Chapter Thirty-One

Watchtower II

Earth Orbit

17:14 – Station Time (EST)

March 16, 2007

Shayera was pretty bored. She was out of commission and she was quickly running out of things to do. Spending all her time at the gym wasn't healthy and unlike the others, she couldn't go down to Earth for a day out anywhere as unlike most of the league, she couldn't just disappear into the crowd. Instead she drew them and since the events that had lead to her quitting the league a few years back, sometimes the crowds were less than friendly.

Normally when she had nothing better to do, she headed down to Earth and took flight. There was no better way to pass the time than in the sky. Unfortunately she was strictly grounded until her wing healed.

Right now she was wandering the station. There were still areas she hadn't had the opportunity to explore till now and she had to say there was clearly a reason. Cargo bays and dead ends was what she found, certainly not anything interesting.

After finding yet another dead end, Shayera decided to head up to the promenade, which lay in the upper section. It was the largest room on the entire station and was where most of the heroes tended to congregate. It also had the monitor nest was, though it was elevated above everything else and felt rather secluded when up there.

She stepped into the elevator and pressed the top button. The doors slid closed and she waited while it took her up to the uppermost deck.

Shayera stepped out of the elevator to see a bright ankh appear in the middle of the room, indicating that Doctor Fate was probably going to be arriving in the next few moments.

The heroes that were present, which were Dr Light, Booster Gold, Elongated Man, his "adversary" Plastic Man and Red Tornado, all watched with mild interest.

As expected, Fate flew out of the portal and landed with a grace that almost made even Shayera feel jealous.

The ankh remained open and it soon became clear why as a figure in a hooded dark blue cloak flew out of it, followed by a woman in a red and black robe. Finally, a third also in red, but with a blue mask jumped out and the ankh closed.

Shayera swiftly moved over to them. "Fate, who've you brought up here?" she questioned. She couldn't remember the last time he had brought strangers up here unauthorised.

He turned to her. "All the founders need to be called for an urgent meeting."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Well Diana's busy in California, Superman's at work at his day job and don't forget J'onn is being held."

"All available founders then," Fate amended. "The others can be briefed in due time."

"And what about these three?" Shayera said, gesturing at the women.

"Two of them will require somewhere to stay for the time being. Raven will be present at the meeting."

"Which one's that?"

"The one in blue."

She looked at Raven for a moment, then to the one in the red and black robe, then at the dark skinned girl in red. She addressed the last one. "Okay, you're the only one that doesn't give me the creeps."

"Um, thanks. I'm Shebang. You're Hawkgirl, right?"

Shayera's eyes narrowed. "Not anymore. I go by Shayera now."

"You ditched your Superhero name?" Shebang asked surprised. "Wow."

"Where have you been?" Shayera asked. "Remember the Thanagarian invasion? That was the last time I used Hawkgirl. I killed it and it's best left in the past."

"Why? The name was cool and outfit you used to fly around in was pretty nice," Shebang commented. "You looked real intimidating."

Fate interrupted. "This discussion can happen later. There are important things that need discussion."

Shayera nodded. "Right, I'll tell Terrific to make the calls."

Watchtower II

Earth Orbit

17:32 – Station Time (EST)

March 16, 2007

"I hope this is important," Wonder Woman said as she stepped into the conference room, where Shayera, Lantern and Flash were currently sitting.

"So do I," Flash said, glancing to Shayera. "I was in the middle of something."

Shayera smiled. "Don't worry, we'll have you back down there in no-time."

Wonder Woman sat down. "Let's make this quick. I'm getting rather tired of all these so-called important impromptu meetings we've been having lately."

Flash looked towards the door. "I know Supes is at work and J'onn is indisposed, but where's Bats?"

On cue, the door slid open and he stepped inside, not at all looking happy. "Where's Fate?" he demanded.

"Sit down and we'll call them in," Lantern told him.

Batman grudgingly did so.

Lantern looked to Shayera. "You called us here, so you want to bring him in."

Shayera rose up and moved off to the other door. It slid open and she returned with Fate and Raven following close behind. Shayera sat down and the two stood at the other side of the circular table to where the others were seated.

"I will cut to the chase," Fate began. "There is a powerful demon that needs a specific kind of power force to enter this realm." He gestured to Raven. "Raven here has that ability, however, she has the motive to want to stop the demon from arriving in this dimension. However, the Church of Blood worship this demon and want to bring it here to Earth. Our goal is to seek out Brother Blood, the leader of this cult and stop him."

"Woah," Flash uttered. "That's a whole lot of info to just drop on us."

"I agree," Wonder Woman said. "I feel there should have been some forewarning. This seems to have come out of the blue."

Fate nodded. "I understand and I await your questions.

Shayera went first, "Who's the demon in question?".

"Trigon," Batman answered for Fate. "I tried to research him, but came up with very little."

"You won't find information on him with an internet search," Raven told him dryly.

Batman glared at her, unimpressed by the retort, while Shayera smirked.

"Wow, she just sassed the Bats," Flash said.

"So, who is this demon?" Wonder Woman questioned the two of them. "We know its name, what else do you know about it?"

"Trigon is a conqueror," Fate said. "He brings death and suffering wherever he goes. Entire dimensions have fallen to him."

Shayera folded her arms. "So, how do we stop him?"

"We don't," Raven said.

"So he conquers us?" Lantern said. "I don't think so, we'll stop him, even if we have to bring Oa and all the Lanterns into it."

"To stop him is simple. We prevent him from entering this realm," Fate said. "To do that, we seek out Brother Blood, as I have said."

"And where do we find him?" Wonder Woman questioned.

"That is the question," Fate said. "Unfortunately, he has knowledge of blood magic. This makes him a very dangerous foe to face, so we will need to be careful."

"Not to Captain Atom," Flash pointed out. "He's a living nuke."

"Nuclear reaction," Batman corrected.

Lantern leant forward in his seat. "Any idea at all as to where this Brother Blood is?" he asked, echoing Wonder Woman's question.

"No, but we may be able to find him through the followers of his demonic church."

"And when we find him?" Shayera questioned. "What do we do with him?"

"We stop him by any means and it needs to be final."

"What do you mean by that?" Batman all but demanded, not liking what had just been insinuated.

"You mean kill him?" Flash realised. "The league doesn't kill. Not for any reason."

"Then we might all be doomed," Fate put simply. "He cannot be held in a prison, not with that many followers."

"If we must, then we must," Wonder Woman spoke out.

Batman regarded her. "Only as a last resort."

"Have you been listening?" she said. "We need to stop him."

"We don't kill," Flash said.

"And where has that gotten us?" Wonder Woman argued.

"A clean conscience," Flash replied. "Remember the Justice Lords? That's what happens if we kill. We become dictators taking away people's freedom in the name of 'security' and 'safety'. We can't allow that to happen."

Lantern raised his open hands, drawing everyone's attention. "First, we need to find him. We can figure out the rest once we know how much of a danger he is."

"I agree," Shayera said. "Anyone know where to begin?"

"Not yet," Fate said. "But I will find him. With Zatanna's and Inza's help, he will be found."

Raven turned to him. "I can help also."

He nodded. "Yes, you certainly can. In fact, it may be necessary."

"Will you be returning to the cave?" Batman questioned.

"We will, but we won't be staying," Fate informed him. "It is likely that our search may draw his attention, especially with Raven's help."

"Are we setting up an ambush?" Shayera asked.

"Eventually," Fate said. "But now that we are aware of the situation, we can afford to wait until after your meeting with the United Nations."

"That's probably for the best," Batman agreed. "For now, we need someone to look after our guests."

"Guests?" Flash asked. "There's more than just Raven?"

Batman looked at him. "Shenice Vale and Lilith Clay came up here with Raven. All three will need to be put under observation."

"Don't you trust them?"

"You have just volunteered," Batman told the speedster.

Flash shook his head. "Sorry, but I've got things to do."

"We don't need to babysit them," Wonder Woman told him. "Assigning a guard should suffice if it's that important."

"In my experience when dealing with potential threats, nothing suffices," Batman retorted.

Flash gestured to Raven. "She's stood right there, y'know."

Shayera rolled her eyes. "I'll keep an eye on them if it's that important," she offered.

"Is that everything?" Wonder Woman asked, resting her hands on the table as got ready to stand up. "I need to be getting back to Gateway City. And please, try not to have any more meetings today, I've had enough of them."

"Is that it?" Lantern asked, looking to Fate.

"There is nothing more for now," Fate said.

"Then we're dismissed," Lantern concluded.

Everyone rose up, only to be interrupted by Terrific, whose voice came over the intercom speakers. "Sorry to interrupt,"he began, "Just received a call requesting our assistance."

Batman pressed down a button that lay on the circular table in front of him. "Regarding what?"

"It's to do with Jump City that was struck by the Gordanian beam weapon. The army has been working with the emergency services to help people, but there are people trapped that they can't get to and the place is, to be frank a complete mess."

"So they want our help," Lantern commented.

"Unbelievable," Wonder Woman muttered. "After what they did to us."

Batman spoke to Terrific through the intercom. "If we help, they won't try and detain us afterwards will they?"

"They've given us their word that they won't,"came Terrific's response.

"How much is that worth?" Shayera said distastefully.

"Tell them we're gathering teams together," the Dark Knight said.

"Understood."

Lantern looked to Flash, then to Wonder Woman. "You'll both be needed."

She clenched her jaw while Flash grimaced. "Understood," the Amazon said. "I will inform Nightwing of the situation."

"I doubt Green Arrow or Black Canary will be of much use in Jump, so I suggest you give them a call and have them head over to Gateway if you think Nightwing will need backup. They're in Star City."

"That's not a bad idea," she conceded.

"Shayera, we'd ask you to come, but you're still injured," Lantern added.

"Don't worry about it," she said moving over to Raven. "I have a job to do up here."

Batman turned to the others. "Let's gather who we can and get down there."

They all filed out of the room, Flash wondering if he would get to see Giganta again today. He figured probably not.

Jump City

United States

15:12 – Pacific Standard Time

March 16, 2007

Not having anywhere they could safely teleport and knowing they would probably need them, they took a series of Javelins down to the surface. As they descended over the city, they saw the fires and the smoke. The city was devastated, a giant crater marring the centre of what would have been the downtown area.

The truth was they would have been here a lot sooner, but they had essentially been banned from American soil with the risk of arrest and incarceration. With that removed, they were more than happy to lend assistance and by the looks of it, it was very much needed.

"How many people died down there?" Flash asked the pertinent question.

"Too many," Lantern answered. He then pointed. "We'll be landing there by that survivor camp and we'll be coordinating with the man in charge."

The league had split into teams lead by Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Batman, Big Barda, Orion, Fate and finally Superman who had left work. Each of the eight teams was made up of three people and there was at least one flyer and one heavy lifter in each team, though in most the flyer and heavy lifter was the same person.

The Javelin touched down and the hatch opened. They all headed out, as the second and third Javelin landed nearby.

Lantern and Flash were the first to meet up with the man in charge, who was the rank of Major.

The Major held out his hand, with a grim expression on his face. Lantern shook it. "Glad your here," the army man told him sincerely. "Glad they finally asked you to help. I'm not ashamed to admit that we need it."

They waited while Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Big Barda, Orion and Fate arrived at the camp. The Major then greeted the newcomers. "As I was telling Green Lantern and the Flash, I'm glad you're here. I'm Major Lawson and I'm the one that's in charge here. Let's get right on with it. There are plenty of people that are still trapped and folks that are missing." He gestured for them to follow him into a large tent, which they did. He then stood at a table with a map, a red circle in the centre of it, then a yellow circle around that, both of them encircled by a blue one.

"Is that the point of impact?" Superman asked, gesturing to the red circle.

"Yes," the Major confirmed. "The area has a half-mile circumference and the energy weapon vaporised the downtown area. The buildings outside the circumference were blown away as though they were hit by a nuke. That area has a circumference of three miles. Then we get to heavily damaged buildings that are no longer structurally sound, then finally to the outer edges of the city where they suffered from simple smashed windows."

"I guess no one's alive in the first two areas," Lantern said, looking at the map.

"You'd think, but some areas were sheltered by other buildings or because they were in a lower or recessed area. The inner sections of the city are pretty much blocked off. Between the roads being ripped out of the ground and the debris, it's been difficult."

"So you want us to search inside the yellow zone," Wonder Woman said.

"Yes, we're sure there're people still alive in there, but we just can't get to them," Major Lawson told them.

Superman stood up straight, puffing out his chest. "Don't worry, if they're alive, we'll get them out."

"I'm sure you will," Lawson said. "Have you organised teams."

"We have," Wonder Woman confirmed.

"I'll let you plan out your operation," he said. "The map's yours if you need any answers to any questions one of my men should be able to help you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do and lives to save."

The major moved off and they all stood around the map.

"Let's get started," Lantern said with a sigh.

This was going to be an unpleasant afternoon.

Dakota City

United States

18:21 – Eastern Standard Time

March 16, 2007

Galatea sat in the back of the Vista Cruiser, Emil and Pauline in the front. They were heading back to Dakota City University and they were running a bit late.

"There she is," he said hurriedly as he pulled over to the other side of the road to where the parking lot was.

He jumped out and quickly made his way over. She noticed him and waved. The two met up and being curious, Galatea listened in.

"It's good to see you," Delina said.

"The same," Emil replied.

"You weren't followed were you?"

"No. Tea has her eyes out and she was trained to be very observant."

"Tea? That's what you call her? Cute."

He cringed. "It's just a nickname, like when people called you Deli."

She glanced over at the car. "You've grown attached to her, haven't you."

"She's my daughter."

Deline focused back on Emil. "She isn't though, is she."

"She might as well be. I love her like one."

A smile crept onto her face. "That's really sweet and I think she could use a father figure. She could probably do with a mother figure as well."

"Unfortunately, she doesn't have one. For now, Pauline will have to do."

"Pauline?"

"An old friend."

"Okay then." she paused before her expression turned sour. "Listen Emil, I'm sorry but I can't really help you," she apologized. "Well, at least not directly."

"I understand," he accepted.

"Before you go hear me out. I have a vacation home in California, I bought it with the generous package our previous shared employment dished out when they let me go."

"I know, It was to keep you silent."

"Yeah, it was. Money in exchange for silence. Of course, they did make me sign papers with the threat of being locked up for the rest of my days if I ever told anyone what we were doing. Anyway, I have a sat-nav in my car with the place marked on it if you want to use it."

That surprised Emil. "Wait, you drive all the way to California?"

"No, I take it with me when me and my son go there on vacation. I rent a car out there and use that."

"Oh, that makes sense. Though I'm not sure using it is a good idea. They have ways to track them."

"If you don't want to use it then that's fine I guess. But you won't find your way to the place without it. It's a lone place in the forest." She rubbed the back of her head. "Alright, I might regret this, but I'll let you stay at my place for the night. But just tonight. Maybe we can print off a set of directions for you."

"That would be nice and I really appreciate this."

"Yeah well, I'm gonna have to call the guy who watches over it and tell him you're coming. How long you plan on staying?"

"I honestly have no idea," he said. "I would like to think it's until this all blows over, but I don't think that's likely to ever happen. At least not anytime soon."

"I only asked because I rent the place out from time to time to help pay for the upkeep. Anyway, we can talk about this back at my place. I'll get my car and you can follow me.

"We'll be right behind you," Emil said.

"See you in a bit," she said, heading off to her car.

Emil turned and came back to the car. He pulled the door open and climbed in. He glanced at Pauline. "We're going to her place. You two talk about anything while I was gone?"

"No," Pauline answered. "But Tea seemed really interested in whatever it was you were talking about."

Emil frowned at her disappointingly. "That was a private conversation, Tea."

"Not my fault if I have over-sensitive hearing," the clone said with a shrug.

Emil turned the ignition and the car roared to life. "It doesn't matter I suppose," he said. "We're going to be following Delina to her house. Don't know how far it is, but we'll find out."

It only took twenty minutes or so before they arrived at her rather large suburban home on the outskirts of the city. They parked the station wagon in the garage as Delina didn't want it on the driveway.

Delina then led them into the house, locking the door behind them.

"We have four bedrooms, so one of you is gonna have to share the one that my parents use when they come visit."

"I'm not sharing," Tea said.

"Well, it would be inappropriate me and Pauline to share," Emil replied.

"If it's that much of an issue, one of you could always sleep on the couch," Delina suggested.

"I suppose I will," Pauline said.

Emil looked at Galatea with a frown.

"What?"

"It wouldn't hurt to share a room for one night," he told her.

She shrugged. "Fine, if it will stop you complaining."

Emil leaned towards her, keeping his voice down. "We're guests, try and behave yourself."

She mocked a salute. "Yessir, I will be on my best behaviour from now on."

"Please Tea, just try and behave."

"Okay, okay, I will."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah," Galatea said, before gesturing up at the top of the stairs. "Now who's the kid?"

"I'm not a kid," the one in question said from where he stood at the top of the stairs

Delina smiled. "Come on down Max, say hello."

"Who are they?" he questioned.

"Come down and find out."

"Just tell me who they are?"

"Maxwell," she said in a warning tone.

"Don't call me that," he said turning and heading off back to his room.

Emil looked at Pauline with a smile. "Does that remind you of anyone?" he asked her.

Galatea folded her arms. "I hope you aren't referring to me."

He chuckled in amusement.

"You're lucky you're my dad," she said. "Because you'd be in trouble otherwise."

Delina looked at them, before addressing Emil. "Can we not annoy the person who could level the entire city, please."

"I could level more than the city," Galatea said with a half shrug. "But I'm not going to, because unlike what the government or the Justice League might think, I'm not a psycho."

"That's good to hear," Delina said. "I'm gonna order some take-out. Anyone want anything in particular?"

"Whatever you want," Galatea said. "I don't care."

"I'm not bothered either," Pauline said.

"Order what you want and we'll eat it," Emil told her.

"I'll order Chinese then," she said moving over to the phone. "You can all sit and wait in the living room if you want."

They did just that.

Central City

United States

17:21 – Central Standard Time

March 16, 2007

Giganta had become bored sitting alone in Wally's apartment waiting for him to get back, so she had decided to get out for a few hours. She was feeling a lot better from her hangover and with Wally's help before he had been called in by the league yet again, she had sent off several applications to several job prospects.

She was hopeful that she would get a reply and more than one. She liked having options and if only one replied and offered an interview or something, then she would have to take it. Or she could leave it and abandon the whole idea. But she liked the notion of having a normal life. Or at least semi-normal. All that being a villain had gotten her was punched in the face and prison time and that wasn't fun. Not at all.

She stepped into a coffee shop and ordered a drink. She took the coffee and sat down in a booth, resting her drink onto the table and took a glance outside.

Giganta watched the traffic go by as she waited for her drink to cool.

"Hey, hun," a feminine voice said with a distinct southern drawl.

Giganta looked over as a blonde woman with rather large biceps sat down opposite her.

"Do I know you?" Giganta questioned, eyeing the woman suspiciously.

"Sorry darlin', we ain't never met."

"Then why did you sit opposite me? I'm not looking for company, at least not from strangers."

"We've been lookin' fer ya," she said, leaning back and folding her arms with a smile.

"We?" She didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, we."

"And who is we?" Giganta asked cautiously.

The blonde waggled her finger. "Nu-huh, I ain't tellin'. Not yet."

"Whatever you want, I'm not interested."

"Come on Giganta, don't be a meanie. Hear me out."

That was enough to get her to leave. Giganta called over the waitress.

"Ya leavin'?" the woman asked.

Giganta ignored her as she asked for the bill. She promptly paid for it before standing up.

"Ya can't jus' leave," the woman said with a slight pout.

"Don't follow me," Giganta said as she turned and left the coffee shop. The woman gave her a bad feeling and she wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

Giganta glanced behind her shoulder to see the woman was following her. She smiled as she saw an alleyway. She was going to put a stop this before it went any further.

She headed into the alley and waited. The woman, however, didn't follow. Giganta started to feel on edge.

She looked behind her just as something hard struck her on the head. She saw a glimpse of the blonde southern woman just before she lost consciousness.

Updated December 2017