[FRONT COVER: The cover shows a picture of the main characters from the last issue in facility of some sort, trapped behind glass windows. In the center is Girlborg, who is being examined by a bunch of guys in hazmat suits. In the room to the left of Girlborg, Simon and Nia are banging on the glass, while Lightning just looks bored in the room to the Right of Girlborg. In the room to the right of Girlborg, Shinji is lying on a couch, talking to a psychologist in a hazmat suit. Below Girlborg, Shulk has a thumbtack bulletin board that is full of indistinct pictures, drawings and papers, like some kind of conspiracy theorist. The only legible thing is the words "Mechon =] Virus =] Aglets?" written across several papers in red marker. A caption informs the reader that once again this story is "NOT A DREAM! NOT AN IMAGINARY STORY!" A caption underneath this statement says "Our heroes are now under..." followed by the words "QUARANTINE" in big, imposing letters.]
If there was one thing that Yokoda Memorial Hospital prided itself on, it was its emergency response speed. Even while understaffed and overcrowded with those injured in the wake of Super Young Team's battle with the Ten Ben Matanga they always found a way to squeeze in an injured hero or two, even for such unexpected circumstances as possible infection with a deadly virus.
"Of course we've only taken preliminary steps at this point." Masamichi Sonoda, head of the Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division, adjusted his glasses as best he could from within his hazmat suit. "We still need to set up additional quarantine points, send out alerts, inform the media, et cetera, etcetera. Thankfully, the carrier's been more than cooperative; she practically gave us her whole life story."
"Skip to the important bits." said Lightning, examining the contents of a manilla folder. "I'll read the rest of it later." The work was a welcome change of pace, as there was nothing to look at in the stark, white hospital room but a single television, two beds, and a blue curtain that neatly divided the room, and a 12th-floor view of the Tokyo skyline that she had already gotten bored with.
"Right." Sonoda glanced at his clipboard. "Her name is Shirley Fenette; she's an American student attending Ashford Academy. Just as you said, she apparently contracted the virus during the attack on Okinawa. Supposedly, another student pulled her to safety after she was nearly swallowed by a, and I quote, 'big lobster robot' that we identified as 'Unknown Automaton 132'."
"The kid from the Mages Association called it a 'Mechon'." Lightning added. "Those guys play pretty close to their chests. But throw the name around, ruffle a few feathers, and someone might spill the beans just to save face."
"I'll keep that in mind..." the captain jotted down a reminder on his notepad. "Anyway, the girl suffered minor injuries while fleeing Okinawa, but she did not seek treatment, as she said she 'didn't want her father to worry'. In addition, she and her fellow travelers had left via private yacht, so they were able to bypass the checkpoint we set up after the fact."
"So of course when she started to turn to metal, she decided to play hero..." Lightning looked at the photograph of the orange-haired teen. "It's always the rich kids the ones who lack common sense?"
"It gets worse." he handed Lightning a map of the city. The red area indicates the roaming distance of an average Ashford Academy student. The blue area is the area the carrier covered on her 'patrols'. Between these two, that's about twenty-five percent of the city that could be infected, and given the lengthy incubation period..."
"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you then. What about the other girl? Any info on her?"
"Yes, but nothing all that useful." he handed her a ream of papers. "Her name is Hope. This is a transcript of everything she's said within the past three hours. At this point we know is her shoe size, her favorite color, her favorite videogame, her favorite Pokémon, her favorite TV shows, her favorite episodes of her favorite tv shows, her favorite parts of her favorite episodes of her favorite tv show, her favorite movies, her favorite books, her favorite internet celebrities, her favorite flavor of ice cream. We might also have her name, depending on whether "Hope" is a first name or an alias..."
"The name's more common than you'd think. I knew a boy named that, believe it or not." Lightning set the transcript aside. "And let me guess, she's running away from home."
"Yep. Said she was going to Sternbild to become the sidekick of someone named 'Wild Tiger'..."
"D-lister. Part of an american reality TV-Show. Call the network and see if they got any strange calls or fan mail recently. I'd also suggest checking for Metagene activity. Kids don't usually fall out the sky and walk away unharmed..."
"Already done. Her genes are normal, though given how she immediately regenerated during a blood test it's clear that she has powers of some sort. Plus, there was this." Sonoda pointed a photograph of the girl's forehead, unobscured by either hair or her hat, revealing a bright red tattoo of a dragon looping around to eat it's own tail. Inside the loop were three red triangle arranged into a larger triangle, leaving small gaps above which three smaller triangle were arranged around. Inside the triangle themselves was a design that looked like snake a wrapped around a crucifix, with a pair of little wings above the cross and a crown above the pair of wings.
"It's an Oroboros." said Lightning. "That could mean anything from alchemy to ancient egypt. Come back when you've got something more substantial." Lightning then turned to look back at her papers. "Don't worry about me. For now, hang tight and try not to attract too much attention. My guess is the kid's parents are a real nasty piece of work. Weird experiments and stuff. Soon as this disease thing is over and done with, I'll get on the case. "
The room hung silently.
Sonoda reached to put away his glasses, only to realize that there was no way he could do so without taking off the suit. "...Farron, we need to talk."
"I'm not going to die anytime soon, captain. You know as well as I do that I'm immune to-"
"It's not that. It's more like... your attitude." Sonoda looked up at the ceiling as he tried to collect his thoughts. "What I'm getting at is that you have a reputation as a loose cannon."
Lightning didn't even look up. "It's exaggerated. I don't make arrests off duty, I always get a search warrant, I don't beat perps as a form of interrogation..."
"True, at least on paper your track record is impeccable..." He coughed. "The problem is... not everyone else sees it that way. I've been getting complaints about your attitude towards your officers. One Chief Hirukawa, for instance, seems convinced that you've been purposely trying to ruin his career..."
"By thwarting a Yakuza operation happening right under his nose?"
"He did ask you to leave it to his department..."
"Well, you'd think he'd be more grateful..."
"And then there's your whole "Fal'cie" incident."
"That wasn't our fault. We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Innocent or not, 'Japan's Most Wanted' isn't something you can just sweep under the rug. Not to mention the fact that you're still are technically a L'cie... and... well..." He handed Lightning a yellow piece of paper. "You're demoted to paperwork until further notice."
"...You've got to be joking!" said Lightning. "This city would be nothing more than a smoking crater if it weren't for-"
The chief suddenly raised his voice, "DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" he then caught himself. "Sorry. Nerves. You know how it is." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The fact of the matter is, between the whole Fal'cie debacle, the crises, and Ikari's cataclysm, people are still distrusting of metahumans. The public barely tolerates Big Science Action despite all the good they do, and outside the 18-to-24-year-old demographic Super Young Team is seen as almost a joke." he flipped to the next page. "And then there's complaints from more 'traditional' officers about your gender, complaints from 'traditional' mothers about being a poor role model, threats from the Mages Association..."
"You're not honestly telling me you listen to that pack of inbreds..."
"I do when their political cronies threaten to slash my budget." Sonoda turned to another page. "I'm working out a corruption case against them, but until then I can't risk you acting out in public. There's more than enough forensic work to occupy your time..." He then handed Lightning the rest of the clipboard. "Hopefully this'll all blow over, but it'll take a while."
Lightning thought about trying to argue her case some more, but she knew Sonoda well enough that he was probably telling the truth. He couldn't blame the man for putting his career over hers. After all, Sonoda was married and had a kid to take care of while Lightning was single and not in any hurry to settle down. It's not that she found the idea of starting an intimate relationship repulsive or anything (hell, she could spend hours rattling off the names of her high school exes), but more that she had yet to work out the logistics. That, and being able to bend steel with one's bare hands was usually a turn-off.
"Got it, sir." she said.
"Good. Once you're clear, report to me and I'll give you your next assignment. Until then, think of this as paid vacation time." And with that, Captain Sonoda took his leave.
Once she was sure no one was watching, Lightning slumped back onto her bed, and sighed. "Back to square one again, I see..."
"Is something wrong?"
Lightning jolted from her bed, sending papers flying everywhere. She had almost forgotten about her roommate.
"It's... Farron, right?" A hand pulled back the curtain to the left of Lightning to reveal Nia, her slightly uncanny face as bright and cheerful as ever. "Lightning Farron?"
Lightning immediately closed the curtain, and rolled to her side. The last thing she needed right now was a ray of sunshine beaming at her with those strange, flower-shaped pupils to remind her how much her day sucked.
Nia, of course, taking no notice of this, opened the curtain again. "I'm sorry, but I just wanted to thank you for helping my husband last night. You were very good at that whole "crime fighting" thing. Maybe you and Simon should team up more often!"
"I'm not doing that anymore." Lightning mumbled.
"What?"
"I said I'm not doing that anymore." she repeated, this time in a louder voice.
"I know. I head the whole thing, and I'm sorry to hear that..." Nia said. "...it's just too bad that the police don't like Fal'cie..."
Despite her continued slump, Lightning's finely-tuned insticts couldn't detect a trace of dishonesty in Nia's voice.
"...but your boss is right! With any luck this will all blow over, and you'll be back on the streets in no time!"
"...do you even know what a L'cie is?"
"It's a kind of space alien, right?"
Lightning rolled her eyes. "No. L'cie are living weapons created by the Fal'Cie, which are... well, do you remember a couple years back when they found those giant crystals deep underneath Tokyo?"
"The ones that tried to destroy the world? I think so, but Simon and I were on Rann that month, so I kinda missed most of the details..."
Lightning facepalmed. "Of course you were. Well those things were Fal'cie, and they create L'cie to complete a task called a "focus" under the threat of a fate worse than death. I was turned into a L'cie with a bunch of others when I tried to rescue my sister, and we were tasked with destroying the world. But we obviously ignored that and spent a month running from just about Justice League. Then we killed this big Fal'cie and somehow we saved the world and my sister forever. The end."
Lightning glanced at Nia and was surprised to find that her half-assed story had nearly moved the girl to tears. "Aww... you saved the world AND your sister, and not even the police are grateful? That's terrible!"
"Is this girl for real?" Lightning shook her head. "No, it can't be. It has to be an act. No one could possibly be this dense-" Lightning thought back to a certain musclehead that her sister was engaged to. "Okay never mind."
"You can say that again." Lightning said. "It didn't help that I took the blame for leading everyone there to become L'cie in the first place. Couldn't let her ruin her career as a fashion designer just as it was getting started..."
Nia's tears welled further. "And you took the blame for your sister, too?! You really are the greatest!" she sneezed into a handkerchief. "But wait, How did you get onto the police?"
"Well for one thing were supernaturally blackmailed; Our focus was to either destroy the city, or go insane and turn into monsters that would destroy the city anyway. The fact that we saved Tokyo helped. Plus, I was a cop beforehand. I had great credentials; a dual major in criminology and forensics, and I already had a few years experience under my belt. Once I was cleared of all charges I was allowed back on the force. Do you have any more stupid questions?"
"Well, I was thinking... if you prefer fieldwork so much, perhaps I can talk to someone about it... you know, 'pull a few strings', as they say?"
Lightning closed the curtain. "No thanks."
Nia pulled them back open. "No, seriously! I've got some high-society friends! Maybe they can-"
"Nia, you're dating a grease monkey with a hero complex and testosterone poisoning, your father was a supervillain. If anyone listens to you, it's because they're too polite to do otherwise. Please go away."
"How? We're stuck in the same room together..."
"...I was- look. I don't know. Just watch TV or something."
"...okay..." Nia closed the curtain, and got back onto her bed. She looked up at the ceiling, and tried her best not to think about what kind of agony Simon was going through, cooped up in that hospital room all day.
Simon tried his best not to think about what kind of agony Nia was going through, cooped up in that hospital room all day. He figured she was going stark raving mad-
Well, maybe not madper-se. Simon couldn't imagine his girlfriend being mad in any sense of the word. Loopy, certainly, but notmad. But it's not like he had anything else to think about, Simon was on the verge of going crazy himself with all the frantic scribbling, rustling of papers, and occasional calls to room service for equipment and caffeine coming from Shulk's side of the room. It would be bad enough if he had only been doing it all day, but Shulk had managed to keep the racket up all last night as well. And while Simon was no stranger to sleepless nights, after a day like yesterday he had kind of looked forward to getting some shuteye.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of Simon and he decided to peek through the curtain. What he found was a whiteboard covered in equations, and enough thumbtacks and bulletin boards to frighten even the most paranoid of conspiracy theorists. And there Shulk was, hammering away at some kind of math problem like it was his last moments on earth.
Which it very well could be. Simon looked up Machinus Poxxus or whatever the Machine Plague was called, and the results weren't pretty. It was exactly what Shulk said; transforms the body, destroys the soul, no cure.
But Simon wasn't worried about that. Despite the close quarters, he and Nia were damn careful around that infected girl; they dressed the wound and were careful not to let their improvised bandage come off, and if it was really contagious, then the whole city would be infected by now, so he probably would have caught it anyway.
No, he was just tired and cranky and really couldn't sleep a wink. He had tried to calm his nerves by watching some television, but just has he turned it on, an old man in a Hazmat suit with tan, wrinkled skin, bleached hair and a thick mustache came through the door. He was apparently a friend of Shulk's, because the sound of the TV was drowned out by a very long conversation about people he didn't know and things he didn't care about. He only started listening in when the conversation turned more to something he could relate to.
"[You really need to get some sleep, boy.]" said the old man. "[You're not gonna cure the Plague if ya have rocks in 'yer head.]"
"[I know, Dickson.]" said Shulk. "[And I'm not trying to. I'm just trying to get my affairs in order before-?"
"[Before what? You head off to the Mechonis by yerself? That's suicide, boy!]"
"[I'm not going by myself.]" said Shulk. "[Reyn and Dunban have already agreed..]"
Simon heard the sound of someone tearing a piece of paper off a wall. "[Graphs... charts... you've even got a bloody map of the damn thing!]" said Dickson. "[Where'd you get all this, anyway?]"
"[Your study. I've committed nearly all your research to memory. It was the only way I could without the Association catching wind.]"
"[Heh. You always were a clever blighter.]" Simon imagined that Dickson said this with a smirk on his face. "[But they're not going to stand for it, you know. You're the only one who can reliably operate The Monado. The Clock Tower wants to give you a Sealing Designation to keep you out of Atlas, Atlas wants you locked up with the damn sword to keep you away from the Tower, and the only reasons you get to roam free is that you're too bloody useful to both of 'em. And they're at each others throats too much to realize they both just want ya to say in one place. Hearing that you've flown the coop might make them consider working together 'fer once.]"
"[Even more of a reason to go right away.]" said Shulk. "[Whether or not I'm infected, the mere chance that I am can be used to my advantage. Besides, there's still a chance that Fiora-]"
"[Fiora's dead, Shulk. Get that through yer head already.]" said Dickson. "[This is the first time we've heard of a Mechon using the Machine Plague for anything. For all we know the attack on Okinawa was just some loony who reprogrammed a horde of Mechon for kicks and stuck a virus in there for good measure.]"
"[But they've abducted victims in all the other attacks!]" said Shulk. "[Maybe... they synthesize the virus as part of their digestive system. Maybe they've got a clockwork army just waiting to-]"
"[Say you're right then.]" Dickson interrupted. "[Say you're right and the Mechon abduct people and turn them into robots for God knows what reason. If so then she's worse than dead; just a soulless shell that once used to be the sweetest girl you ever knew.]"
"[But what if she's not]?" there was a sound of someone hastily pulling something down from a wall. "[Look, right here! Fenette's soul capacity is at 94 percent, well within average! But all accounts she's late enough into the transformation that she should be a 63 percent at best.]"
"[So she's an exception. Big deal. This word's fulla freaks like her.]"
"[But the point is that it's possible! Unlikely, yes, but possible. And I'd rather die out there fighting for a hopeless cause than in here, watching my humanity slip away.]"
"[Assuming you're infected, o' course. But if yer dead set on dyin, I won't stop ya. Just so you realize I can't officially help you in any way... though if I just happenedto be on assignment and I just happened to be there, and I just happenedto have some extra supplies...]"
"[That's more than I could ask.]" said Shulk. "[Thanks, Dickson.]"
"[My pleasure. Just promise me you'll get some sleep. Never a good idea to plan things without some shuteye.]"
"[Yes, that is probably a good idea. Good night, Dickson.]"
"[G'night Shulk.]"
A few minutes after Dickson left, Shulk made good on his promise. After shuffling his papers one last time, he turned of the lights, and crawled into bed.
Relieved to finally have some peace and quiet, Simon slowly closed his eyelids...
Amazingly Powerful Girlborg, better known to her friends as Shirley Fenette, couldn't sleep.
It was bad enough that she embarrassed herself on her first day as a superhero, but the thought that just by surviving she might have accidently doomed her friends to a slow, painful death was just too much to bare. She agonized over trying to recall each and every time she sneezed, but only succeeded in falling deeper and deeper into a never-ending panic spiral.
Even trying to take her mind off things by browsing the internet on her cell phone didn't help, as the slightest stray thought flooded her mind with information confirming her worst fears; failures to cure the Machine Plague, studies on the symptoms of the Machine Plague, studies showing how far the virus could spread via "carriers", philosophical debates about consciousness without a soul-
She threw her phone against the wall, forgetting for a moment exactly how strong her robotic body was. Her fancy iPhone shattered into a million pieces, fragments of the screen and hard drive clattering to the ground with a dull tinkle. She instantly regretted her mistake, and added it to the list of other regrets regretted.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. An green haired nurse in hazmat gear peeked her head into the room and said; "Excuse me, miss Girlborg? You have visitors. Friends of yours, I believe..."
"Friends?"Shirley felt a sinking feeling deep within the pit of her stomach in her stomach. "Oh no... not now..."
Before she could protest, a curvaceous young woman with thick, platinum blonde hair barged into the room wearing a form-fitting Ashford Academy uniform, carrying a burlap sack. Shirley immediately recognized her as Milly Ashford, the student council president. She was shortly followed by Rivalz Cardemonde, a purple-haired youth who was the council secretary, Nina Einstein, a nervous, mousy-looking girl with dark green hair and thin glasses who nevertheless somehow managed to be elected. Following them was Lelouch Lamperogue, a thin young man with raven hair purple eyes pointed features, who was the council's vice president and Shirley's crush as far back as she could remember. He was accompanied by his sister Nunnally Lamperogue, a blind girl with extremely long brown hair who was in a wheelchair that was being wheeled in by their brother Rolo Lamperogue, a short boy with brown hair and a very childlike face.
"Shirley!" Milly said, her face beaming with a wide grid. "Thank god you're alive!"
"You have no idea how worried we were!" said Rivalz.
"Guys...?" Shirley looked at them quizically. "What's going on?"
"The school's been sealed up tight for quarantine. Nobody's allowed in or out."
"But big brother managed to convince one of the officers to bring us here." said Nunnally. "And then he got a girl he once dated to let us in!"
"But... you're not wearing any protection." Shirley pointed out. "Does that mean..."
"The virus has been all over the news." said Nina. "The press doesn't have your name yet, but they're going to have to release it to aid quarantine efforts." Nina's knees trembled slightly. "A-and we've been around you longest." she continued. "I-If anyone is infected, it's probably us..."
Tears began to form in Shirley's eyes. "God... how could I be so stupid!" she cried. "I've probably killed all of you. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry..." said Rivlz, tears dripping from his eyes. "I've been on paranormal websites for so long, I should have recognized this!" he then dropped down on his knees. "PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" he begged.
"And I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to become a superhero." Milly added, biting her lip as she did so.. "I guess I shouldn't have assumed you were caught up in some kind of origin story..."
Lelouch put his hand on Shirley's shoulder, and smiled ever so slightly. "We've all made mistakes. Even I was a bit too caught up giving lectures to think things through. Don't worry about it."
"And Kallen?"
"We can't reach her." said Rolo. "I've been trying for hours, but all I've gotten so far was her answering machine. It doesn't bode well..."
"Oh, but you know Kallen!" Milly said, trying dismissing Rolo's worries. "She's always disappearing off the face of the earth for one reason or another. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the same hospital from another one of her fainting spells!" She reached into the sack she was carrying, and pulled out a colorful, cardboard box. "Now, if we're going to die or lose our souls or whatever, we might as we go out with a smile! Who's up for Apples to Apples?"
Lelouch flinched slightly as felt his phone vibrate. He glanced at the message briefly, and then said. "Sounds great! But first I need to take this call. I'll be back in a sec."
"Allight, if you say so." Milly said without even looking up from the game she was in the middle of setting up. "Now, I'll be the judge for the first round, and the first adjective is... 'excellent'. Now does everyone have their cards?"
For probably the first time that evening, Shirley Fennete cracked a smile.
Shirley Fennete was not alone.
Shinji Ikari was alone.
Not for the first time in his life, mind you, and certainly not the last. It's just that when it came time to choose hospital rooms there was only one single-room left, and of course the Prime Minister's son got preferential treatment.
His dad stayed as long as he could, trying to reassure Shinji through the thick plastic of his hazmat suit that everything would be alright. But Shinji almost wished that the Plague would come and consume his soul. Then, perhaps, he wouldn't feel so lonely.
He knew he was lucky to have such doting parents. After his mother died, his father took months off of work to help Shinji get over the loss. But no matter how many trips they went on, Shinji felt more isolated than ever. His father's position made it hard for people to see him as something other than "The Prime Minister's Son", and even if they weren't intimidated by such a title most kids his age were probably scared off by the guards that followed him everywhere. After Gendo, Lightning was probably the person he knew the best, and even then that's because the pink-haired officer was obviously cast from a different mold than the dime-a-dozen suits that made up the rest of his father's security team. It's not like they talked or anything; all Shinji knew about her was that she was sometimes there during big public events, and that she was quite attractive.
So imagine his surprise when a nurse called to let him know a visitor here to see him. At first he thought it was his dad coming back from work, but instead through the door stepped a middle aged man with messy blonde hair that never seemed to stay down properly. He was wearing a pair of thick, horn-rimmed glasses underneath his hazmat suit, and carried a clipboard and several pens underneath his shoulder.
"Shinji Ikari?" he said.
"Yes..." Shinji said before sinking into his sheets.
"My name is Dr. Calvin Summers, and I'm your new psychologist." He pulled up a chair, and sat next to Shinji's bed. "But please, call me 'Cal'."
"...okay." Shinji barely replied.
"So, Shinji, your father tells me you have superpowers. Is that correct?"
Shinji said nothing.
"...no need to be shy, Shinji. I do this for a living." he handed the young man a white business business card with the name "Dr. Calvin M. Summers, Superhero Psychologist" printed on it in a red, retro-futuristic font. "That's 'psychologist who treats superheroes' he added. Not "Psychologist who is also a superhero. Very different."
Shinji still said nothing.
"Of course it's okay if you're not a superhero." said the doctor. "Most metahumans aren't. Little known fact, but over sixty percent of all metas are lifelong civilians. The heroes and villains are just the ones who get the most attention." he smiled. "And as I said, I've been doing this for a while. You wouldn't believe the stories I've got."
Shinji continued to remain quiet.
"Did you ever hear about Dorothy Spinner, for instance? Very interesting girl. Had the power to bring her imaginary friends to life, which was a bit of a problem given her active imagination and made even worse given how she had a physical deformity that led her to isolate herself from others, leading to self-image and self-control issues. After her stint on the Doom Patrol ended in disaster, she sought me out and I took on her case pro-bono and through therapy she gradually learned to keep her powers reigned in to a certain extent. You'd barely even recognize her nowadays."
...Still nothing. Not even a smidgen of interest. Dr. Summers worried that the kid might have gone comatose without him realizing.
"You know what? How about I just skip storytime altogether and we could just sit here, staring at each other in silence until you think of something to talk about. Your choice."
A few more minutes passed without much. Finally, Shinji rolled onto his side and said. "...what's it like being a superhero?"
"A superhero? Hmm..." the doctor bit his pencil nervously. "From what I've heard, it's not easy. You're constantly in danger, always watching your back, ready to dart into the nearest phone booth at the slightest sign of trouble." he then pointed his pencil at Shinji. "Plus your mere existence endangers your friends and family, especially if you don't have a secret identity."
"...are there any good things?"
the doctor scratched his head. "Well, assuming you're not looking for endorsement deals, it's apparently quite a thrill to nab a crook in the middle of his crime. Plus, you do meet a lot of interesting people..."
"How do they get started then?" asked Shinji. "Superheroes, I mean."
The doctor eyed Shinji suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"
"Just... curious, I guess..." Shinji sighed.
The doctor gave shinji a concerned look. "Shinji. I can't tell you what to do with your life, but if you decide to take up a cape you'd be putting yourself in danger. Now, I'm not going to tell your father, but if you're going to be taking up a cape it's probably best to let him know. Trust me, I've seen too many families torn apart by this sort of thing."
"...can't you do it?" said Shinji. "I mean, let him know that I'm thinking about it..."
Dr. Summers shook his head. "...I'm afraid not." he said. "This is something you have to do.." he handed Shinji a phone. "But don't worry, I'll be right beside you. And if your father truly loves you, then he'll be right there with you."
"...while the Third Child's awakening was unexpected, it does not change our plans in the slightest." The aged vocal cords of SELEE-01 spoke in an accusatory manner, as he always did. "However, the Third Child's possible infection may require us to hasten our timetable for Instrumentality. Number ten, have you identified the ultimate source?"
"No, I'm afraid not." said SELEE-10 "But rest assured, any rogue elements will be dealt with swiftly."
"See to it that it does." SELEE-01 paused to let his message sink in. "Number two, risk analysis.."
Gendo Ikari turned on his microphone. "The outward symptoms of Orthopoxvirus Machina usually last three weeks before soul deterioration begins. We believe that while success is possible, it is unlikely that the third child will develop enough control over his AT field to initiate Second Impact. Suggesting we turn our attention to the other children."
"You're too soft, Two." said SELEE-11. "We will look into the others, but the Third Child still has the most potential..."
"I quite agree." said SELEE-03. "I say we put him in a crucible and see what happens. If he crumbles under the pressure... well, it was clear that it was not meant to be."
"Sounds like a plan!" said SELEE-06.
"This is far too important to leave to chance, Three." said SELEE-05. "The more time we have the better."
"What? So you still have time to make your own bid for power?" said SELEE-12. "Don't act like we don't know who you've been associating with..."
"This is why I said we needed fewer members..." said SELEE-08
"Gentlemen, please." said SELEE-07 "We are not barbarians... well, most of us anyway."
"HEY!" said SELEE-06.
"We are looking out for humanity's best interest in the long term." SELEE-07 continued. "What we do outsidethese meeting halls is not the subject of our discussion."
"Seven is right." said SELEE-04. "I've seen too many of these gatherings fall apart because one of us loses focus. We should be talking about the Third Child."
"Thirteen." barked SELEE-01. "I notice you have nothing to say on the matter."
"...if I have opinions, I will tell you them." SELEE-13 replied.
SELEE-06 then spoke up. "Well enough of this blathering, I believe I have a plan that will change everything. All we need is the Emerald Eye of Ekron, a corkscrew, several tons of..."
Just then, Gendo's phone began to vibrate, and looking at it appeared that his son was trying to contact him. He turned volume down, so that the ongoing speech didn't get in the way.
"Uh, hey dad. It's me." Shinji gulped on the other end of the line. "Um... listen. This might sound kind of strange, but... well... I think I kinda want to be a superhero." Pause "Maybe not even 'kinda'. Like... I really want this. I dunno. I guess I just want to meet people... like myself?"
Gendo feigned surprise. Shinji had always seen the world in black and white, and given how he ran out of the limo yesterday to save complete strangers he knew that this day would come quite soon. For years, Gendo had been preparing the perfect speech to dissuade Shinji from heroic aspirations, carefully tailored to guarantee that he would never so much as look at a cape as long as he lived.
"Well, Shinji, that's quite a... a..."
But when he tried to start his often-rehearsed speech... he found the words just wouldn't come.
If only he had been a more heartless bastard. If only he had buried his emotions more thoroughly, perhaps then Yui might have a chance to...
But no. She wouldn't want that. He learned that first hand.
"Dad?"said Shinji. "Are you still there?"
"Sorry, line cut out." said Gendo. "As I was saying, that's quite a decision you've made. But it's your life and I respect your decision. In fact I'll support you every step of the way."
"...really?"
"Of course! After all, what kind of man would I be if I supported metahumans but didn't allow my own son to become a hero?" he chuckled. "Just think of the polls, for one thing."
Gendo heard a sigh of relief. "Thanks dad."said Shinji.
"No problem. And remember; if there's anything on your mind that you feel you need to talk about, just let me know."
"Okay dad. Good night."
"Good night, Shinji." he waited for the sound of Shinji hanging up, and then he put away his cell phone. He then turned the volume back up on his computer and skimmed through the transcript to see if he had missed anything. He apparently hadn't, as SELEE-06 was just finishing up the explanation of his plan.
"...and then if we have leftovers, we feed them to the wolves!" SELEE-06 concluded. "What do you think?"
"You, sir are an abomination!" cried SELEE-07.
"Thank you for reminding me why I had your kind of people put to death..." said SELEE-03 "Now does any of you have arealsuggestion, or should we call the meeting right here?".
Gendo turned on his microphone. "Gentlemen... I believe I have an idea..."
"You know, they'll get suspicious if you keep leaving like this." said the green haired nurse as she unzipped her hazmat suit.
"Let them." said Lelouch as he slipped his arms through the sleeves of a gaudy purple jacket. "At worst, they'll think I have a secret girlfriend I wasn't telling anyone about."
"Or boyfriend."
Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Yes, or boyfriend." C.C. may have been a loyal companion and an indispensable resource, but her dry wit was something Lelouch would never get used to. Still, he didn't know what he'd do without her; C.C., after all, was the one who first recognized when Shirley was infected with the Machine Plague. Not only that, but she was also the one who first proposed a theory why Shirley's strain of the virus was inert outside of her own body: She stated that the girl might have had a metagene that was awakened when she was infected by the plague. When activated, the gene granted her technopathic powers that subconsciously shut down any Machine Plague viruses outside her body. A quick check of what remained of Shirley's organic DNA coupled with the later manifestation of her powers revealed this to be the case.
Admittedly, it wasn't often that C.C. was so helpful. In fact, most of the time she didn't really offer to do anything unless Lelouch told her, which is why he suspected that she was hiding something. Though he'd be damned if he knew what it was.
Lelouch considered all this as he continued to tie on his thick, black cape. "I assume the preparations are all made?"
"The sleeper agent altered the security footage just as you instructed, and the Zeta Modulator is ready to receive."
"Good." Said Lelouch, putting on his iconic helmet. "Time is of the essence." He pressed a button on his cufflink, and in a flash or yellow light the famed mercenary known as Zero and his mysterious assistant, C.C., were now standing in the command center of Horai Island, the Headquarters of the Black Knights.
A massive domed room, the command center had a dozen-odd computer terminals with holographic interfaces, at which sat the men and women responsible for coordinating the low-priority missions that Zero couldn't oversee personally. At the moment, they seemed to be busy dealing with routine zombie outbreak somewhere in the American midwest.
It always astounded Lelouch how many supervillains thought creating zombies was a good idea. Disposable, endlessly-replicating minions were something that looked good on paper but had a few fundamental flaws, most notably their lack of intelligence.
Intending on relaying a few orders to try and finish things a bit more efficiently, he approached his private terminal, a large, dark-purple chair with red upholstery and a pair of ergonomic keyboards sticking out of its sides, when a simple-looking man with curly brown hair and a red bandanna approached him.
"Zero, thank god you're here!" the man said. "We've got a... situation in the medical bay. Kozuki just woke up, but... something weird happened to her." the man scratched his head. "Erm... you're going to have to see for yourself."
"I don't have long, Ohgi. " said Zero. He turned away from the Secretary General, and turned on his holographic display. "What is it?"
"Well... for starters her eyes have changed color."
"...What." Zero looked back at Ohgi.
"Yeah... and I don't mean like bloodshot. I mean her actual irises had changed from blue to red."
Lelouch turned off his display, and got out of his seat. "Did you check to make sure she wasn't a clone?"
"Her I.D. chip was still implanted in her arm. If she is a clone, whoever made her did a remarkably thorough job."
"Any change in genetics?"
"We tried to check, but when we did the equipment kind of exploded."
"What do you mean by.. 'kind of'?"
"I mean it completely exploded, sir."
"Brilliant..." Zero started towards the medical bay. "Thank you, Ohgi. That will be all."
Horai Island wasn't just a glorified Knightmare Frame hanger hooked up to some computers. It was also a training facility, a research lab, a defense platform, a neighborhood for tens of thousands of families, and perhaps most tellingly, a medical research center. While the tactical advantage of being able to patch people up more efficiently was obvious, less so was the potential for building countermeasures against biological weapons, as well as biological weapons themselves in case they ever became necessary. As a result, the doctors here were walking encyclopedias of obscure ailments and afflictions, natural or otherwise.
But in spite of this, the rooms of the Horai Island medical bay weren't all that different than the ones at Yokoda Memorial Hospital. They were a bit more well-guarded and there was only room for one bed, but the facility was as advanced as anything you could find in Tokyo. Or perhaps even more advanced, as there were rumors that the Knights had managed to acquire a quantity of supertech smuggled away from New Genesis.
Though given the array of tools that the German doctor attending to her had assembled, he looked more like he was from Apokolips. Knives, saws, syringes, an old Polaroid camera... and was that a crossbow? Kallen tried not to think what kind of procedure requires medieval weaponry.
She was doing a pretty good job at that, all things considered. Her head was throbbing, her throat was dry, and she felt sick all the way down to her stomach. She had been injured before, but this felt different, somehow. She didn't feel like she had any wounds, for one thing.
"Blood pressure, normal...? Hmm, very curious..." the medic was in the middle of writing something down on a clipboard just as Zero entered the door. "Ach, herr Zero! How good of you to make it!" He cheerfully tapped Zero's helmet with the clipboard, much to Zero's complete indifference.
"...I'm not in the mood for games, doctor." said Zero. "Have you figured out what's wrong with Kozuki?"
"No, I'm afraid not, but I do know what ISN'T wrong with zhe girl." He slapped the the clipboard into Zero's hand. "EVERYTHINK! Zhe entire mech vas totaled, and not a single scratch on her! Fascinating, isn't it?"
"...wait..." Kallen strained to speak. "...the Guren... what happened to it...?"
"Save your strength, Kozuki." said Zero. "We need you to make a quick recovery."
"Ach, zhat's another thing I was about to mention." the medic said. "After zhe DNA Analyzer went kerplooey, I vhas tryink to get a blood sample, vhen zhis happened!" he grabbed Kallen's arm, and pulled out a large, empty syringe.
"Wait, no! What are you doing!" Zero shouted.
"I know vhat I'm doing sir!" he called back to Zero. He then got close to Kallen's face and whispered "Now don't cry, dear frauline. Zhis von't hurt a bit..."
The doctor raised his Syringe into the air. Kallen, too weak to try and esacpe, closed her eyes in anticipation of a sharp stinging pain... but only felt a faint prick before hearing a snap that she was pretty sure didn't come from any of her bones.
"Zhee? Vhat did I tell you?" he held up a Syringe with a broken needle. "Didn't hurt a bit." He then laughed heartily as Kallen's heart continued to race. "You should see zhe look on your face, frauline. Ooh boy..." he took a picture of Kallen with the Polaroid "Zhats vun's going in zhe journal..."
"Doctor..." Zero's voice descended to a low growl. "...need I remind what I said would happen if you didn't improve your bedside manners..."
The medic's laugh turned from a guffaw into a nervous chuckle. "Eh-he... yes, vell." He pulled out another sheet of paper. "Besides zhe DNA test everythink else said she vas completely human. So I did some more exoitic tests. Vhile she vas stillI sleepink, I tried exposink her to eveything I could think of. Lead, gold, garlic, sunlight, a solar lamp, a red sun lamp, krypton, kryptonite, lemons, her own name said backwards, chocos, EMPs, iron, sounds beyond zhe edge of hearink, chlorophyll, energy drinks, ice, fire, electricity, zhe lemons again..."
"Where did you get Kryptonite?" said Zero.
"ZHAT IS NOT IMPORTANT!" said the medic. "Anyvey, I vas just about to give up, vhen I decide to see how she vould react to silver..." he reached into his bag and pulled out a big silver cross decorated with a tiny effigy of christ. "...so I got zis old heirloom zhat my grandmother gave to me. She was a big religious kook you see, and whenever I got in trouble she always used to..."
Kallen's head began to throb, as her stomach tied itself into knots. "What the hell is going on...?" she cried wordlessly. To her ears, each of the medic's words were completely indecipherable, each syllable sounding more akin to nails on a chalkboard than human speech.
"...ha ha, I remember vonce I vas finding leeches in my bed for weeks. But enough about my tragic childhood. As I said I was lucky enough to get a very stronk reaction from zhe patient. I just held it up to her like zhis and..."
As the cross was held up next to Kallen's face, the pounding intensified to the point that she swore her own brain was going to break out of her skull. Enraged, she grabbed the crucifix and hurled it right past Zero's head, screaming "GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!".
Only afterward this did the pain begin to subside, but she felt a stinging sensation in the palm of her hand.
Even more shocking was where the crucifix ended up: it went straight through the wall on the other side of the room and embedded itself in the wall separating the next room over.
The steel platedwall separating the next room over.
Zero looked through the hole in the wall, grateful that his mask hid just how pants-shittingly terrified he was just a moment ago. "...Doctor. You said you knew a wizard, right?"
"Vell, yes..." said the medic. "Technically he's a 'magician' but-"
"Call him. Now."
"...I'm not sure zhat would be a good idea. He is infamously terrible to verk vith, and I don't think he-."
"NOW."
"Okay, okay. I'm goink, I'm goink..."
Kallen, meanwhile, was less frightened and more confused. She looked at her burnt, scarred hand.
"...What happened to me?"
"[...so Dr. Insano was like all "Now that I have the horcrux, I will use it to cause meltdown! And then, the TRI-STATE AREA will be mine and stuff!"
And then Batman was like "No you madman! You're completely insane! And you'll never get away with this!"
But Doctor Insano did this totally creepy laugh, that sounded like "HeheHEHEhNYAnanAnAnHaha! Oh we'll see about that, bat-brain! We'll see about that when my big atomic chainsaw puncher robot murders you!
And then I made my big entrance by riding on a robot pterodactyl with laser eyes and I was all like "NOT SO FAST DOCTOR INSANO!"
and he screamed like "What?! Atomic kitten?! Noooooooo! This is impoosssibbllleeeee!" ]"
"[Atomic Kitten?]" Detective Keiichi Ikari, a middle aged man with a worn, ragged face, looked up from his notepad. "[...I'm sorry, Hope... who is that again?]"
"[That's me!]" Hope said. "[It's like, my superhero name. I gotta have a cool one if I want to impress Wild Tiger. I mean I don't really have a costume yet, but...]"
The detective jotted some notes on his paper. "Extroverted. Possibly a compulsive liar. Check for records on 'Atomic Kitten'. Also possibly 'Dr. Insano'."
"[Okay, so let's back up a bit.]" the detective pointed his pen at the girl. "[This... "Wild Tiger" person. What's so important about impressing him?]"
"[Because I'm going to be his sidekick!]"
"Possibly delusional." He wrote. "[What makes you think he'll consider taking sidekick? Have you talked to him? Perhaps made a arrangements of some sort?]"
"[Well I sent him a letter a few weeks ago, so he's probably marked the date on his calendar and everything.]" She began to swing her legs in an impatient manner. ["And how could he nottake me? My powers are just so awesome he's just gonna flip!]"
Keiichi raised an eyebrow. "[...powers?]" He corrected his pad to read "VeryPossibly Delusional."
"[Yeah! I've got, like, seven of em. Well, eight, technically, but the last one's kinda boring...]"
The detective nodded. "[And those powers are...?]"
"[I'm gettin to em, gramps! You just gotta let me finish my story! Now let's see... I talked about the dinosaur island, the laser squid...]" Hope began to count on her fingers as she tried to remember how far along she was with her story. "[OH YEAH! My entrance! So Insano was like "NOOO IMPOSSIBLE" and I was like "nuh-uh!" so I sliced his robot to ribbons with my claws!]"
"[Claws?]"
"[Yeah, see...]" She held up her hands, and a spark of electricity seemed to arc over them her fingertips they sharpened into needle-like points. "[These babies can cut through just about anything!]"
"[Uh-huh.]" He wasn't too surprised at this point that the girl actually had powers. He'd been a detective in one place or another for over twenty years, and has seen far, far stranger in his time. "[I don't need a demonstration.]" he said, sketching the words "Warning: Armed" into the notepad. "[So what happened next?]"
Hope put away her claws. [Well... then he shot lasers everywhere but they kind of missed, and Batman threw batarangs at the laser and it exploded and I beat up in his minions and said "YOU WONT GET AWAY WITH THIS" and he was like "OH YES I WILL". And then he pulled a lever that turned all the lights off.]" the girl put her hand over her left eye, and leaned forward. "[But you see he didn't know that I could see in the dark, so I kicked him in that place you're not supposed to kick boys.]"
"Night vision?" the detective wrote. "[And was that it?]"
"[Nope!]" said Hope, "[Because he had a TRUE FORM like some kinda video game boss. He drank this potion and then he was all big and green and he blew up the room and tore up all his clothes except his purple shorts. Batman tried to fight him but the potion made him a better fighter so Batman was like "OH NO I CAN'T BEAT THIS GUY!" And then Insano punched my head into a wall and it EXPLODED LIKE A VOLCANO!]" She spread her arms out wide to emphisize this last point.
"[Your head or the wall?]"
"[BOTH!]" shouted Hope.
"[...that must have been painful.]" the detective nodded gently. "[I guess regeneration is another one of your powers?]"
"[Yep!]" Hope grinned smugly as the detective recorded this factoid. "[So after I got better, I was like "Hey batman I have a plan!" and grabbed a science bucket. "I'm gonna turn to water so you can trick him into drinking me." and batman said "GOOD PLAN" and wrote the word "juice bucket" on with a permanent bat-marker.]"
"You can turn into water?"
"[Juuust a little bit. Like a puddle or something.]" Hope replied "[I mean I can't really move around much, but it hurts a lot less than having to regenerate.]"
"I'll bet..." he wrote the words "Keep Away From Water Supply" in his journal.
"[So I clawed my way out of Insano's stomach and he bled a lot but then got better because he'd been taking steroids! And then he tried to bite my head off, but I did this!]" She stuck out her arm as another wave of arcing electricity passed over it, changing the skin into what appeared to be carbon fiber. "I mean, I couldn't move it or anything..." she awkwardly waved her stiffened arm around. "[But it makes a good shield! So good in fact that all his teeth fell out. He had some robot teeth just in case, but he forgot where he put them so he turned the lights back on. He couldn't find me, though, because I was hiding in his shadow!]" She stuck her hand through the Detective's own shadow to demonstrate. "[And then I punched him and he fell over and died.]"
"Role: Infiltration? These powers can't be a coincidence..."
"[And then batman said "Good Job, Atomic Kitten. You just stopped a nasty bad guy." and I was like "no probs, Batman!" and then the mayor gave us ice cream! The end!]."
"[...I still don't see how you ended up in Tokyo.]"
"[Oh, uh...]" The girl flinched. "[It was teleporting ice cream! Dr. Insano had it booby-trapped!]"
"Ah, that explains it..." the detective reached into his back pocket and pulled out a blue lollipop. "Thank you hope. I need to get home now, so please be a good girl and wait right here, okay?"
"[Okayyyyy!]" Hope grinned as she stuck the lollipop between a gap in her teeth. "[Oh, can you find a green one next time? They're my favorite!]"
"[I'll see what I can do.]" Detective Ikari wore his best fake smile as he left the room, only to immediately drop it as he bumped into his partner, detective Mitsuhiro Maniwa, a chipper young man who naivete nevertheless obscured surprising flashes of brilliance. A clear plastic cup bounced to the floor.
"Seriously...?" Keiichi sighed. "Eavesdropping?"
"What?" the partner said incredulously. "It was a good story! Plus, I lost my keys again..."
Keiichi sighed. "All that manga you read must be rotting your brain." he slammed the door shut. "That's no kid, that's probably a deep-cover assassin manufactured by some nameless criminal syndicate."
Maniwa frowned as they headed towards the observation room. "...You sure?"
Through the other side of the two-way mirror, Keiichi looked at the kid. "No. But what else could a nigh-unkillable kid with powers suspiciously suited to stealth, espionage and murder be?" the detective and his partner sat down and continued to watch through the mirror as Hope impatiently squirmed in her chair, bending over the chair's to stretch and then falling over with a loud thud. "Plus, she didn't mention anything about her parents, family, or any kind of home life, and doesn't speak a lick of Japanese to boot. She's got something to hide no matter what way you slice it..."
Maniwa gave his partner a strange look. "So... you think she's here to kill someone?"
"That's the annoying part." the Detective rubbed his forehead. "If she was, there's no way she'd show her hand like this. Ken tells me she even changed her hair color once because 'she felt like it'."
"So... It looks like there's a few possibilities here." said Detective Maniwa. He sketched out a Punnett square on his notepad. "She's either a killer or she's innocent, and her personality is either genuine or fabricated..."
"Don't bother with the chart, Maniwa. We don't have enough evidence to make that kind of judgement call just yet."
Maniwa hastily scribbled out his notes. "So what are we going to do?"
"Lock her up in the holding cell for the night and stay up late searching through missing persons reports. Unless you've got a better idea?"
Maniwa grinned sheepishly. "...I guess I don't."
"Well at least you're honest." Maniwa's partner patted him on the back. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."
-END OF CHAPTER-
BETHANY SNOW: ...and welcome back to Chanel 52 News. Our top story tonight, children across the world continue to disappear. Our field agent, A. Bug, has collected expert opinion on this matter. Let's hear what they have to say.
RANDOM HILLBILLY: It's them dang gum weasels I keeps tellin' the papers about, but no one dun' believe me! The god damn weasels with their beady red eyes and white fur, whisperin in my daughter's ear sayin she can be a princess in a castle or somethin. But don't believe em'! Weasels is nuthin but liars, cheats and politicians!
THE QUESTION: Now I'm not saying it's aliens... but it's aliens.
DR THIRTEEN: Oh please, don't tell me you believe that nonsense. This is clearly the cause of something more grounded in reality, like Gorilla Grodd kidnapping children for an imagination-powered devolution machine that he'll use to turn everyone to gorillas. You know, something logical.
KYOKO SAKURA: How the hell should I know? Do I look like a kidnapper to you?
AMBUSH BUG: And there you have it! It seems all the so-called "experts" are just as clueless about this as I am about everything else!
CALENDER MAN: In other news, it's supernatural awareness week. To celebrate, Metropolis University is holding it's 66th annual "Mahocon", where occult enthusiasts from across the globe gather to exchange potions, arcane secrets, and compare pointy hats. Most intriguing was the "Stump the League" panel, where anyone can ask questions to the team know as "Justice League Dark", including the famed magician Negi Springfield, the actual Frankenstein's Monster, and the detective L (who is communicating via audio only).
RANDOM DUDE: Constantine, is Hogwarts a real place?
JOHN CONSTANTINE: No. Next question.
OTHER RANDOM DUDE: Is L really an A.I.?
L: Sure, let's go with that.
THIRD RANDOM DUDE: What is love? Baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more.
NEGI SPRINGFIELD: That's not a question...
FRANKENSTEIN: Can we please stay on topic here?
BETHANY SNOW: And finally, here's Dr. W, our foreign correspondent, where apparently Super Young Team has once again saved Tokyo from the threat of the Ten Ben Matanga. We now take you live, to the scene of the battle.
THE 11TH DOCTOR: Thank you, Snow. I'm here with Most Excellent Superbat, leader of Super Young Team, where we're apparently riding in a car made of solid gold, as impossible as that might sound.
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: Nothing's impossible when you have money!
THE 11TH DOCTOR: Very true. So, mister Bat, how much trouble did you have with the Ten Ben Matanga?
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: They might have fancy suits and a catchy theme song, but they don't have the heart, determination, or brand loyalty of Super Young Team!
THE 11TH DOCTOR: Yes, well. That is a point. Anyway, I've heard that despite your rumored crush on, erm *looks at note written on hand* "Shy Crazy Lolita Canary" (really, is that what she's actually called?) it turns out that in fact she is actually dating the so-called "Batman of Japan". Any comment?
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: Ah, well I wouldn't know about that. I don't make a habit of prying into my teammates social lives after all. AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH AH HA HA HA HA HA
THE 11TH DOCTOR: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
THE 11TH DOCTOR: ha... ha ha ha, ha...
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
THE 11TH DOCTOR: …
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: HA HA... HA.
THE 11TH DOCTOR: …
MOST EXCELLENT SUPERBAT: ...is that camera still running?
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
The "New 52" Reboot doesn't fully apply to this work. While something similar to Flashpoint did happen, the changes it brought weren't quite as dramatic as in the reboot. But instead of yakking on about how stupid DC Comics' managers are, I'll instead talk about some background material. Specifically, the Justice League of the setting.
Astro Boy is probably the first Anime character to join the League on a semi-permanent basis. He's like Plastic Man; heavily associated with the League despite despite not being one of the "Core Members".
Speed Racer was another character who had been on and off the league, though given that his "power" was that he had a slightly less fancy Batmobile his tenure didn't last long before writers ran out of ideas. He most recently joined the team in 2008 to promote the movie, and though he eventually dropped out of active duty he and his family remain supporting characters frequently seen on the Watchtower.
Lupin III is considered an "Honorary member" given the number of times he's helped the team all the way back through the late 70's, where he was able to steal a weapon later used to stop an invasion from the planet Spectra.
The 70's were also a time where we got a rotating series of Gundam pilots, including (but not limited to) Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan, Judau Ashta, Domon Kasshu, Loran Cehack, Setsuna F. Seiei, and Flit Asuno. Most of them are dead now or have been put out of commission due to their Gundams being completely destroyed, and they've rarely lasted more than a few years or so thanks to what fans have called "The Gundam Curse" (which was later retconned to be an actual curse during Morrison's run because of course he'd do something like that). Domon's the one who's probably lasted the longest, flat out refusing to die even no matter how many times he's been blown up, and has become a Green Lantern at least twice.
Devilman joined the team in the 90's during the "Detroit Era", deep within the dark ages of comic books where people craved the kind of violence depicted in the Devilman manga. As in our world, the "Detroit Era" was still terrible, though Grant Morrison's run managed to redeem Devilman and secure himself a place in the Justice League mythos.