The Watchtower
July 18, 2016 - Team Year 6 17:03 EDT
When Bart stopped talking, he noticed that Barbara had a small smile on her face. It was an expression that wasn't completely foreign to him. That smile had appeared when they had completed a mission successfully, but more often it showed up when she would tell the children stories about the heroes that had come before them. That particular tug of her lips always held joy with a hint of sadness in his mind.
"What is it?" Bart perched himself on a counter next to her computer station. Talking to Barbara had always been one of the few times the young speedster would sit still.
"It's just one of the few times in your story that things actually turned out better than they actually did… well, did in this timeline." Barbara's blue eyes travelled up towards the computer screen for the briefest of seconds and Bart instantly knew she was looking for any alert on the facial recognition program. The tiny glimpse of hope had her questioning all over again if things were really better this way. Even with all the death that had already happened in the original timeline.
"What happened next?" she asked, with a shake of her head.
"Well, Blue wasn't there, so he couldn't betray everyone. The celebration only lasted a few days, though. Since the Reach knew about the Watchtower, the League agreed to let Nightwing take the crystal key to the Batcave for safekeeping. They figured it was better in a place the Reach didn't know about." Bart turned to look out the window at the vastness of space beyond the panes of glass. A sapphire piece of the Earth was barely visible in a lower corner.
"It was just two days after the fight on the Warworld that you all saw Blue again. That was the beginning of the public relations push by the Reach, trying to keep everyone from rising up against them after it was proven they lied." Bart sighed as he continued looking out the window, past Barbara. "By showing them that Blue was human, enhanced with Reach technology, the Ambassador tried to distract everyone from what was coming. And it worked; for a while."
He hopped off the counter and started pacing as his story continued. "Jamie started saving people, being a real hero. Then he defeated Toyman in Metropolis. That got some positive press for the Reach, but it wasn't universal like they wanted." Bart stopped his pacing, eyes unfocused on the stars out the window.
"And that's when everything got really, really moded."
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Santa Prisca
June 19th, 2016 – Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 00:00 ECT
For nearly 50,000 years, Vandal Savage had schemed. He had plotted. He had changed the course of history. In that time, he had made mistakes, but none were perhaps bigger than the one staring in his face.
There had been doubters when he had put forward his plan; use the Justice League to bring Earth into the galactic consciousness. Lure the Kroloteans to the planet, with the Reach to follow. Use the Reach to unlock the secret of the metagene, allowing the Light to weaponize it, rule the Earth, and soon after the galaxy. Even goading Mongul and the Warworld here had been part of his plan, since they would be able to use the superweapon to subjugate world after world with frightening ease.
Klarion and Brain had loved the plan, for different reasons. Klarion loved the chaos it could cause; Brain loved the complexity. Lex Luthor had been the most vocal critic. He had said there were too many moving parts, too many places where one little thing could go wrong and upset the entire scheme.
Luthor had been outvoted, but he had been right.
Little things had gone wrong. The Reach were becoming more ambitious than Savage had anticipated. The League now possessed the crystal key for the Warworld. Without it, Savage had nothing more than another moon to look at in the night sky. He didn't want moons. He wanted entire worlds, whole star systems.
First to enter the other side of the cave on Santa Prisca was Black Beetle. Ostensibly the Reach's head of security, he was little more than a common thug, an enforcer. Granted, an enforcer with wildly advanced alien technology, but that didn't elevate Intergang above common criminals. Neither did it for the hulking Black Beetle.
The representatives for the Light were already assembled as the Ambassador and Scientist strode into the grotto, followed by a phalanx of Reach troops. A wholly unnecessary show of force, especially following the fight with the Warworld, but Savage decided he would humor the false lords of Earth.
"Ambassador." Centuries of practice meant that it was no effort for Savage to keep the disdain he felt for the impulsive and easily manipulated Ambassador out of his voice.
"Savage." He is waiting for us to make the first move. He wants to know our feelings before he reacts. Cautious, as always.
"As head of security for the Reach, I must insist, no masks be worn at this summit." The proclamation by Black Beetle surprised Savage, but he tuned out the squabbling from Black Manta. Always the most headstrong member of the Light, the sea dweller had been particularly incensed when it was discovered that the Reach had been hiding a secret fleet beneath the waves. Coaxing from Ra's al Ghul convinced him and Deathstroke to remove their masks.
"And the rest of the Light? Won't they be joining us?" Savage assumed the Ambassador was speaking of Luthor and Queen Bee, both absent. A carnal smile creased his lips as Ra's answered.
"Our more public members are occupied." That was one way to put it. Savage knew for a fact that Luthor was working on several projects at the moment, all to undermine and defeat the Reach. "Some of them are involved in new plans for success, given the severity of your recent defeats."
Savage knew that Ra's' words had to cut deep for the Ambassador. He would twist the knife with a dismissive tone. "And in any case, we are sufficient."
The Ambassador held a long pause before speaking. "Fine." Curt. He is becoming agitated. "I know you called this summit, but the Reach has come with grievances against the Light as well. As we have been attacked publicly in recent weeks, the Light and its allies have done little to quell public opinion. In fact, you stood idly by while I was taken to task on live television."
"If I may respond…"
"No you may not." If Kaldur'ahm voicing an opinion had caught Savage by surprise, the immediate and visceral reaction from Black Beetle caught him even moreso. "Manta, keep your whelp meat silent."
Savage could practically hear the muscles inside Manta's armor tighten, and his tone matched. "Beetle, your insolence grows progressively less… charming." It was time to step in before things got out of hand.
"My friends," if friends were defined by the loosest version of the word, "I think we can all agree that in recent days, no one has done more, sacrificed more, for both the Light and the Reach, than Kaldur'ahm. From capturing his former teammates," which you allowed to escape, "to destroying his team's old base, he has proven his loyalty time and again. This is why he was entrusted with security for this summit, and why he's entitled to a voice here." Savage regarded both the Ambassador and Black Beetle until his answer came.
"Of course," posited the Ambassador. "He may speak." Savage noted the sour expression on Black Beetle's face. Good. Sowing more division between the Ambassador and his thug can only play into my hands.
"Thank you, Ambassador," Kaldur'ahm said, gracious as ever. "We acknowledge your concerns over the actions of my former team. But you must admit that public opinion would not be so far against you if you had more human heroes to put forward, ones whose powers you had enhanced."
"Like the ones you let slip through your fingers," Black Manta added, moving to stand beside his son. "The Light has provided everything the Reach has required, and you aliens have let it all slip away."
Savage watched the Ambassadors eyes narrow and his lips tighten. For all their alien upbringing, the body language of the Reach was still very similar to humans. "I don't believe this is a productive direction for our discussion." The Ambassador's words were practically forced.
"No?" Ra's interjected next. "Your approval ratings are at a record low. As are sales of the Reach drink, which you had hoped would enslave the populace." Hoped, but never would, Savage thought. Not with Luthor neutralizing the agent inside of it from the beginning.
"And those teenagers that escaped your custody, where are they now? What other trouble will they cause you?" Savage's words mirrored his thoughts. He knew vaguely where the children, who had dubbed themselves the Runaways, were, since they were working with Luthor. He also knew when the time was right, their powers that had been unlocked by the Reach would be utilized against their former captors.
The Ambassador seemed to stand straighter, rising to meet the challenge brought against him. "Black Beetle has been called down from our main ship to find these runaways and either return them to our custody or terminate them." Savage inwardly smirked at the Ambassador's terminology, and his rising rancor.
The Scientist, standing slightly behind the Ambassador, spoke up next. "Also, we have begun the process of finding new hosts for our metagene research, which we hope will yield fruitful results."
"So do not question us on that score, or any other." Savage was happy to see the Ambassador finally losing some of his diplomatic veneer. The closer he could get the alien to irrational actions, the better positioned the Light would be to appear as Earth's true saviors. But then the Ambassador's voice snapped back to his normal, measured self.
"Remember, the Earth is now property of the Reach. And per our original agreement, the Light is merely our favored agents amongst the humans." Savage didn't even bother to hide the sneer that crossed his face.
"Show the proper respect, or suffer the consequences." And there it was. The first threat. Savage had always expected it to be the Ambassador's enforcer who would do his dirty work. Unlike Savage, the Ambassador didn't seem like one to get his hands dirty.
"No agreement exists that makes a slave of Black Manta." The words were out of the man's mouth before Savage could speak. The future master of the seas strode forward towards the hulking beetle.
"No agreement exists that guarantees the life of Black Manta."
"Manta guarantees that himself." Both black armor-clad combatants displayed the weaponry concealed in their suits. And while Savage had no doubt Manta would put up a spirited fight, this was not the time or place to try and usurp the alien invaders.
"It seems we have a standoff." The coolness in Ra's' voice could have frozen steam. Savage's eyes traced over to the Ambassador before going back to Black Beetle.
"No. We don't." The beetle warrior struck first, a meaty fist slamming into Black Manta, sending him careening across the room. In an instant, Deathstroke was leaping through the air towards the alien, his staff extended. Both fighters parried blows from the other as Reach soldiers began to advance. Lasers peppered the ground around them, including one which caught Ra's al Ghul in the side, sending him spinning down to one knee.
From his stomach, Black Manta's shoulder launcher fired at the advancing Reach soldiers. The small missile exploded directly in front of them, force of the blast sending them flying backwards with panicked yells.
Amid all of this, Savage merely stood, hands clasped behind his back.
As Deathstroke and Black Beetle moved to engage each other once again, Kaldur'ahm was suddenly between them, hands on both their chests. "Enough." His shout stilled action across the grotto. "We are allies, not enemies. Any conflict between us only benefits our true opponents: the Justice League and their sidekicks."
Savage decided to seize upon the opportunity Manta's son had created. "Kaldur'ahm is quite correct."
"Agreed." The Ambassador's quick approval was something of a surprise, but perhaps he felt this was a fight he could not win at the moment. "We must not allow petty disagreements to drive a wedge between us. Gratitude, Kaldur'ahm." Turning to Black Beetle, the Ambassador's voice took on a harder tone. "Stand down, Warrior."
"Ambassador…" Savage knew that tone. Black Beetle wanted to eviscerate all of them now, agreement be damned, and begin a rampage across the Earth. Alone, if need be.
"Stand. Down." The divisions between the two were growing more obvious by the minute. If he continued to play his cards right, Savage would drive them apart, pit them against each other, and then swoop in to finish off whoever was left standing. Reluctantly, the enforcer stepped back from the confrontation.
"Should we not be concerned that Superman, Batman, the Lanterns, and the rest will soon return to Earth and once again sway public opinion to their side?" Savage had to stop himself from laughing at Kaldur'ahm's ridiculous assertion. That was very much the least of their worries right now.
"Superman and those accused with him will never leave Rimbor." Again, Savage suppressed a chuckle. "The attack we forced them to make on that world, plus a few well-placed bribes, has guaranteed their convictions."
"And the Green Lanterns are forbidden by Guardian treaty from returning to Earth, now that we've convinced U.N. Secretary Tseng to welcome us here." Savage thought he saw the barest hint of a satisfied nod from Kaldur'ahm. His question had been answered. "Besides, I'm sure our approval ratings will rebound on their own, now that we have our own human beetle to keep order."
There was a stirring from the tunnel the Reach had entered from, and suddenly Blue Beetle appeared. The former hero landed beside Black Beetle, but kept his weapons deployed. The threatening display was obvious.
"Be careful, Earthlings," the Ambassador said. "This world will be completely under our command soon."
Savage's hands tightened behind his back. "There is no need for a show of force, Ambassador. We are among friends here, are we not?"
A cruel smile preceded the Ambassador's reply. "Indeed we are. And friends, as I recall from my studies of Earth culture, do favors for each other. So now the Light will do one for us. We require multiple sites, at least a dozen, city-sized, to be prepared for forced relocation of Earthlings."
"That was never part of our deal." Black Manta's voice rose as he stepped forward again, only to be restrained by Savage. With two beetles here, this was not a fight they could win.
"I'm altering the terms of the arrangement." The Ambassador held up a hand, signaling for his soldiers to begin to exit the way they came. "Pray we don't alter it further."
As the Reach forces exited the grotto, the Ambassador turned to look at the assembled members of the Light, still standing their ground. "This meeting is over. Provide us what we want, or we will find those who will."
With that, the Ambassador was gone, leaving Vandal Savage to wonder if, just this once, he had overplayed his hand.
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Atlantic Ocean
July 4th, 2016 – Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 03:35 EDT
For more than a year, his father's Manta-Sub had been Kaldur's home. Its winding and narrow corridors had become increasingly familiar to him during that time. And that familiarity is what allowed him now to sprint through them with increasing abandon, his normal calm demeanor nowhere to be found.
This race over knee-knockers and around tight corners threatened to expose his deep cover mission. A mission that he had held fast to for over a year even if that meant capturing former teammates, being reviled by those he loved and respected, and standing by or even seeming to celebrate as friend after friend was killed.
But none of that mattered now. Because if he didn't get the information he'd just heard out to Nightwing, then he wouldn't have a mission anymore. He wouldn't even have a world anymore.
For his entire time undercover, he'd found ways to pass information along to his old friend. From dead drops to the rare face to face meeting, he'd kept the information flowing, trying to help the League remain a step ahead of the Light and the Reach. It hadn't always worked.
But now Kaldur knew he needed to contact the League, in what was possibly the most dangerous way: an unscheduled communication from the heart of enemy territory to his handler.
Skidding to a stop outside his quarters on the Manta-Sub, Kaldur struggled to control his breathing. Shutting the door behind him, Kaldur quickly moved over to his communications station. He knew he'd have to wipe the footage of his actions later, but he'd worry about that then. Kaldur's fingers flew over a keyboard, typing in a practiced combination. The keystrokes, provided by Nightwing, would let him call to his wrist computer, and then wipe away any trace of the call afterward. Or so the former Boy Wonder said.
Standing hunched over the computer display, Kaldur watched as the seconds ticked away without Nightwing answering. His mind raced. The last communication he had dropped, a recording of the summit on Santa Prisca, had obviously made it into their hands. Savage's angry call the next day as the League members were exonerated and returned from Rimbor might still be echoing in the halls.
While in reality it was just a few more seconds before Nightwing's masked face appeared on the computer screen, it had seemed like an eternity. The thought that it was 3:30 in the morning where Dick was entered Kaldur's mind, but was quickly pushed away. Any trace of a smile disappeared from the younger man's expression as soon as he saw Kaldur's. He knew this was all business.
"You seem whelmed." Nightwing spoke first, uttering the code phrase to let Kaldur know he was alone.
"We are still symbiosi, for the moment." Kaldur did the same, trying not to think about the hidden meaning in his coded response. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure his door was still closed.
"Kaldur, what's wrong? We weren't supposed to organize another drop for a week or so. Not that it isn't good to see you face to face." The Team's leader tried to force a smile, but none came. Still, he looked less run down than the last time Kaldur had seen him. With Batman and the others back on Earth, many of the responsibilities he had carried on his shoulders were now gone.
Except this one.
"You as well, my friend. But circumstances dictated that I contact you now." Kaldur remained hunched over his screen. "Beetles Blue and Black are on the Manta-Sub, conducting an expedition down to a possible sea floor site for Atlantean prisoners. But I overheard them talking. Something's coming."
"What do you mean? What's coming?"
"They said something about a fleet." Dick opened his mouth to say something, but Kaldur cut him off with a wave of his hand. "The way they were talking, this is bigger than what they had here. And it's arriving soon."
Kaldur saw Dick look away from his screen for a moment, past it, listening to frantic typing coming from the other end. There was a pause and then Dick's attention was focused solely on him again.
"We've got nothing on long range satellites. But we'll keep them active. And I'll let the rest of the League know. I think it's time for that United Nations press conference to tell the Reach they're no longer welcome here."
Kaldur nodded slowly. His head slumped for a moment, and when he looked back at the computer screen, a haunted looked was plastered to his face. "Nightwing… when can I come home? I'd like to come home." The surprised look on Dick's face quickly melted into understanding. It was the first time in over a year that Kaldur had seemed to crack. Dick had known this was going to be difficult for him, but the former team leader was just now showing how hard this had been on him mentally.
"Soon Kaldur. Very soon. Once we get the Reach off Earth, I promise. We'll get you home. We'll explain everything. I just need you to hang on a little longer." Kaldur could hear the concern in Dick's voice. It matched the pain in Kaldur's eyes every time he looked in a mirror; wondering if those he'd left behind would accept him again. If they could accept him again.
"All right, Nightwing. I understand." Kaldur sighed, but allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Just a little bit…"
The breath suddenly left his body as intense pain blossomed from Kaldur's back and chest. His eyes travelled down to see a serrated blade springing from his armor, bright red blood covering the length of the weapon. As his vision swam out of focus, he managed to catch Nightwing's horrified expression on the computer screen.
Kaldur was almost sure he heard his friend calling his name as he embraced a darkness deeper than the depths of any of the seven seas.
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Jamie Reyes' scream echoed around the corners of his own mind, but went no farther. He felt his body slowly bend over Kaldur's against his will, serrated blade still embedded in the young man's back. That blade moved him to the side as armor peeled back from his face. Jamie could feel the cool air of the Manta-Sub on his skin, even if he had no control over it.
He locked eyes with Nightwing's horrified expression. A cruel smile crossed his lips, completely opposite from his traumatized cries inside his head.
"Looks like you have a bad connection, ese." That was his voice, his lips moving, but nothing about this was Jaime Reyes. Nightwing's face, slack jawed with wide eyes, and Kaldur's blood soaking the serrated blade the retracted through his body, those images burned into his mind, never to leave. His other hand stabbed down, pushing the button to cut the connection and end the call. With a slash of the still-bloodstained blade, the comm system was cut in two.
Scarab… why did you do that? Why did you kill him?
Do not ask questions you already know the answer to, Jamie Reyes. The armor returned over his face, once again fully encapsulating Jaime in an alien shell.
Why did you make me watch? He was my friend.
The Ambassador requires that you observe all kills to break your pitiful human spirit. Jaime felt his body step over Kaldur's, avoiding the expanding pool of blood on the metal floor. The Kaldur'ahm was a traitor to the cause. Advance warning of our main fleet arriving at Earth is not part of the Reach's plans. He had to die. As must all meat.
Jaime's scarab had been discussing the invasion plans with Black Beetle when both had received an alert from the Reach listening device planted to monitor all outgoing communications from the Manta-Sub. After learning who Kaldur had been calling, Black Beetle had dispatched his little brother to handle the situation. Jaime was positive this had been exactly the outcome the Reach enforcer had been hoping for, and knew he took perverse joy in that fact.
"What have you done to my son?" The shout from the doorway drew the scarab's attention. If Jaime had been in control of his body, he was sure that his eyes would have widened at the sight of Black Manta. Kaldur's father was gripping the doorway with both hands, face painted with a mixture of extreme grief and anger. "What did you do to him?!"
"I put him down like the traitorous dog he was." That was his own voice, but were not his words. Jaime could only watch in horrified silence as Black Manta let out an anguished yell, charging at his body. A tackle sent them both crashing to the floor as Manta deflected a serrated blade with his arm. A punch that followed rocked Jamie's head around, but a quick pulse from the sonic cannon sent Kaldur's father flying off him and slamming into the far ceiling.
Standing, the scarab brushed itself off and laughed, a deep guttural sound that Jaime didn't know his body was capable of making. "Foolish old man. You had no idea your son was a double against us, against his own father. Did you?"
"Shut up!" Manta spit blood onto the floor as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He placed a hand on the bulkhead to steady himself, but rage still burned bright in his eyes. From Manta's shoulder, a small missile launcher rose, firing before Jaime's scarab could react. One, two, three missiles slammed into his body, sending him flying back against the wall. Smoke rose from his armor, exposing charred skin underneath, but Jaime relished the pain. He almost hoped that Black Manta would finish the job, killing him and ending his suffering with the Reach.
And it looked like Manta might do just that. Despite his injuries, the older man was on top of him quickly, pummeling with armored fists. "That. Was. My. Son." Each word was accentuated by another blow. The scarab tried to fight back, but Jaime's wounded body was too weak to put up an effective defense.
Just when Jaime thought he would lose consciousness, that he might be able to embrace death and get away from this torture, he saw two massive black hands encase Manta's head. Before the Light member could even react, those hands snapped his head around violently. Black Manta's body collapsed over Jaime, just feet from where his son also lay dead.
"We must get you to a medical bay, little brother." Black Beetle's large hand enveloped Jaime's, pulling him to his feet. The older beetle lifted his head, his next words going out to all Reach soldiers.
"The Light have betrayed us. Black Manta attacked Blue Beetle and his son betrayed our plans to the Justice League. Find all Light members and terminate them. It is time we showed Earth who its true masters are."
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The Watchtower
July 18, 2016 - Team Year 6 17:25 EDT
Bart stopped his story when he saw Barbara's slack-jawed expression. Had he crossed a line? Had his recounting of the story she had told him finally become too much for her to handle?
"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I can stop. You know, just give you the spoilers from here on out. Make it short and sweet."
To tell the truth, part of him wanted her to take him up on that offer. To just give the bare bones basics of what came next. He'd watched her eyes well up with tears every year the Reach had forced them, forced everyone, to relive what came next. Each year, they'd try and find some way to block it, but every year their efforts were ineffectual. They would try and tune it out, forget it was happening. But the scars were everywhere. On their planet. On their bodies. On their minds. They couldn't block it out, couldn't forget. Sometimes they'd watch just to see the faces of loved ones lost one last time.
Barbara looked at the floor for a moment. Then she reached back, pulled her hair out of a ponytail, shook her head four times, and then pulled her hair back even tighter than before. It was a move Bart had watched her do hundreds, maybe even thousands of times in his timeline. He knew what it meant. She was ready to get back to work.
"So the Reach attacked the Light," Barbara said, completely ignoring his question. "What happened after that?"
"Luthor and Savage somehow managed to escape the Reach ambushes. They got into contact with the Watchtower. Luthor had programmed some code into the computers no one had found yet when Savage took over the League previously. They met with the founding members of the League and told them what was going on, what was coming next. The League also had the information Kaldur got out before he was killed." Bart paused, not mentioning Nightwing as he looked at Barbara.
"The League took all of that to the United Nations and Secretary General Tseng. They called a press conference, Tseng pulled his invitation to the Reach…" Bart stopped again, looking at the floor. "And that's when all hell broke loose."