One Year Later
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel.
Chapter 12: Reading All About It
Clark Kent, the hero Superman, looked at the headline,
"Perry White allowed this?"
Lois shrugged,
"What? I just had the information brought to me. You can't prove this was caused by the Howling Commandos."
The farm boy from Kansas shook his head,
"Lois, they're killing innocent people."
The black-haired reporter looked at him skeptically,
"I had no idea Kobra and his insane snake cult was so innocent. Clark, this cult was responsible for thousands of people dying all over the world."
Clark said,
"And you think by murdering them you can stop it from happening? A lot of those people were being manipulated by one guy."
The Man of Steel could hardly believe Lois' seemingly nonchalant attitude towards this. Earlier, a computer file from a disposable account had been uploaded onto Lois' home computer, and, as Lois read through it, she discovered that a major snake-cult organized by a man named Kobra had been crippled.
Kobra was a charismatic ego-maniac who had been using his fanatics to carry out and support terrorist activities all over the world, assassinating foreign dignitaries, rigging elections, and all sorts of other horrible acts of violence and crime. According to Lois, someone or something, through coercion, was able to get to Kobra and cut the head off the snake, literally.
Lois looked at the file she had printed out,
"Clark, first of all; the League hasn't done anything to stop them-."
Clark interrupted,
"That's because Batman hasn't been able to locate them yet. He's getting close, or so I was told."
Lois continued,
"Clark, I know you want to save everyone, but there's nothing that ties the Howling Commandos to any of this. Besides this snake cult, a major terror cell in the Middle East was seemingly killed by members from within the group, and a cartel in Mexico was wiped out by its competition along with local heroes."
She came near him and shook her head,
"Come on, Clark. You really believe the Howling Commandos are behind it? Well, if you do, then this guy Crisis is good, and he seems to be a capable leader."
Superman shook his head,
"He's not the brains behind it, Lois. Fury is. That guy is a maniac and Crisis is being used."
Lois responded,
"Maybe Crisis knows it and wants to be used. Maybe he believes he's doing the right thing."
Superman said,
"I don't see how."
Just then, the alien hero could hear something. He said,
"Lois, your father is coming here. He's in the elevator now."
Lois blinked; why would her father be here? Was it about that article she wrote?
The elevator doors opened and General Lane stepped out, along with Lieutenant Miriam Delgado. The two had an aura about them; an aura of anger, especially from the general.
General Lane walked with a purpose to Perry White's office, opened the door and slammed it shut. Lieutenant Delgado waited outside and looked at Lois. She said,
"Mrs. Kent."
Lois was a bit surprised,
"I had no idea Dad got a new secretary."
Lieutenant Delgado smirked,
"A lot's changed since you last met your father."
Even though the shades were drawn, Clark could hear every word that was coming out of the office. He winced at the volume, especially from General Lane.
The general practically shouted,
"Lois published a lie! I want you to retract the story!"
Perry White munched on his cigar,
"And why's that?"
Lane slammed his fist down,
"The Howling Commandos are behind this attack! They are terrorists! They've breached a top-secret military installation in Italy!"
The editor of the Daily Planet looked at the general,
"From a source in the military, the base commander was upset about that, but, there was a life that was saved because of it."
General Lane growled,
"I'm aware of that. Talia al-Ghul. She's in on it too! She probably just got injured like that so she could get in our base! We're under attack, and you're letting my daughter tell the enemy everything."
Perry White stood up, leaning on the desk, glaring at the general,
"Now, you listen to me, General. I run a respectable newspaper, and I trust Lane's judgment and sources. If you've got a problem with that, get out. There is a thing as freedom of the press in this country, and I intend to use it."
He added with a smug smirk,
"If you're so against the Howling Commandos, right a letter to the editor. I might just publish it."
Lane clenched his fist and wanted to punch White in the face. However, he maintained his composure and said,
"We're not done here."
He exited the office and called for the lieutenant. The two then left.
Perry White watched them leave. He knew this was not over, but he had his principles to stand behind. This was war, and White aimed to win…
Meanwhile…
Crisis returned to the Howling Commandos base and had all of them gather in the situation room. He said,
"The woman that I got to the base was named Talia al-Ghul."
Arsenal nodded,
"I've heard of her. She's Ra's al-Ghul's daughter."
Bast hissed,
"The League of Assassins. Gods, I hate them so much."
Fury said,
"What else you got, kid?"
Leon continued,
"Well, according to what I could get from Talia, the League of Assassins had been observing the Justice League for a while and knows a little about us and the alternate reality. They captured Daken in the hopes of interrogating him to find more information."
Persiana said,
"And, I take it that it didn't work out."
The red-eyed swordsman nodded,
"That's an understatement. They underestimated Daken's ability to heal and he got loose. Needless to say, what happened at the camp was the result of their capture gone wrong."
Troia asked,
"What about the baby?"
Leon shook his head,
"I don't know. Talia said she was taken by surprise and she thought she heard Daken say something, like he was communicating with someone else before he cut her and took the child. I don't know who though."
He sighed,
"That was all I could get before the doctors had to perform surgery on her."
War Machine said,
"I heard this guy General Lane wants us dead."
Deadpool grinned,
"Yeah, we got a bad guy to fight! Let's kill him in his sleep!"
Fury said,
"We're not touching the guy! We concentrate on our objective; find Daken and the baby."
Arsenal shook his head,
"But, the trail's cold."
Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling tired. He wobbled a bit before he got his balance back. Deadpool smirked,
"Here comes the vision!"
Leon shook his head,
"I don't know what I just say, except it was a biohazard symbol."
Deadpool said dramatically,
"Duh-duh-duhhhhh!"
Punisher glared at the mercenary,
"Must you do that?"
The wise-cracking mercenary said,
"It helps set the mood."
Next Chapter:
The Black Flash returns and faces off against the Justice League as it attempts to drain the Speed Force from one of its members. Stay tuned, fellow readers!