Chapter Eight
Commissioner Gordon and Agent Moore confront Dagar the Desert Hawk over the Pax Mundi's "intervention".
"You need to end this now!" Commissioner Barbara Gordon informed Dagar the Desert Hawk.
"My men and women are keeping order," Dagar growled without turning around.
"Your people are shooting unarmed citizens in the street," Agent Sophie Moore corrected Dagar.
"A lockdown was put into effect an hour ago," Dagar turned to see Barbara had her pistol drawn and Sophie had a submachine gun as well as her pistol.
"Except that you forgot to announce that fact," Gordon grated, "People are dying over something they were never told of."
"Make the call," Moore shouldered her submachine gun and had Dagar squarely sighted in its O ring sights.
"It's too late for that," Dagar warned them, "The Pax Mundi will follow through with their last order from the Commander-in-Chief."
"Then you get Luthor on the horn and tell him to order you to srand down," Barbara aimed her pistol as well.
"And if I don't?" Dagar asked smugly, "You're in violation of the lockdown. I could have you shot just for being here."
"Try it and see what happens," Sophie growled.
To everyone surprise, Dagar's official phone linked directly to his command authority at the United Nations began to ring.
"You'd better hope those are your recall orders," Barbara advise d him as he went to answer. Dagar obliged just out of curiosity.
"This needs to end, Lex," Superman had pushed his way through Luthor's private and official security apparatus.
"Have a seat since you're here," Luthor picked up his dedicated phone and called Dagar, "You have new orders. Stand down and prepare to withdraw the Pax Mundi."
Luthor scowled, "That's a direct order as if God Himself gave it."
"Good. And give Commissioner Gordon and Agent Moore my regards," Luthor hung up, "Satisfied?"
"Why go through all of this?" Superman asked.
"President McKay needed a lesson in the limits of national sovereignty," Luthor shrugged, "It's just politics."
"But people are dying because you sent in the Pax Mundi," Superman was losing his patience.
"War is politics by any other name and wars have collateral damage. Besides, it's merely Gotham," Luthor said smugly.
Superman stormed out. With one consolation, he'd recorded Luthor's every word since he'd entere d teh Secretary-General's office. It was a Kryptonian model built by Kelex. So Luthor's usual brand of jammers wouldn't affect it. Now he needed Max Lord to call a press conference in his capacity as the JLI's ambassador to the UN.
"Take another step," Agent Liberty defied Superwoman and Power Girl's attempts to breach the briefing room where McKay had gathered with Bones, Waller, and the Sec. Def. Jack Latham.
"Don't make me hurt you," Power Girl warned him.
Agent Liberty still remembered Galatea's days as a CADMUS weapon. He'd helped train her. She wore the trapings of a JSAer but deep down she was still that killer that Prof. Emil Hamilton created out of Kara In-Ze's blood.
"I won't ask you again but please let us through," Power Girl said stonily.
"You know I can't and you know my backup piece is loaded with kryptonite bullets," Agent Liberty reminded her.
"Try and reach it," Power Girl's eyes began to glow.
Superwoman took the opportunity to lift Agent Liberty up and embed him into the concrete wall.
"And you're here to de-escalate things?" she asked Power Girl.
"We have a history," Power Girl shrugged, "I'll go first."
The Secret Service agents inside opened fire as Power Girl intruded.
"Don't waste your bullets," Latham advised them.
"Finish taking that glove off, Bones, and see where I shove that bony hand," Power Girl warned him.
"Can I help you?" Pres. McKay calmly asked.
"My overly enthusiastic friend and I are asking you not to send intervention forces into Gotham," Superwoman told them all.
"The Pax Mundi have begun shooting people in the street," Waller advised them.
"Jealous?" Power Girl asked her. Latham received an update from a soldier that cautiously strolled in.
"Luthor stood the Pax Mundi down," Latham announced.
"They should never have been on American soil to begin with," McKay grated.
"I could have the Secret Six deal with him," Waller volunteered.
"Except that you're down two members that you haven't replaced. Have you considered the Fabulous Four?" Bones scathingly retorted.
"Superwoman is right," McKay intervened as an aide whispered to her, "Max Lord has just called a press conference whereby Superman played a recording of the conversation ending the Pax Mundi's violence. Luthor indicated that the entire exercise beginning with the first occupation was merely a political move to teach me my place in the world. He disregarded every death that has occurred since that point forward. He said that after all it's just Gotham."
"I'd suggest Luthor stay out of Gotham for a while," Power Girl snorted.
"My sources in the Vanishing Isles stated the Legion of Doom was making preparations to move out. Fu Manchu was eagerly deploying the entire Legion against a specific target. I'm assuming that is Gotham," Waller stated.
"The Vanishing Isles?" Superwoman didn't understand the reference.
"The current location of the Hall of Doom," Waller snorted, "Don't you people know anything?"
"Why Gotham?" Power Girl asked.
"Simply put, right now you're all there," Bones stated, "I'm putting my people on alert. If the situation on the ground escalates, Homeland Security will respond."
"And the military will also be on alert and National Guard units will be activated by the Governors of New Jersey and its surrounding neighbors" Latham warned them.
"Then we need to get back," Power Girl decided, "Apologize to Agent Liberty if he wakes up."
"In her heart, she's still one of yours," McKay chided Waller, "And you let her run loose."
"Prof. Hamilton is still managing her," Waller assured the POTUS, "His familial relationship with Karen Starr keeps her grounded and accessible for our needs."
"She lived through Blackhawk's death without going apeshit," Latham reminded everyone, "If she can lose her husband and stay stabilized then there's hope we'll never have to sanction her."
"Like we did Divine?" Bones asked, "Lord lost control of her and we had to employ the sanction protocol to destroy her. So we know it's effective."
"Divine was a clone of Galatea. A copy of a copy is inherently unstable and lesser to the original," Waller warned them, "Hamilton made a perfect copy of Supergirl and that has never been successfully accomplished since. No matter how you want to classify Superboy."
"We'll watch her anyway," Bones stated, "Power Girl is aptly named and we gave that power to a being we trained as a weapon to kill Superman. She bears scrutiny."
"Hamilton will warn us of any instabilities as they begin to emerge," Waller was confident.
"But how loyal is Hamilton to Galatea?" Latham asked, "He views her as the daughter he never had."
"She was born in his CADMUS lab and grown into adulthood. He will never forget that," Waller defiantly asserted.
"He'd better not. For all our sakes," Bones said, "We can't forget that Galatea is Kalea-El's one friend. I can't help wondering who influences who in that relationship."
"Our attempts to locate Kalea-El and her band of Almeracian loyalists is proving difficult because the British and French are refusing to cooperate," Bones shared, "We managed to learn Kalea owns and operates a downtown London pub. She gives generously to civic projects and charities so the Brits love her."
"My contacts in International Operations also shared their frustration in keeping track of the Almeracian operatives on Earth. So far they've contained their activities to off world contracts. It seems they're working collectively as skip tracers and bounty hunters abroad. But this Captain Hero that leads them has invested in false identities and multiple secure bank accounts. They apparently get paid in gold coins, platinum ingots, and diamonds that they sell to convert to euros and dollars. It's a pretty impressive operation, professionally speaking," Waller admitted, "The quality and purity of all these sales items exceeds what we're capable of refining."
"Yet IO can't track the transactions?" Bones was incredulous.
"Their buyers are as elusive as they are. Kalea seems to be the only one of the group to put down roots in a single domicile," Latham reported, "But then, unlike the others, she has family here. Her ties with Superman may strained but they still exist."
"Fortunately for all involved, Kalea's principle employer is Almerac's Ministry of Executions," McKay interceded, "I'm told that her lessons in Almerac's recent wars have made her their finest agent. But so long as Kalea-El avoids operating in the US, she isn't our concern unless one of our allies requests our assistance in dealing with one of the groups or Kalea herself."
"Yes, Madame President," Latham acknowledged the order. Bones merely shrugged and Waller remained stubbornly silent.
"Alert your people, all of you. We may still have to intervene in Gotham's affairs," President Olivia McKay deemed fit.
"Mistress, we have word of Plastic Man," Scarab bowed low even on one knee.
"Speak," Disco Mummy commanded.
"He has become a she," Ghazia said from beside him, "And Plastic Woman resides in Gotham as well. She is an operative for the Empress Penguin."
"Another upstart to be dealt with," Disco Mummy mused, "Assemble the others. Then take me to Plastic Woman. Whether man or woman, I will see her dead."
"Do you seek sanctuary?" Father M'Buttu asked his brazenly dressed petitioners at St. Hildegard's.
"We seek the Order of St. Batman," Plastic Woman told him, "We have an offer to make them."
"They are not be found here" Father M'Buttu stretched the truth. They couldn't literally be found in the church. However, the leaders could be found in his rectory. It also seemed their quarry had sought them out.
"Puh-leeze," Nancy Morgan ran a hand through her pixie cut, spiked blue hair, "We spotted a dozen KnightsQuest guards around the block all focused on protecting this parish."
"Perhaps they too our petitioners of the Lord Christ Himself," Father M'Buttu offered.
"Iron Knife knows you're here, Father. It's only a matter of time before he comes for you," Black Siren cut through the BS, "We can be your eyes and ears and even help protect you when he and agents come for you."
"We're big on protection," Captain Atomic said glibly.
"I seem to recall you siding with the Fourth Reich," Father M'Butta glared him down. It seemed Captain Atomic was rightfully ashamed of that former association. What M'Buttu didn't realize was that Captain Atomic was an IO agent sent by Miles Craven to infiltrate the Fourth Reich.
Now the heads of the snakes, the Masked Leader and the Dragon King, were literally exploded the Fourth Reich and and Imperialist Forces of Nippon were scattered and leaderless. Or so Craven believed when he assigned Captain Atomic to Knightfall in a deal cut with Vandal Savage. Craven had been one of CONTROL's ardent supporters when Vandal Savage attempted to take over the world through a United World Army. Craven survived CONTROL's fall and the dismemberment of the World Army. But now he headed up International Operations for the United Nations.
Chosen by Luthor at Savage's behest. Craven had Captain Atomic play the IO card with Knightfall. Craven endorsed her license program and wanted Captain Atomic there to insure that it was successful and adopted by other cities. First nationally and finally, globally
Butch Candon entered the church then, "Father! We need to…"
She froze when she saw the Penguins and one of Knightfall's handpicked enforcers.
"Perhaps later would be a better time," Father M'Buttu said, "Confession isn't until later today."
"Right you are," Butch said as she backed away, "Just had a load to get of my chest but it can wait."
Plastic Woman stretched an arm and grabbed Butch and pulled her in closer. "This is that little spy ringleader that kept you informed of what the Nazis and Imperialists were up to," Morgan saw, "By the way, I love your hair."
Morgan and Butch shared the same basic haircut and color.
"Gee, I'm touched. Can you let me go now?" Butch swiped at Plastic Woman's arm.
"Mouthy little thing, isn't she?" Black Siren was impressed.
"I'd do as she says," Red Robin advised the Penguins as Young Justice filtered into the church.
"No fighting!" Father M'Buttu roared, "This is a House of God!"
Plastic Woman released Butch, "We didn't come to fight you. We came to enlist in the real fight."
"And that is?" Red Robin inquired sharply.
"Disco Mummy," Plas told everyone, "Everything, and everyone, else is a distraction."
"My, my, are you lost? Or just falling down drunk?" Red Alice asked Party Girl as the Wonderland Gang surrounded Chelle Parker's car, "You wanted to find us so here we are."
"Come back in the morning after I've slept it off," Chelle encouraged them.
"Shall I tell you a story of a private eye in a hurry?" the Mad Hatter tittered.
"Tell your boss you didn't find us. We found you. And we'll find Big Boss too if he keeps looking," Red Alice carefully enunciated to make certain the inebriated Chelle got the message, "The money? It's gone. You were there. You're a private eyewitness."
"Yeah, haven't heard that one before," Chelle groused.
"I think an object lesson is required to insure your boss gets the message. Something…persuasive," Red Alice snapped her fingers, "Boys? If you will?"
The Wonderland Gang surrounded Chelle and got her away from her car. Where her guns were.
"Y'don't have t'do this," Chelle slurred.
"Just be grateful you won't feel most of it until later this morning," Red Alice grinned, "Let the beating begin!"
The Wonderhanders took great pride and effort into their work. After they'd gone, a bloodied, broken, and bruising Chelle crawled across the parking lot to get to her car. With an unyielding effort, she got the door open and pulled herself inside of it. Then she curled up and wished she would just die.
"Massive teleport signatures detected in Gotham City!" Agent Schott alerted DEO Director Alex Danvers.
"The networks were all deactivated," Danvers complained, "Other than the Birds of Prey, who is still operating a teleportation system?"
"It's the old Justice League Unlimited system," Schott told Danvers.
"But the International Security Police deactivated the network when they were defunded by the UN," Alex recalled, "Even the JLI doesn't use it anymore. That's why they rely on Blackhawk Express."
"I'm sorry, Director Danvers. But the network satellites were never decommissioned. Anybody with the command and control keys could hijack the system," Schott explained.
"Stay on this. I'm alerting Under Sec. Cormaugh," Alex decided, "And get me satellite feeds over Gotham!"
The Legion of Doom, having infiltrated the JLU's old Gotham headquarters had stolen the teleport network's ciphers. Luthor had allowed the Justice League and the ISA believe they'd blocked access to the network. But the Luthor appointed de facto leader of the Legion, the Immortal Dr. Fu Manchu, had deemed the operation of such importance to utilize the old network.
Risking revealing the capability was outweighed by the necessity to strike out at the combined JLI and JSA together while they were weakened. Fu Manchu had been alive as long as the last Ra's al Ghul had been before his body began rejecting the power of the Lazarus Pit. Dr. Fu had found Taoist alchemy or provide an answer to immortality. Or at least a semblance of it more akin to the Court of Owls' processes for creating Talons. Fu Manchu had completely drained his natural blood and replaced it with a life sustaining elixir.
"An elegant solution to the mortality problem," Disco Mummy commented when she met with Fu Manchu as the Legion deployed to deal with the superheroes.
"It has its drawbacks," Fu Manchu allowed.
"Yes, the sterility and the impotence. Poor dear," Disco Mummy chuckled.
"Still, I have found other diversions to replace sex," Fu Manchu stated.
"I'm sure you have," Disco Mummy's laugh was malevolent this time.
"Your agents softened the targets?" Fu Manchu inquired.
"As requested," Disco Mummy smirked, "Now they've gathered together to try and deduce who is behind all of this and what it means for them and this city."
"Then let us begin," Fu Manchu depressed a button on his wrist bangle. Sending out the call to the Legionnaires to begin their strike.
"Luthor called off the Pax Mundi," Superman announced, "So that's one less threat to Gotham's citizens."
"Waller and Bones are standing by but not standing down," Power Girl warned them, "Sec. Def. Latham is calling on the nearby governors to activate the National Guard units in their states."
Harbinger appeared in their midst, "The DEO has issued an alert. Someone hijacked the old JLU teleport system and transported a large group from the Vanishing Isles to Gotham."
"Waller told us the Hall of Doom is currently located in the Vanishing Isles," Superwoman warned them.
"So the Legion still has access to our old system?" the younger Flash exclaimed.
"You knew they had it?" Mr. Terrific found this disconcerting.
"They penetrated the Hall of Justice Mark II here in Gotham. The codes were all changed by the ISA when they still controlled the network," Superman told the JSAers.
"Obviously they still retain access," Green Lantern scowled. He had enough to deal with with Jade and Jonni Thunder sidelined trying to wait for Obsidian to detox.
"So the Injustice Gang and Secret Society were sideshows," General Glory assumed.
"Someone else is pulling all these strings," the elder Flash commented, "Fu Manchu has been reliably conservative since he took over from Luthor."
"Someone convinced the Legion to come out from hiding," Chief Man-of-Bats stated, "If we learn the who we can deduce the why behind it all."
"An answer we're guaranteed not to like," Cyborg decided.
"You won't like it now," Master Terrific announced as the Legion of Doom descended upon the JLI and JSA.