Eric - To me, the supernatural in comics would be alng the lines and order of: God (Supreme being), Mythological Gods (Beings of emense power but nowhere near God himself), Aliens (Same as Mythological Gods but with a corporial form, putting them lower than them overall. Lords of Order/Chaos and Trigon would fit into this catagory.). At least that's how I see things in comics overall.
Wizzerl - Glad you like it and have started following. Things are still just getting started overall here.
Black Victor Cachat - Nope, I'm keeping the events in the game with Tula in this one. And if you want to know how I think of gods in DC and all of comics, I put that in my response to Eric. That's just how I see anything supernatural rank in comics in general.
Nocis11 - Yes. Damian and Tim have their parts in upcomming chapters with Tim's coming up next episode.
5.
Titan Tower
July 9
18:51 UTC
With the Bioship landing in the hanger of Titan Tower, the overhead doors slid shut with bright overhead lights flickering on as they did so. It did not take M'gann long to leave the hanger with Carter sleeping in her arms and venture past the living area where Garfield and Terra were on their Tpads with one of the music channels on as background nose. Between them were bottles of water and a large bowl of popcorn.
After greeting her blood brother and the Earth mover, the Martian co-leader headed to her son's room next to her and Conner's and carefully placed him in his bed. Tucking him in, she stroked the top of his head and gave him a kiss before leaving to greet her husband and wash the salt water residue off her body.
With the door sliding open, M'gann entered her and Conner's bedroom to find him sitting on the side of the bed with only a single lamp on. She could tell by the look on his face he was deep in thought and was brooding about something, just as he used to do when the black ops team first formed.
"Conner?" she said as she placed the bag with Carter's things by the door to unpack later.
Looking up at the sound of his name, Conner let out a sigh. His eyes, always serious looking, were even more so.
"Conner? Is anything wrong?"
Nodding, he got to his feet and let out another breath. "We need to talk."
Luthor Towers-Metropolis
July 9
18:57 UTC
Situated at a long dining table with a single bright, white light above them, Lex Luthor and his guests finished enjoying an exquisite meal of roast pheasant, various sides, and tall glasses of wine. Lightly pushing his plate away, Lex wiped his mouth with a pure white cloth napkin then placed it on top of his silverware to the side of his empty dish. Following up, he downed the last bit of his drink then nodded slightly as one of three severs took care of his plate and utensils. He was not the only one finishing up with his dinner as his two guests had done the same. Their servers took care of the dishes before being served dessert, a decadent sorbet with gold flakes served on crystal and diamond dessert plates.
"My fellow Light colleagues," Lex said shortly after they began to partake in their desserts, "before we begin the night's business, I must thank you again for your services."
"Beginning the sales pitch early, Lex?" To the billionaire's right sat Ra's Al Gual with his bodyguard, Ubu, standing behind him. "I hope this has nothing to do with your...political aspirations."
"Agreed," Queen Bee said from Lex's left. "It would be such a displeasure if I had to fly half way around the world to listen about how you need financial backers for your campaign."
"As flattered as I am that you two would offer your aide to me in that arena, I must decline." Watching the two, Lex saw them place their utensils on the table before continuing. "I have asked you both here tonight and for the next few weeks to witness what our hard work has created. Months ago, we have begun a plan that would ensure the Justice League's defeat. With the donation of one of Ra's' top assassins, the underground cavern housing a Kryptonite infused Lazarus Pit Queen Bee has granted us access to, and my brilliance of course, we now have a loyal soldier for our cause."
Standing from his seat, Lex moved around the table, ushering the few servants present to vacate the room. Once the doors closed, the lights around the three and Ubu came back on. Until now, the three had been eating surrounded in complete darkness and now found themselves in a observation room with a wall sized window overlooking a large empty, gray room.
"As the final members of The Light, the last ones standing, we have shown we are the strongest. Vandal Savage fell to vanity. Brain to lack of seeing the bigger picture. Klarion to his, childish whims. And then there are our sea dwelling comrades, each fell to greed. That only leaves us, the chosen few, to usher the world into its rightful phase, a world without the need for super do gooders to rescue them from themselves. After all, this country, America, was built on the backs of normal men and women, not super men and wondrous women."
Motioning the others to join him by the window, Lex crossed his arms as he, Queen Bee, and Ra's witnessed a lone man come into view on the floor below them. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white wife-beater, standing perfectly still with his head down and flexed arms at his sides.
"I would like to reintroduce you to John Corbin. Or rather, the new and improved John Corbin, Project Metallo."
Looking carefully at the man below, Queen Bee recognized him as the chauffeur from earlier. "You wanted a new limo driver? Has Mercy lost her position with you, Lex?"
"Mercy is on...an extended assignment for the time being," Lex responded. "And he is more than just a limo driver."
"I would hope so, Luthor," Ra's commented. "It would look extremely bad on your part if you only wanted an assassin of mine as a replacement cybernetic bodyguard."
"As I have stated, Ra's, we are on the cusp of creating loyal soldiers for ourselves. Our own private army against the League to show them humanity does not need their help. Where genetic experiments, clones, sorcery, and most recently, brute force have failed, we shall go for infiltrators. Ordinary looking civilians capable of getting close to the League and their team of youngsters. Mister Corben here is the first."
With a flick of his wrist, Lex signaled for a group of unseen men to start the demonstration. A squad of armed security soldiers, his elite security soldiers, ran in from the shadows around the lone blond man and drew their weapons.
"Those weapons are loaded with thirty thousand volt rounds. If struck, Mister Corben will be instantly immobilized. I have him currently set to battle a certain red and blue alien, but I thought you would like to see him in action against a highly trained tactical team."
Moving as one, the Swat look-a-likes moved in on the lone man. Each had an MP5 or a shotgun aimed at John Corben. Once they came within a certain distance from him, John's eyes popped open and flashed a bright green, what came next was an example of a one man army.
Instead of attacking the closest soldier, John dashed ahead faster than any of them thought was possible and landed a hard sidekick to the stomach of the farthest one. He then clotheslined the second soldier where he once stood, then delivered a straight cross to the one in the middle of the group.
"Impressive," Ra's said. "Pin point accuracy just as he has been taught combined with speed near that of Superman."
"He would be a perfect match in speed, but he does have something to make that up." As Lex continued to watch, he and the others saw John backhand another of the soldiers when several shotgun blasts struck him.
Each shot ripped pieces of his flesh off, exposing reflective metal underneath instead of blood, muscle, or bone. Locking his gaze on the one shooting at him, John held his arm up and had his forearm transform into a cannon similar to Mercy. The sound of it powering up started out low then quickly grew in volume as a bright lime green light came to life at the end of the barrel. The entire process took less than three seconds when he aimed and fired a green shot at the offending soldier, striking him in the chest and sending him back into the wall some twenty yards away, leaving a large dent in the concrete wall.
"Where Mercy used a concussive laser, John uses a what?" Queen Bee asked.
"Kryptonite beam with enough force to knock a non meta human back around fifty to sixty yards."
Ducking under a spray of submachine gun fire, John came up and viciously grabbed the last soldier's weapon, crushing it in one hand then picking its owner up with the other. Powering up his eyes, the cybernetic assassin unleashed twin beams of light, causing Ra's and Queen Bee to avert their gaze with what he did.
"And that my friends, is the first in a line of super soldiers to combat the League, Metallo. Nearly as fast as Superman, capable of crushing titanium in one hand, armed with not only a Kryptonite laser, but two more in his eyes. All powered by a Kryptonite heart pumping Kryptonite laced blood through his veins. You see Ra's, I took your assassin I purchased from you and made him a Kryptonian killer with a tactical mind instead of being a mindless brute like the last one. In short, any one from Krypton who touches him is instantly poisoned with the only thing capable of killing them. On top of that, they won't be able to fight him from a distance as he has that covered as well."
Walking back to where he first started, John, or Metallo, kicked a groaning soldier in the face before turning to stand in an at attention stance.
"Should you like what you see here," Lex continued, "I can have other super soldiers created from your best men. Ra's, you can have the equivalent of Batman serving you. Queen Bee, imagine someone capable of slipping into other countries to hand them over to you, much easier than your...personal way."
Grinning, Queen Bee turned to Lex. "While I would enjoy an army of these, I have to ask, will there be a more, 'hands on' test? Perhaps pit him against one of the Kryptonians as proof."
"She's right, Lex," Ra's agreed. "We had Project Kr stolen and turned against us, the perfect Match for Superman degenerate, the doomsday weapon destroyed, and not only have two but three Kryptonians now. What makes you think a Mercy two point-O will prove to be any better?"
Smirking, Lex ventured back to the dining table and grabbed a wine glass. "Because I have an ace up my sleeve. One that has been in planning for quite a while now with a very specific target in mind. When the game changes, the rules must change, but in this case, I not only make the rules, I make the game."
Holding his glass out, the clean headed billionaire gave his cohorts a salute then swallowed the remainder of its contents.
Gotham City
July 9
20:57 UTC
Standing on an isolated roof overlooking the industrial district of Gotham, Robin and Vibe waited for their two partners to join them. It was not long before a white light came streaking through the sky as Blue Beetle circled the building and landed next to the other two. A second after touching down, Kid Flash rushed up the side of the building and joined the three.
Nodding, Robin held his hand out. "This is for Eddie."
"For Eddie," Vibe said, placing his hand next to the Boy Wonder's.
"For Eddie." Blue Beetle did the same.
"For Eddie." Adding his hand last, Kid Flash and the others dedicated their current patrol to their deceased friend.
"Hey now, don't you think you can do this without me." Coming in on a glowing disk, Static landed on the roof with the others. "Eddie's not only your friend, you know."
Grinning, Robin watched as Vibe placed his hand on top. "Alright. Let's do this."
As the group pulled their hands back, Robin saw the top of his glove was covered in orange powder then looked over at the one most likely to have left it. "You ate Cheetos before getting here, right, Bart?"
"Sorry," Kid Flash said. "After the tenth or twelfth party size bag, well...you know."
"Yeah," Robin said while wiping the cheese dust off, "I know."