Chapter 8: FAST PACE

' Empires are not brought down by outside forces - they are destroyed by weaknesses from within. ' – Lionel Luthor, Season 1, Episode 10 : " Shimmer ".

May 31st 2012. 04:48 AM UTC-6. Somewhere in the northern part of the Atlantic ocean.

The torpedo struck the Expandable head on. A terrible sonic wave traveled through the metallic ship, the impact sent it careening back from its sheer strength. Chloe felt the vibrations through her bones, Oliver was there to catch her but he himself lost his footing and they both crashed the floor in a movement everyone imitated.

The submarine's audible wince filled their ears like the call of a dying whale. She knew the ship had taken a fatal blow. It wasn't anything like the explosions of depth charges around them. This time, the structure had been pierced open and the front compartments were filling with water at a great speed.

Chloe and everyone else felt the balance shifting towards the front, threatening to send the ship deeper into the abyss.

"We're hit!" the operator shrieked. "Section A and B are drowned, sir! Section C is filling up in no time!"

The captain grabbed his desk and fought against the gravity to stand upright, holding the operator's shoulder as he looked at the screen informing him of the damages. If anything, the look of alarm on his face would have convinced Chloe they were on the brink of death.

"We're tipping downward, captain!"

This time the panic started invading the rest of the crew and she could feel the fear clogging up the atmosphere in the room.

The captain snatched the radio device. "Full-power, reverse! No restrictions!" he ordered to the mechanics in the reactor room at the back of the ship before turning to the navigator close-by. "Empty the ballasts, seal off section C and activate the pumps!"

"Aye, captain!" the navigator kept a cool head and did as instructed while everyone watched him.

Chloe tightened her grip on Oliver, both of them were still on the ground along with the King and his men. Come on, come on, come on! She thought, her heart pounding.

The navigator let out a cry of frustration. "We're not moving up, sir!"

"Blast off the content at the front, for god's sake!"

Sections A and B were dedicated for storage needs and heavy baggages were filling the rooms to counteract the weight of the nuclear reactor at the back. Section C was the kitchen which, thankfully was empty when the ship was hit.

The Expandable couldn't move up or down as the front was loading up water and thus gaining more weight. The captain's order to empty the water-ballasts, the system which helped the ship move upwards or downwards, had had the effect of canceling the added weight at the front, stabilizing the submarine in an even balance.

Albeit, a fragile one. Section C was still filling up with water and adding more weight which would eventually send back the ship plunging to the depths of the seas. Expelling through pressured air the content of theses sections would lighten the front which would automatically go looking towards the surface.

They all felt that moment when the entire ship started pulling up. The navigator smiled as the captain spoke up into the radio once again. "Correction, full-power and forward course!" he ordered, canceling his previous order and giving the engine's strength to help the ship towards the surface.

It was going to be a long and perilous journey to the surface. The King stood up, along with everyone else and approached the captain whose concerned demeanor told him everything wasn't as encouraging as some might have thought.

"What is it, Francis?"

The captain was almost surprised by the question. "It wasn't an explosion." he referred to the torpedo. "The ship was hit but there was no detonation. A real torpedo would have blasted open the entire nose of the ship and we'd be having waters up to our knees in this room right now."

"If it wasn't a torpedo, then what was it?" the king wondered.

"I'm not sure." Francis shook his head. "Maybe it was a torpedo and it didn't detonate but that's an extremely rare occurrence..."

"Huh, I don't know what it was but I know for sure, torpedo or no torpedo, that thing hit us, alright?" Oliver chimed in. "And right now I couldn't care less what it was, I just want to make sure you're gonna get us to the surface, okay?"

The captain turned to the operator. "Report status, officer!"

"Depth: five-hundred feet and going up at thirty-three knots speed!" the radar operator said, his eyes glued to the screen.

Another officer went on. "Section C is full and sealed up, captain. From section D onwards, we're dry, sir! Contents of sections A, B and C have been expelled and the reactor's temperature is still in the safe zone!"

The captain nodded and looked back at Oliver. "We'll be able to breathe fresh air in two minutes." he assured him.

The king turned to Flagg. "Round up everyone to get their weapons ready, prepare some divers in the airlock and set up the rest of the men at the deck exit." he ordered.

"On it, Commander!" Rick replied, already trotting out of the room.

"If they fired at us underwater, then we're gonna have company up there." The king told Chloe and Oliver.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. "Surely they will have destroyers aiming their canons at us the moment we peek an eye out. Your rifles aren't going to help."

The king's face remained closed, almost as if he hadn't heard her. "We'll make sure you and your friends get out before any of my men fire a single round. Remember to take the data, leaving it here is too dangerous."

"Whoah, okay wait up!" Oliver said. "It sounds like you want to go down with a fight. Wrong?"

"I'm prepared for every plan of action, Winch." The king replied. "We're not afraid to die in order to accomplish the mission but between us, that's not my preferred option."

A siren rang up. "Hitting the surface in fifteen seconds!" the operator shouted.

The King suddenly turned to one of his men. "Get me Wilson and Regina over here to coordinate the action with me. Flagg will lead people out, we'll watch over things until it's our turn."

"Yes sir!" the man saluted him and ran out.

"Go," Maxwell Lord nudged Chloe and Oliver. "Put on your jackets, and get your friends out, we'll prepare a rescue lifeboat out there. You are the priority."

"Yeah well, let's just hope they don't shoot us when we get there." Oliver muttered, guiding Chloe out of the room.

"Don't we all?" the king whispered.

"Surface, now!"

May 31st 2012. 04:50 AM UTC-6. Somewhere in the northern part of the Atlantic ocean.

The Expandable surged out of the water in a seizing roar. A wounded monster of over six thousand tons emerged in a terrifying and yet fascinating sight. At the surface, the ocean had calmed and it was a quiet and unending land of water that greeted the machine.

Inside the submarine, there was a gripping tension as the crew became agitated in the control room. The radar operator double-checked his screen and was tempted to rub his eyes when the report came that there was no ship waiting for them at the surface.

"Well?" The Black King demanded, intently watching the captain who was spinning in the middle of the room with his periscope.

He turned, watched on every side, shook his head then repeated the process. "Confirmed." he said after a few rounds. "We're clear."

The King grabbed his radio. "All units, evac now. The way out is clear, I repeat: the way out is clear."

The ship writhed again, off-footing its crew even as a loud bang echoed from the front. Slade Wilson grabbed a pipe to stabilize himself. "Okay now... what the hell was that?" he wondered quietly.

"Sir?" came Tess's voice by their side, drawing Lord's stare off the dark corridor.

He blinked and gripped his radio and was about to speak when the ship shook again. "Speed up the evac, Flagg! We've got trouble!"

Rick Flagg's soldiers, a dozen men and women wearing assault rifles strapped on, had stepped on the submarine's deck and saw with their own eyes the static spectacle that greeted them. The first tremor caught them by surprise and a couple of men had almost fallen into the water before they could throw out the lifeboat.

"Speed up the evac, Flagg! We've got trouble!" came the Commander's voice on his shoulder.

"Copy!" he trotted towards the airlock and extended his arm. "Hurry up, we ain't got all day!"

Batman was the first one to be helped out and, as another tremor upped their sense of urgency, both men did their best to drag out the stretchers carrying J'onn, Dinah and Victor in the best conditions possible.

"What's going on?" the vigilante's rasping question wasn't one Flagg was willing to answer.

The lifeboat was held close to the ship by his men and they slipped the stretchers one by one in the middle of it so as not to upset the balance and tip it over.

"I honestly have no idea." Flagg answered once they were done.

Batman nodded and leaped on the lifeboat. "Let's not waste time then."

The next one to poke his head out was Oliver Queen. "What's happening?" he asked, barely out of the airlock himself. He was extending a hand inside to help Chloe towards the surface.

Rick huffed. "I don't know and if you could keep -"

The Expandable roared, a jolt of incredible force sent everyone on the deck flying to the water and a terrible wince started to echo dangerously from the ship. Rick Flagg struggled for a moment in the water, unable to process what had happened.

He coughed out the water he had absorbed and almost strangled himself when a horrifying sight painted itself in front of him. Just a few yards away, the Expandable's rear was carried up out of the water as its front was tipping downward and the entire ship started to sink.

"Commander!" he coughed and shouted.

"Chloe!" Oliver yelled somewhere close. "Chloe!"

Flagg saw the man try to swim desperately towards the submarine. He rushed after him, getting closer to the dangerous ship.

"Chloe!"

Oliver struggled against Rick's grip, almost causing both men to drown. "Stop! Stop it!"

"Let me go!" Oliver fought harder.

Rick cursed and glanced back at the lifeboat which was already starting to drift away. His eye was caught by a blur of colors falling from the sky. Oliver eventually saw it too and they watched, aghast as the thing plunged underwater towards the front of the submarine before reappearing out of the airlock a moment later, carrying Chloe out towards the lifeboat.

"What the hell." Flagg's jaw dropped.

It was a man, hovering above the lifeboat as he dropped Sullivan onto it gently. His blue uniform was standing out over the gray skies as his red cap floated with the wind. The savior waited for a moment as he exchanged a word with Chloe before he sped back towards the submarine and dipped underwater once again.

Oliver was already out of Flagg's grasp and heading towards the lifeboat before the latter could come back to reality. He was still struck aghast when loud splashes pierced his bubble. The crew was starting to spill out of the airlock in a frenzy as the ship kept on sinking.

The Expandable's tower was about to be drowned when Tess Mercer appeared out of the airlock and jumped into the water. Flagg swam towards her. "Are you okay, Regina?"

She spit out water and grimaced. "I'm alright, sir." she said. "But I'm not sure the Commander will be able to make it out."

Flagg glanced back towards the submarine and was shaken to find it had already sunk entirely underwater. Geysers of bubbles were proliferating at the surface when two men were propelled out of the water and into the sky, leaving behind a trail of red and blue.

The savior seemed to be fighting off a blond man and was having trouble containing him as they both fell back into the ocean a mile or two away.

"Now, what's that?" Flagg couldn't help asking.

Tess regained her breathing. "The torpedo." she said, drawing his attention. "What hit us wasn't a missile it was a man."

"A man?" he repeated. "Like a mutant?"

She nodded. "Yeah and we'd better get out of here because if he ever comes back... we're all dead."

The lifeboat erred over the waves in silence. The survivors had been lost at sea for several hours when the weather started to change and the waves became more perilous. Neither the Expandable nor the land were in sight and the two super-powered men had taken their fight underwater since the submarine sunk.

Oliver held Chloe close to him as they both shivered. Most of the people on the lifeboat were drenched and the cold-weather of the northern Atlantic wasn't helping. There were over fifty people around them and yet, only a few words had been pronounced after the initial adrenaline high was ridden out.

Rick Flagg had been informed that the Black King and Slade Wilson, his two superiors were still in the submarine when it sunk, thus making him the next in line for taking command of the Suicide Squad. Nobody was taken these losses very well within the rogue organization.

Oliver was starting to wonder if they weren't about to meet the end of the journey lost in the middle of the ocean when a voice rose among the people. "Hey! Look!" one of the agents pointed at a point in the sky.

The unidentifiable dot soon grew and Oliver could make out the red and blue of the savior's uniform.

"Over here!" People started to wave at him.

The savior flew above them at the speed of sound, leaving behind a deafening roar as he headed straight to the west where the hum of a siren came from. "Oh my god!" Tess exclaimed.

The man was headed straight towards a destroyer approaching their position. They knew they were spotted when a missile squeezed past them underwater, missing the lifeboat by a mere couple of yards.

"They're going to kill us!" someone shouted.

It wasn't unfathomable that Luthor had ordered his men to shoot on sight in order to end his troubles without getting too much coverage by the civilians.

"No, watch him!" Eve Eden replied. The savior circled over the destroyer for a moment before setting foot on it and disappearing from sight. They soon saw the boat getting closer and, as it blew its horn with enthusiasm, everyone rose to their feet and let their relief explode in grand waves and hoots.

May 31st 2012. 05:19 PM UTC-6. Watchtower, Metropolis, Kansas, USA.

The Watchtower had an austere feel when the Justice League crossed its threshold. The faint light filtering through the grand window was only illuminating cloaked figures hidden under a layer of dust. It felt like the room had been waiting a long time for people to come greet it again. And greet it they did.

Chloe walked towards the circuit breaker and turned on the power supply. Immediately, the ventilation system started humming and the lights went on. She smiled. "We're back now. All of us."

Bruce took off his mask and inhaled deeply. "I can breathe easy now."

Oliver chuckled. "Not so fast, buddy. Help me get them upstairs." he nodded to the stretchers in the entryway.

The covers were lifted off and the computers turned on as the Watchtower, finally, came back to life once again. Chloe was already typing on her keyboard with her usual fervor when a whooshing noise came about behind her.

She couldn't quite contain her grin when she turned around to see the savior standing in the doorway. "Don't you look handsome, Clark." she went to hug him, a teasing note to her voice.

"Thanks," he replied, engulfing her in his arms until she was swallowed hole in a maze of red and blue.

"Hey!" Oliver called from the stairs. "Damn, buddy it's good to see you!"

Both men shook hands as Chloe found again her seat again. "I'm happy to be back but I actually didn't expect to find such a different world."

"It's been over two years, Clark." Oliver raised his eyebrows. "A lot of things changed, and not for the best."

Clark was about to ask a question when Chloe interrupted him. "Things are changing right now, actually." she transferred a live video feed to the main screen. "Watch."

It was a live communication from the White House. Cameras started to go off when Condoleeza Reiser, Lex Luthor's right hand started walking down the stairs leading to the stage set up in front of journalists. She looked quited uncertain of herself as she cleared her throat and addressed the crowd.

Reiser seemed to look for words for a moment. "Earlier today..." she started, skipping the formalities. "A place called the Metinic Island, a small atoll on the east coast of America, was targeted by a group of terrorists."

The crowd froze as she took a breath. "They infiltrated a government research facility in order to steal classified information which are critical for the safety of our nation. These terrorists are now at large. They managed to take control of a United States Navy destroyer and we believe they are planning a large-scale attack on the country."

There was a long moment of silence. Reiser's hand shook on the podium until she gripped it firmly. "Our intelligence tells us these terrorists are acting on Iran's behalf under the joint influence of Russia and China in hope to undermine our economic prosperity and threaten our existence. The President decided these unacceptable actions would be answered by force. He called our army's highest ranking officers an hour ago to let them know he decided to bring our DEFCON alert state to its second highest level and he is at the moment, supervising the retaliation operations on the Sino-Russian alliance. American troops are deploying in the Pacific and the Baltic seas."

She took a long deep breath. "We are asking everybody to remain calm and stay in their homes. We are doing everything to ensure your safety and that of our great nation. God bless us all and God bless America."

Oliver was at a loss of words as he watched Reiser climb up the stairs and disappear into the White House as the feed cut to frantic journalists trying to analyze the situation. He put his hands on his head and blew out a breath as if the air had been knocked out of him.

"Madman..." he muttered. "A fucking madman!"

Chloe looked shell-shocked as she whispered. "We're one step away from nuclear war."