultimate expression of divine Egyptian power. But how that power would be expressed was anyone guess, even his own parents.
Several of the allied groups gathered in the Hall of Justice's briefing theater. The resident Justice League of America, the liberated Justice League Unlimited members, The free members of the Justice League International and Killer Frost, the select members of the Justice League Dark, in addition to the newly reunited JSA All Stars, the newly returned Teen Titans, the slightly subdued Injusticers, and the Titans though they were down one man as Arsenal was being fitted with an advanced cybernetic prostheses.
Batman had returned so he led the briefing. Trevor and Sue Dibney had brought him up to speed over the course of the last four hours. Nightwing had broached the Court of Owls situation with Batman, assuring him that neither Lincoln March nor the Owls had put together the fact Batman and Bruce Wayne were actually the same person. Instead they chose to believe the fiction Bruce Wayne simply funded Batman.
The GCPD had raided dozens of Owl locations. Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon had called Dick Grayson to inform him of what they'd found. Most of the locations weren't even listed in the archive the JLA had found a month ago. But no Owls had been located. But a cadre of mercenaries with domestic and international arrest warrants had been captured.
Spyral Director Katherine Webb-Kane had issued a standing arrest warrant for Helena Wayne. Someone within the agency had tipped the former Matron regarding the warrant and Helena had gone to ground, disappearing with the rest of the Owls. Batman had urged Talon to track down Lincoln March and his daughter and to hand them to Spyral.
Batman called the meeting to order. He began asking Goldilocks how the Court of Owls served the Legion's interests in her future. Before she could answer, she abruptly winked out of existence. Shining Knight exploded onto his feet.
"What hast happened here?" he wanted to know, "What devilry is this?"
Nyssa Raatko noticed Kalea-El looking her way. When Nyssa made eye contact, Kalea simply nodded once. And Nyssa knew her privately expressed theory to Kalea had just come true.
"She's gone," Nyssa simply announced.
"We can see that," Wildcat grated.
"You don't understand, she never existed," Nyssa told everyone, "It's the resolution of a time paradox. The future Goldilocks was a product of a definitive past. That past is no longer our future so she ceased to exist."
"It's simplistic temporal mechanics," Kalea vouched for Nyssa.
"But why now?" Nightwing wondered.
"The Legion operated in Hong Kong last night, mid-afternoon Hong Kong local time," Batman told everyone.
"Best guess would be they abducted Goldilocks for unknown reasons and that has shifted future events in a catastrophic way," Nyssa ventured.
"But why grab the now Goldilocks when it was the future Goldilocks helping us?" Speedy wanted to know.
"That's a question we need to answer," Batman decided, "Presumably, the Legion didn't even know about the future Goldilocks being in our time frame. So what use is it to capture our present Goldilocks? What is her strategic value?"
"And there will be a set value," Deathstroke assured everyone, "This trio doesn't operate out of economic concerns like our contemporary Legion of Doom. They're in it to create a kingdom that will stretch over a thousand years so they can inherit it. I can only assume they have much larger plans for it after they take possession."
"Very Hitler," Flash commented.
Both Green Lantern and Shayera Hol were just glad Wally West was beside them again. But his whole countenance was much grimmer and he tried hiding the tremors in his hands. John Stewart still wanted Nightshade's head on a platter but Shayera had reminded him, it was Nightshade that had argued for Flash's release and Batman and Col. Trevor had wanted her prisoners detained indefinitely.
Shayera had noted that the other Flash, Jay Garrick, had noticed Wally's infirmity and tried cheering him out of it. And Trajectory's idol worship couldn't have hurt Flash's ego either. Jay and Jesse Quick had certainly benefited from it as well.
"Any progress in tracking the Legion down?" Batman asked White Rabbit directly.
"My usual criminal sources have dried up. No one wants to get on their bad side," White Rabbit shared, "No one has a clue as to where the Legion and two Justice Leagues are holed up. Which I find hard to believe. Maybe if we could locate Luthor we could find out how to find the Legion as well."
"Maybe you approaching it from the wrong angle," Trajectory blurted. She was embarrassed as everyone eyeballed her, "I mean, Luthor derives his cash flow from stocks dividends and other investments. He is still the single largest shareholder in LexCorp. But LexCorp has myriad holdings. Besides wholly owned subsidiaries and affiliates, LexCorp financed buying up companies under Luthor's CEO days and setting them up as functional, operating shell companies financially tied to LexCorp but operating independently. Who says Luthor or the Legion aren't operating out of one of those?"
"Mercy Graves vouched for everything in LexCorp's' books," John Stewart said sternly.
"Those are a lot of books and she can't read them herself," Trajectory reminded him, "So who's to say whoever is doing the reading isn't drawing two salaries? One from LexCorp and one from Luthor himself."
"Good thinking," Batman offered rare praise, "We'll send a team to LexCorp."
"Basilisk defended the Hall of Doom beside the Owls and Majestic," Nightwing pointed out.
"I'll take Regulus," Deathstroke determined.
"You'll need help," Batman countered, "Nyssa, are your Injusticers up for it?"
"We will be," she confidently answered.
"Remember, their entire goal in life is to counter and capture meta-humans," Batman warned them.
"Then it's a good thing our two teams have hardly any metas," Deathstroke retorted.
"Majestic may or may not know anything," Power Girl advised Batman.
"Would he even talk to you?" he wondered.
"Nope, he'd probably piddle and head out to sea," Power Girl replied.
"Captain Marvel and Junior, you're questioning Majestic," Batman told them.
"Has there been any word from Mary, or Black Adam, or Isis?" Captain Marvel asked.
Horus bristled at the mention of his sister's name. Batman offered some news, "Tawky Tawny is watching Osiris for an indefinite period of time. But Black Adam estimated that it shouldn't be more that a three day period."
Batman refocused, "JLA, you have two tasks. Nightwing and Col. Trevor you will divide your Justice League and create two teams. Nightwing, you'll head up the LexCorp investigation. Col. Trevor, you'll find and retrieve Azrael."
"I request that the JLD come along as well since the Wizard is involved," Trevor admitted.
"Hot damn! We're up," Enchantress enthused.
"All Stars and Teen Titans, you'll stand by at your facilities and await instructions. JLU members, you'll stand by here at the Hall of Justice with me."
"And us?" Vapor asked on behalf of the JLI.
"I have a special task in mind for you," Batman promised her, "And for you, Kalea."
"I should hope so," Kalea quipped.
The Titans and the Injusticers were teleported to the US Marine amphibious assault ship USS Wasp offshore southern Mexico nearing territorial waters. Basilisk had protected its encampment with disruptors and scramblers that would turn a teleport rider inside out. So more conventional means were being utilized to insert agents into Basilisk's camp.
The United States had quickly and quietly informed Mexico of the threat in their southern jungles. And the US had announced their intervention plans without bothering to seek permissions first. The move would set US-Mexican foreign relations back twenty years but it insured the strike could get underway before a leak informed Basilisk of what was coming.
The Marines deployed all six AV-8B Harrier II's to soften the compound's defenses before the tilt rotors and helicopters arrived. The four MV-22 Osprey tilt rotors would arrive ahead of the transport helicopters and gunships. They would engage ground targets before the sole aircraft bearing passengers engaged in a touch and go to deploy personnel. Four CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy transport helicopters and four venerable UH-1N Hueys arrived to disembark Titans and Injusticers. The Hueys dated back to the Vietnam conflict. Riding escort were four AH-1W Sea Cobras also dating back to the Vietnam era.
The Titans filled one Sea Stallion with Horus flying alongside. The Injustice League occupied two more Sea Stallions. The Injustice Rogues had somehow managed to squeeze Girder into a Huey while the other Rogues flew in a second one. The Injustice Titans alone rode in an Osprey.
The Harriers expended all of the air to surface missiles, including Hellfire antitank busters, and emptied their guns before returning to the ship. On their way out they double clicked their mikes to wish the transports luck. The Sea Cobras pushed ahead and attacked anything moving or shooting while three of the Ospreys used their own support weapons to lay down cover fire while the Injustice Titans disembarked.
The three Sea Stallions did touch and goes as well emptying their holds of the Titans and Injustice League while the fourth transport used its guns to lay down a barrage. The Hueys came in. The one carrying Girder groaned under his weight as he hopped out. The rest of the Injustice Rogues began joining the push to breach the encampment.
The Wasp's CO recalled the aircraft and the Titans and Injusticers were finally on their own. Which they preferred. The ship's captain had received word from General Wade Eiling. Eiling was a four star in command of the military's meta-human response and research divisions. Directly under Eiling, General Sam Lane represented the meta-human special operations forces.
Their projects were off any books, especially those Amanda Waller could access. Eiling and Waller had a cordial working relationship when they directed the JLU. But the JLA was entirely Waller's brainchild. And ARGUS had created it and given her sole control over it, excluding the military option. Which Eiling found detestable. So Lane became his salvation.
Sam Lane had lost his daughter, Lois, to Doomsday. His remaining daughter, Lucy, was a Major in the Air Force Security Police. Lucy had served with distinction in combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan before women were officially designated combat soldiers. Most of Lucy activities had fallen under SPECOM's bailiwick since they were the umbrella command of the United States Special Forces.
So Sam Lane saw an opportunity when he recruited Lucy for a special black on black project. A project that could only be helped by maximizing the casualties of groups like the Titans and the Injusticers. So Lane had pitched it to Eiling and Eiling had intervened on Lane's behalf. But because ARGUS had the ear of POTUS regarding Basilisk's ongoing threat, the mission had to get underway. Which even Lane wished them luck, if a horribly bloody and costly kind of luck.
Major Disaster shook the foundations of the camp with a massive earthquake. Structures toppled and walls broke and collapsed. Horus, Big Sir, and Girder led the charge into the central compound. Inertia scouted ahead at super speed while Lady Flash was requested to hold back. Ivanka Christina Borodin Molotova was less than happy about that.
Cheshire, Tattooed Man, Gunslinger, joined White Canary, Dark Archer, and White Lighting in shoring up the flanks against conventional troops and armored units. White Lightning ordered a group of Basilisk foot soldiers to execute their female companions before ordering them to commit suicide.
Aresia was less than pleased, "It is contemptible to treat sisters that way."
"You'd rather they shoot at you?" White Lightning drolly asked.
"Those women would have fought us until they were dead or dying," Nyssa advised Aresia.
"I…see your point," Aresia conceded.
Nyssa knew returning to Themiscyra had dredged up seasons of doubt within the young exiled Amazon adoptee. And the fact the newly chosen Wonder Woman had chosen to accept Aresia rather than reject her offered hope of reconciliation with the Amazons. A hope Nyssa had to squelch.
Blacksmith transmuted twenty troopers into organic steel and had them fighting armored response units. Silver Sorceress was weaving paralysis spells and snaring dozens of armed fighters at a time. Blue Jay was overhead calling in troop positions and movements. Murmur killed those ensorcelled.
Sun Girl projected massive solar flares to overwhelm the combat systems of armored fighters. Enigma used Blue Jay's telemetry to serve up ambushes using stolen weaponry. Inertia herded unsuspecting Basilisk troops into Sun Girl's fiery clutches. Joker's Daughter crushed soldier's skulls with her new affection of an oversized mallet. Nyssa worried about Duela Dent. Something within her had broken over the last three days. If the damage couldn't be curtailed, Nyssa would have to cut her loose or kill her outright.
Magenta shredded vehicles and armor and used the shards to perforate the wearers or drivers. As such she was the furthest Injusticer in a forward position when Deathstroke led the final push. Behind him, Cinder and Horus came with him from the Titans. Nyssa led David Cain, Lady Flash, Major Disaster, Big Sir, Girder, and Aresia to Regulus' position.
"It's been a while, Slade," Regulus had to admit.
"It has been, Dean. And I didn't think this would ever be a necessary house call," Deathstroke allowed, "All I'm after is some information."
"You have a funny way of asking," Regulus pointed out.
"I had to make certain you'd pay attention when I got around to asking," Deathstroke said coolly.
"Well then, you can take your questions and go to hell," Regulus declared.
Deathstroke drew his sword, "I'll make this quick for old times' sake."
Deathstroke ran forward and flipped over the top of Regulus' armored form. As he went over and landed behind him, Deathstroke severed power connections, "What? Getting slow?"
"Who thinks they have it in them to take me out," the statuesque redheaded Knockout asked.
"Bah! You are only a woman," Horus derided the stranger.
"You just became my new obsession," Knockout barely warned him before her accelerated right cross nearly knocked his teeth out, "That all you got? C'mon! Show me what a man you really are."
Horus leapt to his feet and straight…into her fist. He found himself flat on his back. And when he rolled onto his hands and knees, blood dripped from his nose. Horus had to physically wipe onto his hand before he'd believe it was his.
"Im…impossible," he stammered.
Aresia came at Knockout next. Her first punch knocked Knockout through a wall. She came up grinning.
"All right! That's more like it. And of course, you're a woman," Knockout enthused.
"You are one strange sister," Aresia commented as she attempted a round kick.
Aresia was blocked so she switched through several blows in various attempts as taught to her by the Amazons' war masters. Knockout had a counter to every move.
"Oh, you're good. But not as good as me," Knockout announced before flattening Aresia with a single punch.
Horus slammed into Knockout from behind, "Now we settle this."
"Yeah, let's," Knockout wore a manic grin.
Cinder unleashed a wave of plasma fire at Lightweaver. He manipulated light the way an emotional spectrum power ring created constructs. So he erected a wall between himself and Cinder. But she blazed away all the more intensely and Lightweaver felt the heat stretching forth through his construct. Nearby stone and mortar walls began to glow red and shift to white hot.
"Me help!" Big Sir offered from Lightweaver's other side.
Lightweaver got a wall up but Big Sir was impossibly strong. And he kept pounding away at the wall. The strain was already tearing Lightweaver's head apart. But if he dropped either wall, it was probably likely that he would get hurt.
Crosscut created and unleashed energy saws at Lady Flash. She simply darted out of their way. Only to have them alter course and come at her again. Lady Flash began running evasive patterns but Crosscut was filling the space with more and more saws. But she could detour several at a time by rushing in at Crosscut. Soon he had a wall up between them. So she had to start coming at him from different directions.
The woman known as Intersek studied the skirmishes. She knew Regulus would be impossible to deal with if she intervened on his behalf. Knockout was a total stranger but she would be ill tempered and from what Intersek could deduce, her ability didn't work on her anyway.
Intersek saw Lady Flash was beginning to get the better of Crosscut, so she moved to intercept. But Major Disaster cut her off, "Um…I love the pink hair but I really can't let you screw with Lady Flash."
"Trust me, screwing was the last thing on my mind," Intersek promised him, "But really, Major. What would you do about it if it weren't?"
"Um…something bad?" Major Disaster ventured.
Intersek pitied him because his heart wasn't in his cause. First she disconnected the part of his brain that controlled his powers from his abilities themselves. Then she short circuited his brain at a fundamental level. He collapsed and lay twitching.
"Sorry, Major. Maybe on a better day," Intersek offered.
Next Intersek shut down Cinder because she perceived Lightweaver to be in greater peril. Oddly, she couldn't shut Big Sir's brain off. It was like it already was, "Contain him!"
Intersek watched as Lightweaver placed Big Sir in a cube. The enormous man spotted Major Disaster and began to cry, "Major Man! Wah!"
"Of all of the…" Intersek was stunned into disbelief.
Lady Flash connected with Crosscut with a clothesline. Then she looked to go after Lightweaver. Intersek reached into her mind and shut Christina down.
"Such a broken spirit," Intersek said softly.
"Let me end them!" Crosscut snarled at her foes.
"Regulus wants a chance to recruit them first. After he fails, you'll get your chance," Intersek promised.
"Why do we even care?" Crosscut asked.
"Because of Breakdown's deal with Regulus. We do him this favor today and he gets us to our target later," Intersek reminded him of what he already knew.
"And we need him why?" Lightweaver still held Big Sir's sobbing self.
"Because Regulus has the connections to get us unseen access to the target," Intersek explained…again. Honestly, it was like they were meta-human children.
Breakdown watched with amusement as Girder lumbered up to him and Nyssa nocked an arrow to her bowstring and drew it back. Cain handled a combat knife in each hand. Nothing Breakdown couldn't easily deal with.
"There's no need for hostilities," Breakdown advised them, "But I will defend myself if need be."
"How?" Girder chuckled. Girder's body rusted over and corroded. He was immobilized. Breakdown step away.
Nyssa fired her arrow and reached for another. Her arrowhead flaked away as rust consumed it and the shaft rotted into pulp. Nyssa nodded.
"So the urban myths are true," Nyssa realized, "David, stand down. You can't harm him."
Cain hesitated and his blades corroded away into dust. Nyssa began to explain, "These are the Burners. Anarchists of the first order. Breakdown is their leader. Intersek, Lightweaver, and Crosscut follow him. I don't know the redhead."
"No one knows where Knockout came from but she follows her own path," Breakdown informed her, "Right now her path coincides with ours."
"And where does her path lead?" Nyssa wondered.
"Chaos," Breakdown said with awe.
Deathstroke dismantled Regulus' armor a piece at a time. Every time he disabled a section, Regulus would shuck it but sacrifice speed and power by retaining the fragments of the remaining system. Not that Regulus held any hope against Slade without the armor.
Finally Deathstroke got the tip of his sword in Regulus' throat, "Ready to answer questions now?"
"How can you be certain I won't lie to you?" Regulus asked.
"Because if I even suspect that you have, I'll kill you," Deathstroke promised.
"You're strong," Knockout's fist crashed into Horus' jaw after she'd laid Aresia out on her back again, "And you're fast and tough. But you can't fight. It's like beating up an infant."
Horus angrily came at her again and she smashed his face into the ground, "Do yourself a favor and stay down."
Aresia yanked her off of him and threw her across the yard. Knockout cracked her knuckles, "Okay, I'm game. How do you want to take it this time?"
But Aresia's entire strategy had altered. She deflected Knockout's blows rather than block them. She redirected Knockout's momentum rather than stop her. As Aresia had gathered, Knockout was driven into an impatient frenzy because the woman thrived on conflict.
Knockout grew reckless and Aresia hammered through her feeble defensive posture. Knockout staggered back and rubbed her jaw, "Not bad. I should have seen that coming. But I got angry and sloppy. Point for you. It's your last."
Knockout leapt at Aresia and Aresia flew over her head and then landed so that Knockout's face was driven into the stones embedded in the temple structure.
"Great," Knockout pushed herself up, "You can fly too. Any other secrets you'd like to share?"
"I don't like you," Aresia retorted.
"I think that's an open secret by now," Knockout brushed dirt from her face. Pebbles brushed out of her hair.
"You're too well trained to be an average mortal besides your strength," Aresia deduced, "But I sense you've been hiding until now but the lure of combat has seduced you again."
"Close, but I was stripper this whole time," Knockout wore a beatific smile, "They notice the body and don't care how you got it."
"Not my first guess," Aresia expression screwed itself up.
"I think the battle has ended," Aresia pointed at where Deathstroke and Regulus walked side by side.
"Damn, and I was just starting to rock my jollies," Knockout complained.
"Release them all, Intersek," Breakdown requested.
"So Deathstroke beat him," Intersek frowned.
"You knew he would," Breakdown chided her; "Regulus' worth is in his military intelligence capacities."
Major Disaster, Cinder, and Lady Flash looked very confused. Lightweaver released Big Sir but Major Disaster still had to convince the big lug he was alive, "Major Man! Youse alive!"
"Urk! What did I say about hugging?" Major Disaster barely managed to squeeze out.
"Uh…be very, very gentle?" Big Sir guessed as he released Major Disaster.
"Exactly," Major Disaster panted.
"Lady Flash, please inform the others we need them and that the fighting has concluded," Nyssa instructed.
Lady Flash still looked puzzled as she streaked away. Regulus had already given the 'all clear' signal but there weren't many left standing to receive it. Regulus faced Deathstroke.
"What about the collateral damage, Slade?" Regulus wondered.
"Consider it a live fire exercise. Now you know where your people are deficient. And with Leviathan defunct, you have no shortage of recruits to draw from," Deathstroke reminded him, "Maybe they'll do better if there's a next time if you learn from this."
Nyssa gathered everyone around Girder. The ISA was teleporting them back to the Hall of Justice. Blue flashes accompanied their vanishing. Knockout said her own farewells.
"I've places I need to be and the action just left," she headed out of the temple compound.
"What did Deathstroke learn?" Breakdown asked Regulus.
"Very little. All he was interested in were details concerning the Legion of Doom," Regulus shared, "I didn't know much and he realized that. Nothing about your proposed action was even mentioned."
"So we're a go?" Breakdown wanted a specific answer.
"Just as soon as you finalize your target," Regulus promised the Burners.
The Marvel Family found Majestic holed up at his fort in Upper Mongolia. He was quite agitated by their coming, "Go away. I don't know anything about anything. Just leave."
Captain Marvel could tell that Power Girl had been right. Majestic was prepared to bolt at any second, "No worries. We'll just be leaving then."
He led Junior off and they flew away. Junior had noticed the strange skittishness considering Majestic was powerful enough to fight head on with Superman. Junior had to ask Captain Marvel just what had Power Girl done to Majestic anyway?
The JLA teleported right into the heart of the Indian Creek Campground homing in on Azrael's comm receiver. What they found was the Injustice Society camped all around with the Wizard engrossed in a conversation with Azrael and Sister Lilhy. The Injustice Society was immediately put on the defensive.
"I can't fight Solomon Grundy," Power Girl declared, "I refuse to hurt him."
"If you mean the man-beast, I have him!" Wonder Woman charged Grundy with her shield poised and her sword drawn and ready. Power Girl promised herself she wouldn't rip Artemis in half.
"Ah hell," Trevor grimaced as the Injustice Society reacted.
"Don't you people ever get it?" Tigress raged, "We don't know anything about the Legion. Katana asked every question there could possibly be and we still didn't have any answers for her."
Starling was only packing a handgun this time out, "Nice true confession but all we want to know is why did you kidnap Azrael?"
"Kidnap?" Tigress scoffed, "You've got to be shitting me. He and the Wizard were already here when we returned. And you're high and mighty Azrael has been happily eating our food and enjoying our shelter ever since. No one cared he was around until the woman got here."
Bat-Girl had slipped beside Tigress, "Then you won't mind if they come with us."
"I won't give a damn," Tigress admitted, "Unless they want to stay. Then I'll have a serious problem with you all."
Starling glanced over at Bat-Girl and found her being very reflective. And when Elizabeth Kane was reflecting on something it meant there was far more to it then the obvious. Starling decided to try a new approach.
"Why did you say 'if they choose to stay'?" Starling asked.
"You don't get it, do you?" Tigress almost laughed, "Let me tell you a few things about your 'friend'."
"Please do," Bat-Girl requested.
Although Dinah Drake Lance had been silenced, she was still just as capable a fighter as ever. But it took an entirely new level of skill sets to deal with a being like Ragdoll. His triple jointed body could bend and twist in seemingly impossible ways and he had a lifetime of experience in how to make those capabilities a finely sharpened weapon.
But Black Canary had spent her youth under Ted Grant's tutelage and even Wildcat would admit that Black Canary had surpassed him as a melee fighter. She'd been so good that she'd only been in the military for two years before ARGUS tapped her to be in Team 7. And after Team 7, she'd been a solo operative for a year before the original Justice League Unlimited recruited her.
So her only real question was, without her sonic scream being available to her, what were the best conventional options to stopping Ragdoll?
Icicle launched ice daggers at Speedy. She fired regularly tipped arrows back at him. So he predictably erected an ice wall to stop them. Which is what Speedy had wanted all along.
Mia Deardon set the timers on her explosive arrows and fired two of them into the ice barrier. And right on schedule, to the second, they detonated. The resultant explosion staggered Icicle and would have baffled him as Speedy fired her stunner arrow through the debris cloud to bring him down.
Knowing Dinah was nearby; Mia checked on her and saw the struggle with Ragdoll. Speedy decided to spare her any more effort and tagged Ragdoll with a stunner arrow. Triple joints or not, Ragdoll was as vulnerable to electricity as anyone else.
Black Canary gave her a two fingered salute and Speedy returned it with the bow Oliver Queen had made for her.
Shade enveloped Power Girl in Shadow Realms darkness. But his greatest weapon was neutralized because Power Girl already knew the shadows couldn't hurt her so they had no power against her. So the trick became finding Shade and knocking him out so that the darkness would return to its home dimension.
One of Power Girl's least appreciated abilities was her super hearing. In situations like this, she could whisper and her hearing would act as an echo locator from the sound waves and sounds bouncing back at her. So she found the Shade in short order by tracking his heart beat and respiration before knocking him out with a flick of her finger. And the darkness receded.
"You cannot hurt me, sirrah," Gentleman Ghost bragged to Hawkman.
Hawkman simply thrust his Nth metal sword into Gentleman Ghost's midsection and the sword energized. Gentleman Ghost twitched and convulsed for a minute before collapsing to the ground. Hawkman pulled the sword free.
"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do," Hawkman counseled the unconscious Gentleman Ghost.
Shiv wasn't armored but she revealed all of the blades she could extend were underneath her skin rather than a product of her armor. Which Shiv's scarred skin bled when the blades thrust out of her. It made Donna Troy wonder just what kind of horrific father the Dragon King had been. Despite Shiv's blades, Troia quickly landed two sequential blows to Shiv's head to knock her out with.
Wonder Woman stabbed Solomon Grundy a few times before giving that up. Then she tried hacking off limbs only to have the wounds regenerate and restore themselves. Artemis sheathed her sword and began smashing it into Grundy's face. Finally she tipped him over onto his back with a jump kick to his chest and just kept him from getting back up.
"Yer kiddin' me, right?" Guy Gardner asked Killer Wasp, "Ya really think yer a bug? What a stupid power."
Killer Wasp zapped Guy with his bioelectric sting. Once Guy stopped twitching enough to speak, he declared, "Now yer in fer it, buggy."
Killer Wasp was still laughing about Guy's bowl cut standing on end when Guy encapsulated him. Killer Wasp proved he wasn't immune to his own sting when he stunned himself trying to get at Guy. Now Guy was harshly laughing.
"Better `n a can of Raid, huh bug?" Guy greatly amused himself.
Vibe shook Geo-Mancer so hard the earth mover couldn't focus enough to use his power. Then Vibe pulsed him again to knock him out. Vibe was just happy he hadn't shifted Geo-Mancer into another dimension. He hadn't expected to go out on a JLA mission just an hour after joining the team.
Enchantress, Nightshade, and Black Orchid covered the Wizard from the ground while Silver Swan went high. Enchantress was smirking, "You really want to go there?"
"Not in the least," Wizard admitted, "You're here for Azrael? You might not be after you learn the truth about him."
"What truth?" Nightshade asked.
"If we can avoid fighting, I'll tell you," Wizard offered.
Black Orchid called Silver Swan back down. Wizard began his explanation.
"What's going on here, Azrael?" Trevor asked.
"You wish for me to return with you but you may not wish to when you learn the awful truth. My entire life and reason for being are nothing but a lie," Azrael lamented, "The Order of St. Dumas has not only betrayed me but the entire world."
"You said the Order was created to help enforce justice," Trevor recalled.
"But the Order assumed justice is its sole purview. They define what justice is and how it shall be enforced," Azrael said bitterly, "They are fools following the legacy of a madman with world domination as his sole ambition."
"Is this true?" Trevor asked Sister Lilhy.
"Sadly, yes," Lilhy hung her head in shame, "Azrael was too close to the truth so I was sent to guide…no, deceive…him into killing the Connelly woman when the majority of the Order wants her taken alive to be their prisoner so she can unlock the secrets of time travel so the Order can dominate history."
"What should I do?" Azrael was like a wounded child.
"Find a new cause to believe in," Trevor stated, "And follow it with all of your heart. But this time choose for yourself and don't let anyone else influence you."
"Could…could I return to the Hall of Justice and contemplate there?" Azrael wondered.
"And could I come as well? I can no longer follow the Order when it asks me to betray my own heart and the truth it instinctively knows," Lilhy cast a sidelong wistful glance Azrael's way.
"All right, we'll get you both back. But remember when you choose your paths, you can't even let each other sway you towards a path or cause," Trevor said sternly.
Lilhy looked wounded.
Tigress cast accusatory glares Speedy's way as she revived Icicle. Bat-Girl had to ask Guy the obvious, "What happened to your hair?"
"Nuthin'," Guy grunted.
"You might want to check that," Bat-Girl advised.
"Why do ya care, ya luscious lezbo?" Guy wondered, "Are ya tradin' up ta a real man?"
"Guy, for the last time, I'm not a lesbian. I'm attracted to particular men because of who they are inside. The same goes for women," Bat-Girl explained…again, "And you certainly don't qualify as either."
"`Course I ain't a broad, ya dumb bitch," Guy retorted.
"Just look in that mirror," Bat-Girl urged.
After the JLA cleared the teleporter pads, Guy ducked into a locker room. Bat-Girl and Starling halted most of the team. Suddenly Guy roared.
"What the hell happened ta my hair?" Guy screamed, "An' why didn't none of them sunsabitches tell me nuthin'?"
"Well, you did try," Starling snickered at Bat-Girl.
Nightwing was assigned by Batman as the designated field commander of the JLA team to investigate LexCorp's financial holdings. Mercy Graves assigned them a team of auditors and Elongated Man came along to head up the investigation. Ralph oversaw the general thrust while Question dove headlong into specifics. Nightwing observed when the sound of explosions shattered glass throughout the building.
"That was a boom tube!" Nightwing realized, "Question, you're with me. Ralph, stay on task!"
Before the boom tube sound ripped through the air, General Glory approached Trajectory in the lobby, "I hear you used to work here."
"After LexCorp's Everyman Project activated my gen factor and stabilized it, I trained out an outside facility before returning here to working as part of Infinity, Inc." Trajectory admitted.
"I've never heard of the group," General Glory admitted.
"We only existed for three weeks. Think the Conglomerate team approach but with a single sponsor. We handled quite a few Intergang problems here in Metropolis before we went up against the Legion. And we just weren't good enough. So I got asked to join the JLA and the others were made special security agents in LexCorp plants across the world."
"It seems one of you were good enough after all," General Glory reminded Trajectory of the JLA offering her a position, alone out of any member of Infinity, Inc.
"Word is, you never fought a costume before," Trajectory turned the tables.
"I fought one, if you can count Ambush Bug as a costumed villain," General Glory revealed. "He was a lunatic whose gimmick was tiny teleporter relays disguised as mobile bugs. His suit triggered the teleports and keyed in on targeted relays. He ended robbing a dozen banks, credit unions, and even liquor stores before I caught on to what his game was."
"So how did you stop him?" Trajectory was curious.
"There were two ways of stopping Ambush Bug. You either destroyed all of his bug relays or strip his suit off of him. I did both and left him in a bank vault. The morning employees were quite surprised to find a naked man in their vault," General Glory smirked at the memory, "Ambush Bug never gave up his real name and no one had records on him. He admitted to the previous thefts but couldn't seem to remember where the stolen cash was. It was like it was just a big game to him. So they put him in a padded cell. That's my sole costume story."
"Still, it's a good story," Trajectory decided.
The boom tube shattered the window. Trajectory got General Glory clear of the glass before any hit him. Huntress was the first of the fallen back on her feet.
"Outside, people! Move!" she shouted to be heard over ringing ears.
Outside, the Female Furies awaited them. Bernadeth was full of pomp and circumstance over her newly elevated role, "Leave this building and you leave with you lives. We will destroy it in three of your minutes whether it's occupied or not."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Huntress inquired, "Because I find junior highers to be more threatening than you."
Bernadeth was totally baffled until Gilotina whispered the explanation in her ear. Bernadeth's protruding forehead bulged with veins sticking, "I'll kill you for that. Others have died for less mockery."
"You must keep pretty busy then with a forehead like that, even for a New God," Huntress taunted her.
Bernadeth was sputtering. Gilotina and Artemiz were barely restraining their laughter. Even the coat tail clingers were amused. Malice Vundabar was the only one openly tittering with laughter.
"Kill anyone dressed like a New God!" Bernadeth managed to scream at long last.
Gilotina drew her swords and approached Katana, "I see you carry a blade. Are you skilled with it or is it a human affectation? Let's see how you compare to the greatest swordswoman on Apokolips."
"Where is she then?" Katana asked.
"Impudent bitch!" Gilotina snarled, "I am a New God. You should bow before me and praise me for sacrificing you to my glory."
"It would be the only way you would ever sacrifice me," Katana replied.
Gilotina exploded into a flurry of cuts, strokes, and angled attacks. Katana defended herself against every one. Gilotina broke off.
She'd been moving at super human speed yet Katana matched her every attack. Katana saw Gilotina's hesitation, "Shall we see what I can do?"
Katana came at Gilotina as fast with one sword as the New God had been with two. But that was a moot point as Katana disarmed Gilotina of a single sword. Then she pressed her attack home.
When Katana disarmed Gilotina again, the Female Fury utilized her hands as blades. The SoulTaker bit deep into her fingers and the edge of her palms as Gilotina attacked. A normal katana blade would have shattered under the weight of the attacks but the SoulTaker was enchanted and was nearly impossible to break.
Gilotina finally spotted the eldritch energy transferring from the swords grip to Katana's hands. But the distraction lost her the battle. Katana had the blade pressed against Gilotina's neck in what should have been a killing stroke.
"You do not have to die today," Katana offered, "Swear that you shall stand down and remain out of the battle and you shall live. Otherwise, I take your head and your soul enters my blade where Darkseid can never reach it to resurrect you."
"I'll stand aside," Gilotina pledged in a reasonable voice.
"If you break your vow, I will finish this without question," Katana pledged.
Animal Man found himself pitted again Unus. He couldn't believe he was going to fight a mechanical wolf. That was until Unus attacked him. At first Animal Man was content to channel a spider monkey and swing up to the top of a flag pole.
But the Unus' steel jaws severed the base of the pole, bringing it down. Animal Man rammed Unus with the might of a rhino but without a horn, there was no real punch to it. So he tried a tiger's claws which barely scratched Unus' surface.
Finally, Animal Man wised up and channeled a golden eagle and carried Unus out to the bay and dropped him into the water.
Crimson Fox faced Secundus. Neither her metal claws or her own feral nature worked against the cyber wolf. And her powerful and seductive pheromones just confused it and made Secundus angrier. Only Crimson Fox's own fox-like agility and speed kept her ahead of Secundus' jaws.
The Animal Man swooped and soared off ferrying Secundus out to the bay to join Unus. When he returned, Crimson Fox threw her arms around him and passionately kissed him, "My hero. How shall I ever repay you?"
"You could answer a single question, my senses are good but I've never been able to distinguish between Constance and Vivian. I know only one of you joined the JLA. Which one are you?"
Crimson Fox laughed with delight, "I am Vivian, of course. Forgive me for not saying so earlier but women must have their little secrets."
"Or at least French women," Animal Man countered.
"And are we not the most desired on the planet?" Crimson Fox asked in a cocky manner.
"With pheromones like yours and Constance's, of course every man wants you," Animal Man admitted.
"Not just that," Crimson Fox said wearily, "But all French women. Our mysteriousness makes us attractive."
"I'll just take your word for it," Animal Man decided not to fight over it.
"Oui, that is for the best, Mon Cherie," Crimson Fox decided to reward Animal Man with another kiss.
Ri severed hydraulic and power lines all throughout Tertius' chassis so he withdrew to find his cyber pack brethren. Ri discovered Artemiz had begun targeting Darknight. He'd evaded two arrows. And been fast enough to swat two away with his customary batons. Then she'd embedded an arrow in each baton.
Ri sliced Artemiz's bow in half. Artemiz pulled out her backup knife. Ri disarmed her. Artemiz retreated back into Gilotina. Gilotina had retrieved her swords but they were sheathed. Katana stood nearby, observing.
"Let's go find your cyber pack," Gilotina urged.
Artemiz saw Gilotina's bloody hands, "I think you're right."
As the two Female Furies retreated, Darknight embraced Ri, "Thank you. Her next shots would have hit me."
"I couldn't let her kill the father of my future children," Ri said bluntly.
"We have never discussed family," Darknight was startled, "Has that day come?"
"We no longer live under China's restrictions regarding families and numbers of births," Ri reminded him, "So that time has come."
"Can I suggest to you we discuss this further at the Hall of Justice?" Darknight asked, "I promise you, you won't be disappointed."
Batwoman studied Wunda. She seemed harmless enough. And then the New God merged into a UPS truck and started the engine and drove straight at Kathy Duquesne. Batwoman dodged it and the truck smashed into LexCorp lobby.
Wunda transferred herself into the building's security system. Hidden automated guns in the lobby opened fire at the reception staff. Batwoman paged Ralph.
"Reboot the computer system!" she shouted at Elongated Man over the gunfire through the radio connection.
"Why?" Ralph was being dense.
"Just do it, you oversized rubber band!" Batwoman screamed.
Wunda was ejected from the security system a few seconds later. Batwoman took the opportunity to beat the crap out of her while she was still human-like. Kathy took great delight in watching Wunda simply fall over.
Speed Queen tore down the street. Her rocket pack propelled her and her in-line skates allowed her to move faster than most people could see. And she randomly shot at people just for the hell of it.
Behind her Trajectory tried to catch up. But Trajectory wasn't a Flash, either Jay or Wally. But she was a good counterpart to Jesse Quick or a member of Red Trinity. Rumor had it Lady Flash took Velocity 9 to match the Flashes' speed.
Speed Queen occasionally threw a turn into the mix. But she always banked right. And Trajectory knew where her next turn would take her. So gambling that Speed Queen's pattern would hold, Trajectory took a right turn.
Speed Queen turned right and found herself speeding straight for the harbor. So she veered right again. Shooting at people alongside the bay front Speed Queen never saw Trajectory come racing out of a side street and rip her propulsion pack off.
Speed Queen awkwardly braked to a halt. Then she began volleying shots at Trajectory. But Eliza Harmon had the actual speed Speed Queen only pretended to have. So Trajectory slapped Speed Queen's guns away and decided to see just how fast she could repetitively hit someone.
Speed Queen went down after a hundred blows. Trajectory nursed her bruised knuckles, "Note to self: save that for a last resort."
Bloody Mary tried to consume Plastic Man's life essence only to discover Plas wasn't even remotely organic anymore. So he transformed into a cage she couldn't break out of despite her New God strength. He provided her a stool and she slumped on it, sulking.
"Uh…Vig? Why is that girl giving us a demented smile?" Vixen wondered about Malice Vundabar.
"Ah have no cotton pickin' durn idea," Vigilante admitted, "Why don't Ah ask her?"
"You look like a cattle rustler. You might scare her," Vixen countered, "I'll do it myself."
"Yes, ma'am," Vigilante tipped his hat to her, "Just be careful. That ain't no normal look in her eyes."
Vixen reached Malice, "Excuse me honey, but are you lost?"
"No, but you are," Malice replied.
"Why would you say that?" Vixen wondered.
"You just look lost," Malice replied.
"What's your name?" Vixen tried to normalize the conversation.
"Malice Vundabar," she eagerly answered.
"Did you say, 'Malice'?" Vixen thought the child's parents had a cruel streak.
"Would you like to play with Chessy?" Malice suddenly asked.
"Is he your friend?" Vixen asked.
"Yes, he's right over there," Malice pointed at an empty space.
"Honey, there's no one there," Vixen tried to convince Malice.
"That's just because you can't see him yet," Malice wore her demented smile again, "Would you like to?"
"Um…sure," Vixen was uncertain of what was happening.
''"Chessure, come!" Malice commanded and the shadow demon appeared, "Look, Chessy! Fresh meat!"
Vixen raced back to Vigilante's said. He exclaimed, "Holy hoosegows! She's wunna them!"
"Brilliant deduction, cowboy," Vixen quipped, "How do we stop…whatever that is?"
Vigilante fire a few hyperkinetic bullets at Chessure as a test run. The shadow demon snapped at them. Malice grew impatient.
"Bad Chessy," she scolded it, "Don't play with your food. Just eat it."
Chessure resumed his march on Vigilante and Vixen. Vixen turned to Vigilante, "Vig, shoot the girl."
"Whut? She's just a kid, Mari," Vigilante protested.
"Trust me. She's a New God. You could drop LexCorp Tower on her and she'd survive," Vixen tried to persuade him, "Have I ever steered you wrong?"
"Now that ya mention it…" Vig began to argue.
"Just shoot the damn kid or we die!" Vixen stressed, "Is that plain enough."
Vigilante shot past Chessure and struck Malice down. With his link to the outer realms severed, Chessure returned to his own hell dimension. Vigilante took it in.
"Good thinkin', Mari. But Ah'm checkin' on the kid just to be sure she's okay," Vigilante did his own insisting.
"And you wouldn't be my hero if you didn't," Vixen confided.
Question reached Huntress to find her dodging Stompa. Stompa roared, "Hold still, you little worm."
"Is she insulting you?" Question asked Huntress.
"You really have no idea," Helena Bertinelli shared.
"I'll show her the error of her ways," Vic Sage promised his wife, "Just keep her distracted."
"What?" Huntress was incredulous. Q picked now of all times to get all chivalrous?
Question ducked around the side of the city transit bus. Huntress made herself visible and shot a crossbow bolt into Stompa's chest. Stompa pulled it out.
"This is a joke, right?" she inquired.
A chunk of loose asphalt hit Stompa in the side of the head, "All right, who wants to die?"
"You couldn't hit a chicken crossing the road," Question mocked her.
"We'll see about that," Stompa promised, "And what the hell is a chicken anyway?"
Question ducked around the bus again. Stompa followed. She saw that he'd tripped and his trench coat and hat were splayed out with his body underneath them. She jumped on top and let her antimatter soles in her boots eat their way through.
And she dropped into the sewer through the open manhole that had been covered by bus seat cushions in turn covered by Question's coat. He deftly retrieved and donned his fedora, "Perhaps this will teach you to look before you leap."
"Grr!" Stompa grows upon discovered there was no ladder to climb up with.
Question sealed the manhole with the metal cover, "She'll have to travel a bit to find a way out."
"Pretty slick, Q," Huntress admitted.
"Why do you ever doubt me?" Questions asked.
"Seriously?" Huntress retorted as she pulled a list out of her utility belt, "Because I've got a list written down. Want me to read it?"
"Well, maybe not," Question decided.
"No, I think now is a perfect time," Huntress argued, "Or do you want the list to grow by one entry?"
Question plucked the list out of her hand and tore it up, "I think we're done reading."
"Hot damn!" Huntress thrilled, "I like this side of you."
Nightwing had been set upon by Mad Harriet. Besides Mad Harriet being aptly named, she was as agile as Nightwing and carried her electro spikes on her knuckles. Nightwing was reminded of the Joker and his joy buzzers. But unlike the Joker, Mad Harriet was a skilled fighter. So it surprised Nightwing regarding how fast he knocked her out.
"Hold still, you preening popinjay!" Bernadeth snarled as General Gory somersaulted over her head again.
"The fighting spirit of democracy doesn't dawdle. Rather the Son of Liberty fights with every breath at every moment justice is threatened," General Glory pontificated using a technique Joe Jones had taught him.
Joe had discovered florid patriotic speeches drove opponents nuts. They'd lose all composure and reason just for an attempt to shut General Glory up. Which usually afforded the General the opportunity he needed to shut the fight down.
Except for Ambush Bug, who'd actually stood at attention and saluted him.
"Shut up and stand still!" Bernadeth cried out in frustration.
"Can freedom ever be silenced?" General Glory resumed as he moved all around Bernadeth, staying just out of reach, "Can democracy ever be quelled once it's been tasted?"
"I swear your tongue is the first thing I'm cutting off," Bernadeth wearily vowed, wiping her brow.
"Can law and order, once established, ever be separated from freedom's true spirit? And can freedom exist without self expression? Can self expression endure without the guarantee of civil rights?" General Glory could see his opportunity opening up.
"For the love of Darkseid, just please shut up," Bernadeth mumbled.
General Glory's round kick to her raw woke her up, "Can the plight of the huddled few over be overrun by the weight of favored masses? Can the one be ignored by freedom's laws in order to promote the many? "
General Glory kept asking questions while blocking stabbing attempts by Bernadeth. And he kept hammering away at her jaw with punches and kicks. Bernadeth swept across her chest with a Feron blade. General Glory caught the arm on the backstroke. He snapped it in half.
She dropped one Feron blade but clutched onto the second, "I'll…I'll kill you!"
"Many have tried to silence the Son of Liberty but the spirits of oppression and tyranny wither and die when confronted with freedom's taste as it sweeps across every God given nation," General Glory spouted as he caught Bernadeth's other arm. He snapped her wrist and then twisted it into an unnatural angle. She screamed as she dropped the second Feron blade.
"Say goodnight, oppressor," General Glory's final right cross knocked Bernadeth out.
"That was…something," Nightwing admitted as General Glory turned to find the entire JLA had bore witness the end of the fight.
"Something I learned from the original General Glory. It usually works and it seems to come naturally with the uniform," Donovan Wallace admitted.
"It was brilliant!" Trajectory enthused.
Nightwing thought it would be interesting to see if Trajectory's hero worship would go any further, "Question, get back to Ralph."
Blue flashes suddenly yanked away the Female Furies. Plastic Man changed shape back to his usual self, "ISA signatures? No way!"
"It seems we have multiple moles," Nightwing deduced, "Plas, I think you're our best bet for getting a straight answer from the ISA."
"I need to go alone," Plastic Man warned, "I'll get Penny and Hula Hula and we can ask the Chief what's going on. If anyone else comes along it'll just rub it in the Chief's face we left her agency to join the JLU."
"All right," Nightwing conceded, "Do what you deem necessary."
""You think Luthor has an active informant in LexCorp. Not just a number cruncher," Trajectory stated.
"It's the entire reason we're here," Nightwing reminded her, "But you have an in with the security division. See who they believe is on the payroll who would take money from Luthor."
"That could be a long list," Trajectory warned.
"Do what you can to shrink it down to manageable size," Nightwing requested, "Take General Glory with you. He's an experienced investigator."
Nightwing almost laughed as Trajectory suddenly wanted the assignment, "Batwoman, I need any information Duquesne Security can dredge up on contracts to LexCorp affiliates and subsidiaries."
"That type of information was only to be given in an emergency," Batwoman protested.
"You don't think this counts?" Nightwing asked.
"An' whut `bout the rest of us, pard?" Vigilante asked.
"We stand by and wait for the Legion's next move," Nightwing hated to say. He wanted a more active role as much as anyone else.