Chapter Twenty-Two
Metropolis
United States
22:24 – Eastern Standard Time
March 14, 2007
Galatea flew forward and continued to do what she had been doing, which was using her heat vision to blast the alien's jetpacks, forcing them to land. Once they were down, the heroes that were on the ground were able to take them out much easier.
It was strange to her that she was working with the Justice League instead of against them. Even so, she still wasn't quite ready to call them allies. Not now, if ever.
As more and more military began to move in with Tanks and troops, detaining the defeated Gordanians, Galatea decided it was finally time to leave. At the end of the day, she was still wanted and she didn't want to give anyone the chance to apprehend her.
With only a few of the enemies still airborne, she left.
Steel watched her go and took in a breath of relief. The clone put him on edge and for good reason. He had faced her once in combat and it had been one of the closest brushes with death he had ever had. Truth was, if Kara hadn't shown up in the reactor room aboard the Watchtower when she did, he might be dead now.
He put his focus on the battle ahead. The Gordanians were falling and now with the US army moving in, they were being taken into custody. What they planned on doing with them afterward was anyone's guess.
Steel, S.T.R.I.P.E, and Hawkman fought the rest of the airborne Gordanians, while the fourth 'flyer' Stargirl helped direct any straggling civilians out of the area.
With yet another close call from a tank's cannon fire, which narrowly avoided hitting Hawkman who was locked in combat with two Gordanian flyers, Steel decided it was time to fall back and focus solely on helping the civilians.
Washington D.C.
United States
22:26 – Eastern Standard Time
March 14, 200
Shayera's team had arrived, joining the leaguers who were already there and along with the help from the Airforce and their new fighters, they had quickly turned the tides.
The Gordanian ship fell out of the sky, a plume of smoke streaming out of the engines as it crashed into the Potomac river, sending water crashing up and over the banks.
That's when streams of Gordanians flew out of the downed ship, filling the sky.
Shayera was the first in, her war-cry echoing through the air. Close behind was Captain Atom, then Fire, then the rest of the flyers.
The heroes on the ground did their best. Speedy shot arrows, Vigilante fired his revolvers and Ice sprayed out jets of Ice, knocking a few out of the sky for Etrigan, Obsidian, Crimson Fox and Vixen to deal with.
The Gordanians may have outnumbered the heroes by a huge margin, but they were still losing. It was mainly due to Shayera. She was in the middle of them and from the other's perspective it seemed like she had completely lost her mind. The Thanagarian's war-cries filled the air and she swung her mace around wildly, knocking the enemy away almost like they were nothing. It was frightening to watch.
Then one of the Airforce jets came swooping in and fired a missile into the heart of the enemy, where Shayera was.
The explosion rang out, sending bodies hurtling away. Windows shattered and car alarms went off.
Green Lantern had to raise a shield as the shock-wave hit him, knocking him back. When the dust had settled, he looked around to see the sky nearly empty of not only Gordanians, but leaguers as well.
He cast his eyes to the ground, seeing the previously airborne Ray, pick himself up off of the ground. Then Speedy's voice came over his earpiece.
"What the hell was that?"
Lantern kept looking around. There was no sign of her. "Shayera!" he called out, both aloud and into his ear communicator.
"Jeez,"Vigilante's voice said over the comlink. "Can ya not holler so loud, right in ma ear?"
Lantern ignored him. "Shayera!" he called out again, desperation in his voice.
He looked around, trying to find her. His eyes then found Vixen's. Her expression was somewhere between a frown and a scowl.
Then he heard her voice in his ear. "And you wondered why I didn't want to marry you?"
"She might be hurt," he tried to explain. "She's just a teammate," he then added.
"We both know that's not true. We'll stay here, finish them off. You go find her."
"Mari," he said.
"We were both kidding ourselves. You more than me."
"I love you, Mari."
"You love her more."
He fell silent as he moved off in search for the fallen Thanagarian among the mass off unconscious or maybe even dead Gordanians.
Whatever weapon the Airforce had used it had been fairly devastating There hadn't been an explosion per se, more of an air burst that had sent out a hefty shockwave.
He raised his ring, trying to find her life-signs. Most of the downed Gordanians were in fact still alive, but he didn't care about them. All he cared about was finding Shayera.
Lantern continued to fly over them, desperate to find her. Then he did. She was laying face down in the dirt, her left wing bent at a strange angle. She was still alive, her ring gave him that much information, but he didn't know how badly she had been injured.
He flew towards her, briefly pausing as he heard another loud crack of what almost sounded like thunder. He looked around to see another air-burst knocking more Gordanians out of the sky and Captain Atom barely getting out of the way of the shockwave.
A moment later Captain Atom's voice was in his ear. "We're not able to coordinate with the Airforce and it's proving dangerous. We're going to have to retreat."
"Do it," Lantern said. "Fall back, let them handle it from here. Focus on any civilians in the area that may be injured."
"Understood."
He moved to Shayera's side and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Shay!" he shouted.
She didn't respond. He slowly picked her up off the dirt, careful not to injure her. He noticed her mace was dangling from her wrist, attached by the wristband. He carefully took it off and held it in his own hand while he took her in his arms, bridal style, careful not to knock or jar her broken wing.
The sound of Captain Atom's voice came over his earpiece once more. "I think you should get out of here, Lantern. We're being ordered to stand down by the US army. I think they intend to arrest us."
John Stewart closed his eyes. He had hoped that it was just some pilots getting overzealous, but it appeared to be more than that. He wasn't sure what had happened to push them over the line, but a distrust had been brewing between the US government and the Justice League for a while. The Metro Tower and their transparency was supposed to alleviate it. Turns out it hadn't. Things had only gotten worse.
"Go with them for now. I'll warn whoever I can."
"What about Zatanna and the alien?"Captain Atom inquired.
Lantern had completely forgotten about her. "You listening in Zatanna?" he asked.
Zatanna responded. "Yes I am. I'm here with Ryand'r. It's been a pain keeping him with me."
"Listen, Shay needs help and right now the Metro Tower is off-limits, so I'm flying her up to the Watchtower. Do you have somewhere you can go?"
"I know a safe place,"Zatanna said.
"Where?"
"The Tower of Fate in Salem."
"Get going as soon as you can."
"Understood."
He then looked up at the sky and realised there was something he had to do. "Green Lantern to Superman."
There was a pause before the response came. "Superman here, we're on our way to Metropolis."
"That might not be a good idea," Lantern said. "Firstly, the military has things under control and second it seems we're also in their sights."
"What do you mean?"
He looked back down at Shayera. "Shay was injured by some kind of missile fired by our supposed allies. They're also ordering us to stand down. Shay told me when her team arrived about J'onn and the Metro Tower. We need to regroup at the Watchtower."
"Understood, returning to Watchtower. Do you need a pick-up?"
"No, I'll get there myself. Lantern out."
He put a green shield around the two of them as he lifted off the ground. He then cast his gaze towards where the leaguers were congregated, surrounded by US Army personnel, their arms raised. Lantern still couldn't quite believe what was happening.
"How the hell did it come to this?" he wondered aloud.
He ascended higher, hearing an amplified voice telling him to return and surrender. He ignored it as he continued to ascend.
Metropolis
United States
22:34 – Eastern Standard Time
March 14, 2007
Steel sat down in the back of the truck, looking at the others that were there.
Green Arrow, Black Canary and Stargirl had managed to slip away unnoticed, much to the relief of Pat Dugan AKA S.T.R.I.P.E.
Those that had extra equipment had had them taken away. Both John Henry Irons AKA Steel and Pat Dugan had been forced to ditch their armour though both now wore interface suits that lay under the armour which still had the benefit of hiding their identities and increased their capabilities. Hawkman had lost his wing harness and his axe while the rest didn't have weapons that could be taken away, but they had all been given collars that would inhibit any meta abilities.
The rear door of the truck shut and they felt the vehicle begin to move.
"What's going to happen to us?" Dove questioned.
Irons answered, "We don't know. We're probably going to be held until they're forced to let us go."
"How long will that be?"
"None of us knows," Pat said. "But I sure hope this doesn't involve us revealing our identities, 'cause if it does, I'm busting out."
"We should be doing that now!" Hawk said. "Why did we let ourselves get captured."
"Good faith kid," Pat said. "We're not criminals and so far they've respected our privacy. When the founders handed themselves in after the Cadmus incident, they respected it. With luck, they'll do the same this time, too."
"Who says they will?" Dove asked. "They might want to know who's under these masks."
"The probably do," The Atom said. "They didn't arrest us for the fun of it."
"Hopefully, we'll find out the why soon," Irons said. "And I'm sure Superman and the others won't sit idly by and let this happen without a fight."
"A verbal fight I hope," Dove said. "I doubt a physical altercation will do us any good."
"I'd prefer it if he knocked their heads off," Hawk mused.
Outside Shanghai
China
11:39 – China Standard Time
March 15, 2007
Gordanians filled the skies. The ship had been knocked out of the sky a few minutes ago and now they were in the middle of a battle in the sky and on the ground.
They were savage but coordinated, which made them dangerous in their larger numbers. Still, the leaguers were managing to keep atop of it.
The fact was that the Gordanians didn't even know what to make of the motley group of heroes or how to fight them. Sand and Elongated Man, in particular, confused them they had no real way to combat the two heroes when they couldn't really touch them.
When the amount of Gordanians still in combat dropped below a certain threshold, the Chinese demanded the league left.
There wasn't any protest though they let them know that the league would stand by if they needed assistance.
The Chinese government outright refused.
It was obvious why. They wanted to make sure they got their hands on the Gordanian technology.
They knew that any government getting alien technology could prove disastrous, but right now there wasn't much that could be done.
By the time they all were back aboard the Javelin, the area was full of Chinese infantrymen, tanks, helicopters, planes and everything else they could send. The Gordanians were now simply outnumbered one-hundred to one and near beaten.
Dr Light started the engines before calling the Watchtower. "Dr Light here," she began. "We've done as much as we can here, where do you want us next?"
Terrific's tired voice came over the line. "Return to the Watchtower. Do not enter US airspace, just come straight here."
She glanced over to Sand as he sat in the copilot's seat. "Something sounds off," he commented.
Light agreed. "Is something wrong?"
"We'll brief you when you get up here."
"We're on our way." She closed the channel and glanced back. "Is everyone ready?"
Everyone gave confirmation and she lifted off and headed up into orbit.
Watchtower II
Earth Orbit
23:12 – Station Time (EST)
March 14, 2007
Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash all sat around the circular table in the founder's conference room. Things had taken an odd turn, which none of them had expected.
Shayera was stable and her wing had been set. None of them knew if it would heal as none of them had any real experience with Thanagarian physiology beyond Shayera herself. She had fractured her wing before, but not outright had some of the bone shattered as it had been tonight.
With J'onn in custody and Batman not on the station, it was just the four of them.
Superman had briefly spoken with both the President of the United States and with someone at the United Nations. The president had offered an apology for any injuries and had maintained that the privacy of the heroes in custody would be maintained, however, he had also stated that they would be held pending an investigation into the league's actions and lack of communication during the Gordanian attack. The United Nations had said something similar.
"So, what's the plan?" Flash asked the others.
"We wait," Superman said. "We can't rescue them, not without us becoming outlaws in the US."
"So we leave them incarcerated?" Wonder Woman said with a raised brow.
Lantern folded his arms with a frown. "That's what we have to do unless we want to cause an incident."
They all looked around as the door slid open unexpectedly. To their surprise, it was Batman who strode in.
"I thought you were in Atlantis?" Flash asked.
"We were able to repair the Javelin," Batman informed them as he took his seat. "Fill me in on what's happened."
"A good part of the league was taken into US custody," Lantern began. "Including J'onn."
"Is every free leaguer on the Watchtower?" Batman inquired.
"No," Superman said with a shake of his head. "Green Arrow, Black Canary and Stargirl are on their way to Star City and Zatanna is on her way to the Tower of Fate with Ryand'r, the Tamaranean."
"Any leaguers unaccounted for?"
"Crimson Avenger, Gypsy and Nemesis have reported in. They were unable to respond to our general distress at the start of the Gordanian attack because of their locations at the time. Dr Mid-Nite is currently in hiding and we haven't heard from The Creeper. As for Question, we don't know where he is and we don't know where Dr Fate is either. He might be at his tower, but you know how he can be."
"What about the Metro Tower?"
"Currently occupied by US Army," Lantern said. "The teleporter down there was remotely destroyed by Terrific. There won't be enough for them to piece it back together.
"Anything else?" Batman asked.
"Terrific tried to contact the Titans out of New York. No answer. Seems like they've been taken in and Gear in Dakota City says that Static's gone missing while out on patrol. There could be other unaligned heroes that have been taken in, but at this moment, we don't know if that's the case."
Batman thought for a moment. "We all knew that this was coming sooner or later," he told the others. "There has been a growing resentment for Metahumans for a while now, mostly caused by the actions of the criminals. There have been a few presidential candidates that have gotten close to being elected that promised full registration of all with powers and tech-based abilities. We all know why that can't be allowed to happen. It would put a heroes family and friends in danger, effectively crippling heroes and future heroes from being able to fight crime. This would give a lot of villains free reign to do what they wanted with no repercussions."
"But why now?" Flash asked.
"The destruction of a city is a good motivator," Batman said simply. "They fear that we're too independent and perhaps that's true."
"What's your recommendation?" Superman asked him.
"You have most likely already agreed that we should wait and see?" he said.
"That's correct," Lantern said.
"No," Wonder Woman added furiously. "I think we should take action. They have no right to take our sisters and brothers into custody."
"That's a bad idea," the Dark Knight told the Amazon. "Until we have more information, all we can do is make calls and inquiries. Any hostile action would work against us. We must also keep a close eye on the situation. I have someone I need to talk too, someone that may have some inside information."
"And who would that be?" Wonder Woman questioned.
"Waller."
"Amanda Waller?" Superman asked in disbelief. "You think that's a good idea? She isn't exactly trustworthy."
"She might have inside knowledge that we need," Batman told them. "And I know where to find her."
"But she isn't just going to give it to you," Lantern pointed out.
"Let me worry about that," Batman said standing back up.
"You're off now?" Flash asked. "You just got here?"
"Why wait?" Batman questioned as he left the room.
Service Station
Outside Metropolis
United States
23:25 – Eastern Standard Time
March 14, 2007
Emil Hamilton and Pauline Lester sat inside the car wondering if Galatea would find them or even know where to look.
They were parked just outside a service station off the freeway. It was the same road they had been travelling along before Galatea had awoken with the knowledge of the attack and flown them to STAR Labs to pick up the stealth suit.
They hoped that she would think to look for them here, but they were starting to believe that they might be waiting a long time, that they would have to move on without her. This thought made him feel slightly depressed. In their excitement and hurry, they hadn't set up a place to meet.
He had seen the alien ship descend over the city and then see it get taken out. Then he had seen what looked like streaks of red energy which he had wondered was Galatea, but knew it was probably Superman or Argo or whatever Supergirl called herself now.
He had also heard the booms from whatever weapons had been used against the aliens. He was sure they had been fired by the strange looking aircraft that bore US signage. Whatever they were they had been fairly devastating.
The sound of snoring brought him out of his depressed thoughts. He looked to Pauline, who was sat in the driver's seat fast asleep. A small smile spread across his lips at the sight. He didn't blame her. It was late, they were both very tired.
He looked down towards the road and watched the sea of red and yellow light of cars that drove down the freeway. It was almost mesmerizing to watch.
Then the rear-left door opened, causing him to jump. He spun around in his seat to see Galatea climbing inside, discarding what looked like a space-suit into the open trunk behind her.
"You two were a bitch to find," she told him.
"I didn't think we'd see you again tonight," he told her, a sense of relief washing over him "Pauline's fallen asleep."
"I can tell. You wanna wake her up and take the wheel, or do you want me to carry the car again?"
Emil vigorously shook his head. He didn't like that last suggestion one bit "No, you don't have to do that."
He gripped Pauline by the shoulder and shook her gently. She stirred and looked at him. "What's up?" she slurred slightly.
"Tea's here. I'm going to take the wheel. You want to sit in the back While she sits up front?"
Pauline nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll do that." She pushed her door open and climbed out, while Emil swapped into the driver's seat, Galatea taking the seat to his right.
Not long after they were back on the freeway heading north-west.
Somerset
Gotham City
United States
23:36 – Eastern Standard Time
March 14, 2007
Amanda Waller sat in front of the television, watching intently as the events of the night unfolded.
She was sat in her recently purchased home in mainland Gotham. From here she could see the islands that made up the majority of the city and even had a view of where old Arkham lay before it was moved to a newer, more secure building.
Waller leant forward and put her coffee on the coffee table, then switched the television off.
"How long are you going to stand there?" she asked not looking around.
The Dark Knight seemed to emerge from nothing in the dark shadowy room, which was now only illuminated only by a small lamp on a shelf.
"I need answers," he said simply.
She kept looking forward, her face devoid of emotion. "You should know that I'm not in the same position I was. I don't have access to the goings on of things, so I can't help you."
"You know enough," he said tersely.
She looked around. "Do I?"
"You make it your business," he said moving forward, his cape wrapped around his body making him look almost like a phantom.
"Perhaps I do. Alright, Bruce, I may know something."
His eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell me you forgot I knew who you were?"
He didn't respond.
"I'll throw you a bone," she said standing up to face him. "I don't know everything, but there has been some planning behind the scenes for some time."
"Planning for what?"
"To control the Justice League. The United Nations mainly, though the President and the top brass in the military want you to be controlled by the US."
"Naturally."
"Yes," she agreed. "The members of the United Nations have pretty much all agreed that to be able to operate in their nations, you need to be controlled and regulated by them."
"That's not going to happen."
"If you want the league to continue existing, then you'll have to. Unless you all want to be branded as criminal vigilantes."
"How many heroes are being brought in?"
"Just the league as far as I can tell. Oh and those teens in New York as well as Virgil Hawkins."
"Static Shock in Dakota City?" Batman questioned.
"He's been connected to the league."
"He's independent."
"He's been sighted working with you on more than one occasion. The reports do say that he was the first member in the expanded league before the Thanagarian Invasion."
"The reports are wrong. He never joined. He wanted to keep to himself, at least for now. We respected that wish."
"He's collateral," Waller said. "He's lucky his sidekick didn't get dragged in too."
"What happens to those incarcerated?" Batman demanded.
"They're not incarcerated, they're being held."
"For how long?"
"I don't know. In fact, I've told you all I know." She sat back down. "You can see yourself out."
She waited for a few seconds before looking around. Batman was gone. She released a heavy sigh. Out of everyone she had ever met, he was the only one that managed to unsettle her.
She picked up her coffee and took a sip. Her face screwed up. The coffee had long since gone cold. She promptly took it to the kitchen and poured it down the sink.
Watchtower II
Earth Orbit
00:05 – Station Time (EST)
March 15, 2007
John Stewart stepped into the medbay, passing a staff nurse both giving a friendly 'hello' to each other.
He entered the ward where Shayera was sleeping. She wasn't in a regular bed, instead, she was suspended slightly in the air, her damaged wing in a specially made sling.
He stood by the door and just stared. He felt guilty. About Shayera, about Mari. Things were complicated, more so than they should be.
Did he love Shayera more than Mari? He honestly didn't know. The question then became who did he want to spend the rest of his life with? A week ago he would have said Mari, but she had turned down his proposal for marriage.
That had thrown him off. He didn't want to date for the rest of his life and he was practically fifty and knew that there was not as much time ahead as there was behind him. Dating was a game for the young. He wanted something with more foundation. Something that had a greater meaning. He also wanted the decision of who he loved to be his and not be bound to any sort of fate.
He had seen the future, seen his and Shayara's son. The future wasn't set in stone though and he wanted to pave his own.
But if he and Shayara didn't have Rex, his son in the future, would that be proactive murder? Someone who existed wouldn't exist because of him. John hated time travel. He loathed it. A future shouldn't exist for them to go to. It wasn't written yet, or rather shouldn't be written yet.
Also, those futures did change depending on actions of the past. Did this mean that that future no longer existed? Or did it become part of another timeline where the event that changed it never occurred?
He was reminded of the Justice Lords. A decision by Lex Luthor to run for president around the time their group formed let to the death of Flash, of Luthor and the totalitarian Justice Lords.
Was that just a branch off of this dimension? Could that have been them that turned into the Justice Lords?
The whole thing gave him a headache.
"You just going to stand there?"
Lantern was brought out of his thoughts be the voice. His eyes met Shayera's as she looked over at him.
"How long was I out?" she asked him.
"Over an hour," he told her as he moved over to her side.
"My wing's broken I know that much. What else is wrong with me?"
"A lot of bruising and scrapes, luckily. You came out of it pretty well considering. There could be internal damage. They've already run a scan, but they're going to run a few more to make sure."
"What happened?"
"US Airforce fired something into the mass of Gordanians you were fighting. Went off. You were caught in the explosion. So were a few other Justice Leaguers, but you caught the worst of it."
"Incompetent. They should watch where they're shooting."
"Me, you Zatanna and the Tamaranean kid were the only ones from DC that aren't in US custody. Those fighting in Metropolis were also mostly apprehended as well."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Looks like the league's going to have a shake-up and not of our own doing."
"You think the US government wants to control the league?"
"I know they do. Why wouldn't they? A whole organisation of super-powered beings at your disposal?"
"Yeah, I can see the appeal. But they don't actually have any legal recourse to do that, do they?"
"Who knows. The law can sometimes be a tricky thing. Right now we're not aligned with any one nation though we have close relations with the US, more so than any other country due to that being where a good portion of our members come from."
"Couldn't we become our own nation?" Shayera questioned.
"A nation without a place to call our own but a space station and a tower on American soil?" he questioned. "That would also bring its own problems."
"So what do we do?"
"Right now we're waiting. What you're going to do is get some rest."
"Sure John. One last question?"
"Shoot."
"What happens to those in custody?"
"We don't know," he told her honestly. "Goodnight, Shay."
"Night, John." He turned and left the medbay.
A lot had happened yesterday. From the induction of four new members to the attack. Things had quickly spiralled out of control and to a place they hadn't expected themselves to be in.
The future of the Justice League was uncertain. It was being pulled out from under them and none of them were sure how to fix it.
Updated December 2017