A/N: Special props to a friend who proof-read the last chapter and helped the story make more sense. Let's get on to chapter 3!
Washington DC. The Capitol Building. Alexander Luthor Jr has just been sworn in as the President of the United States of America.
"My fellow Americans, friends, as your President I take into consideration the safety of this country's citizens. Proud citizens who deserve nothing but freedom. Freedom from subjugation. Freedom from fear. The recent events that have led to the unfortunate death of my predecessor, a dear friend of mine, have shown us that there is a group that are tarnishing that freedom. The Justice League." Luthor pointed up at the sky, towards the Watchtower, only just visible during the day. "They have extraordinary powers that they claim to use only to save innocent lives. The fact of the matter is that the tragedy in this very city was made infinitely worse by the reckless action of a Justice League member."
The crowd started to stir considerably. "You do not deserve to live in fear of such powerful and unrestricted beings." Luthor's pose retracted back into a more reserved stance. He took his hands off the podium and clasped them behind his back. "They do, however, have the capacity to give this country, and this planet, a security from certain threats that would otherwise decimate us all in a heartbeat. Because of this, my first act as President is to create a new executive branch to finally put this in check. This executive branch, which will work with the United Nations will seek to make sure the Justice League never makes a judgement call that results in such tragedy. Once Congress approves my bill to bring in the Office of Meta-Human Regulation, we will all feel safer."
The Justice League Watchtower Recreational Room. Several heroes are gathered around a large monitor, watching Luthor's inauguration.
"You have got to be kidding me" said The Flash, "regulation? Really?"
"I think it'll be a good idea" Green Lantern said "As much as we all try our best, it's good to have some oversight." Luthor's speech continued on-screen.
"With this new act, members of the Justice League who reside in the United States will have to formally register with and report to the OMHR. Those who don't come under the category"
"So we're basically just going to be government agents then?" Booster Gold said, "I'm all for a bit of a regimental shake-up but this is too far?"
"Furthermore," Luthor's voice came from the monitor, "all Justice League members will have to make the OMHR aware of their so-called 'secret identities' for the purpose of transparency."
"Okay now that's just not gonna fucking happen" Flash stood up, clenching his fists, "I am not giving my secret identity to Luthor. That's literally giving him ammunition to hurt us."
Before anyone else could reply, they realised that Superman was standing in the doorframe.
"We're going to have a meeting about this. It's going to be alright." He turned back immediately and flew upwards, heading for the Justice League War room.
"Superman to Omega-Level members. Meeting in the War Room ASAP. We need to talk."
Back in Washington. Luthor is returning to his makeshift office in the Capitol Building with the Secret Service.
"Sir, you have visitors," one of the agents said as they made their way through the hall. "They're waiting for you in your office."
"I wasn't expecting anyone" he replied. The agent shrugged his shoulders.
"Well sir, arriving unexpectedly is kinda his deal." They arrived at the office door and Luthor raised his eyebrow as the door opened.
"You have got to be joking." He walked into the office to find Amanda Waller sitting in a chair in front of the desk. Standing beside her, his body entirely covered by his shining black cape, was Batman. "What are you doing here?"
"I think you know exactly what I'm doing here, Mr President." Batman said, the sarcastic undertones to his statement were almost tangible. Luthor smiled and waved his hand behind him to his guards.
"Wait outside." The guards left as he walked up to Batman and Waller.
"I have to admit, I knew a high ranking league member would do this, but for the life of me I never thought it would be you." He walked over to a decanter and poured himself a drink. "Brandy?"
"You need me, Luthor. I can help speed this whole process up and save a lot of aggravation."
"I don't doubt it, but why are you doing this? I would've thought you'd be the last person to side with the government on this?" Waller opened her mouth to say something but Luthor raised his hand and stopped her.
"I became Batman to make sure that innocent lives wouldn't be lost, that people could feel safe. It's also why I joined the Justice League, but even that is flawed. I think with my help, this could be the logical next step." Waller tried to speak again and Luthor raised his hand once more. She looked noticeably irritated.
"And why do you think that you're going to be more influential that Superman? He's the face of the Justice League?"
"Is this a job interview?" Batman replied, tilting his head slightly. Luthor raised an eyebrow. "Three points. First, Superman may well be the face of the Justice League, but he doesn't believe in what the OMHR will stand for. He thinks the League should be as it is now. Second, Kal-El isn't human and because of that, he could be seen as an outsider and overstepping his jurisdiction. Third, when he's not Superman, he's a news reporter. When I'm not Batman, I'm head of an international multi-billion dollar corporation." He pressed a button on his belt and his mask unfastened. He raised his hands and pulled it off. Luthor's smile grew even larger. "That is why you need me."
The Justice League Watchtower. War Room. The Omega-Level members of the Justice League are gathered around their table.
"He's not coming, let's just start" Aquaman said, "He made his decision." Flash, J'onn, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman all sat down in their seats, Superman at the head of the table.
"This meeting has been called to order in light of recent events concerning the League as a whole" said Superman.
"Luthor's proposal has the power to completely control what we do. I don't trust him" Flash said, "this will fundamentally change our lives and put our families at risk."
"I disagree" Green Lantern said, "We have a duty to the people of the world. We shouldn't be completely separate. I've thought about this concept a lot since I joined the corps, and if all we do is from up here in our space station, we may as well be living on another planet. You may not think about it like that, but I can guarantee you that there are a lot of people who think that."
"But they're going to control us?" Superman said. "We shouldn't be government pawns, we should fight this!"
"But we won't be working for one single country. We'll be working for the U.N. through the OMHR." Lantern replied.
"And what the hell is the difference?" Flash said, standing up.
"The difference is that you won't be working for Luthor!" Lantern stood up to Flash, face to face. J'onn stood up as well, raising his hands at each of them.
"Stop it, stop it right now!" They both looked at him, still tensing their muscles. "You are both arguing pointlessly. Regardless of what you believe, we are here to help protect the people of Earth. You have to respect their government's wishes, no matter what you think of their policies."
"Superman?" Wonder Woman said, "What do you think?"
"I agree with Flash." Lantern turned to Superman and scowled.
"Of course you do! Your irrational hatred of Luthor has blinded you to the good points that he makes!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Superman, still sitting in his seat, bashed his fist against the table, shattering the glasses of water laid out for each member and leaving a sizeable dent in front of him. "I don't care about the semantics, whether we're working with or for Luthor, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I don't think Luthor is telling everyone the full story. I can't get on board just like that." He snapped his fingers.
"I agree" Martian Manhunter said, "Superman is right in saying that Luthor most likely isn't being completely transparent about what he is doing." Flash sent a smug grin in Lantern's direction. "However, I disagree with Flash in saying that we need to be proactively fighting this." Flash's grin disappeared, whereas Lantern's grew double in size. "I will happily not make any kind of deal with Luthor based on the gut feeling you have, Flash. I will not, however, be a part of any resistance to this, we have no moral right to."
"So you just have no backbone?" Flash said. Aquaman gave him a fierce stare before turning to J'onn.
"I'm with the Martian" Aquaman said, standing up. "This seems like a surface world problem and I'll have no part in it. I'm leaving this mess before it inevitably escalates. J'onn you're perfectly welcome to join me." J'onn stood up and the two gave mild nods to the rest of the table and turned to leave.
"Kal," J'onn said, "please don't do anything you can't undo." They walked out of the room. A few seconds later, the whooshing sound of the teleporter was heard echoing through the hallways. A few seconds of silent reflection passed, before Lantern stood up and pushed his chair in.
"Barry, Clark, if you don't get on board with this, I can't see any way in which you can get out of it cleanly. You can't fight the cards if they're stacked against you."