The three remaining members of the Seven sat in front of the Justice League, with Stand Edgar and Ashley next to them. The Vought employees read a flyer called "Welcome to the multiverse." a series of explanations of the existence of many Earths accompanied by a comic strip of cartoon animal versions of the Justice League meeting different Earths. Queen Maeve left her flyer on the desk and kept staring at the door, expecting something terrible was about to happen. Homelander couldn't take it too seriously, he put on a smile and pointed to the flyer.
"That's very enlightening." Homelander said. "Infinite Earths, yours, ours, I think we pretty much get it."
"Captain Carrot made these flyers," The Flash explained. "He's from this cartoon Earth, and we agreed these would help people."
"Alright, now that we all understand what is happening, can you tell us why you came to my Earth?"
"12 days ago, people from our universe started to disappear seemingly at random." Batman said. "We then found people from your universe here. Something happened to the structure of the multiverse which created a breach between Earth-One and your Earth."
"Why is your Earth, Earth-One?" Homelander questioned, seemingly bothered.
"Simple." The Flash said and started to vibrate his hand, making a low-pitched noise. "Different universes operate in different vibrational frequencies, from lower to higher pitch. Our Earth operates in a low pitch and is Earth-One. Earth-Two has a higher pitch," The Flash changes the speed of his hand, and the noise gets higher pitched. "Earth-Three is even higher, and so it goes."
"And that is pretty usual for you?" Stormfront questioned as she showed the flyer. "Least that's what it looks like based on 'Captain Carrot's little guidebook for mentally challenged children."
"Listen, lady, we know what we're doing, and we are here to help." Green Lantern said, feeling hostility from Stormfront. "You come from one of those realistic Earths with no aliens or magic, Faust did a number on you, but we can make sure that doesn't happen."
"Aliens? Magic? You gotta be fucking kidding." Maeve said.
"They're telling the truth." Homelander said very seriously. "I can hear their heartbeats."
"Okay, I believe you, but why do you look like us? Look at her," She points at Wonder Woman. "I literally had a suit like this pitched to me. Not just her, you all mirror the Seven."
"That's an odd constant in many Earths of the multiverse," Superman explained. He smiled as if trying to break the tension Maeve and the others had. "We met other teams similar to us before. There was The League of Honor, Squadron Supreme, and the Guardians of the Globe. All these teams had a trinity and other members similar to the rest of the League."
"We gave you the whole truth, and now we want cooperation," Batman told them. "Green Lantern is right. Felix Faust is just one among many supervillains from our world. He thought he could easily dominate your Earth, he was right, but we intervened."
Stan Edgar got up.
"'The whole truth you claimed, Batman. It quickly came to me that all the information the Justice League has revealed is likely public knowledge in your entire world. You offered information that, in your reality, can be accessed by a thirteen-year-old checking google and tried to sell them as signs of great respect. This and the fact your version of Homelander keeps looking at me with a clear despite does not inspire trust. Do not think for a second that Vought is under your disposition."
Batman took a deep breath and pressed a button on the table. Black Noir and the Atom came inside the room accompanied by a woman with long dark hair and a purple dress entered the room. She had a noticed birthmark under her right eye.
"Atom managed to wake Black Noir. Consider it a proof of loyalty." Batman said. "And this is Catherine Colbert. She's the representative and administrator of Justice League Unlimited affairs. Ms. Colbert will discuss with you the terms of an alliance."
"Fucking great," Maeve said. "They even have an Ashley."
Edgar and Ashley followed Catherine Colbert. Black Noir held Ashley's arm in her way, he took interest in the flyer and asked for it.
"Ashley," Homelander said. "Give your comic book to Black Noir."
"I didn't finish yet," Ashley said. "There are a few things I'm still confused…"
Homelander gave her one look, and Ashley handed Black Noir the flyer. With that, the four remaining members of the Seven followed the League to the main room where they met two other superheroes, a redhead Green Lantern in a different suit and a young woman wearing a red outfit with a big yellow lightning bolt on her torso.
"Right now, we have more immediate affairs." Batman said. "We believe Plastic-Man, one of our members, got lost on your Earth. These are Green Lantern and Mary Marvel. For now, they'll be joining our ranks."
Maeve turned to John Stewart.
"How many Green Lanterns are there?" She asked.
"7204, not counting JSA's Sentinel who used to go by Green Lantern." John Stewart answered.
Guy Gardner flies straight to Homelander.
"Check it out. It's the guy from Banshee. I fucking love that show."
"What is he talking about?" Homelander asked.
"I know it's weird, but we found you guys look just like some actors from our Earth." The Flash answered.
"We ran facial recognition on you. The names that came out were Christopher Reeves, Lynda Carter, and Phil Lamarr." Homelander said. "All actors, one dead and the rest too old. Why is that?"
"Just a thing of the multiverse." The Atom said.
Stormfront stares down Mary Marvel and makes a remark about her.
"She looks exactly like Judy Garland."
"Hi, I think you're like your Earth's version of me." Mary Marvel shows a bit of yellow electricity running through her body. "That's cool. After the thousands of Supermen and versions of my brother, I've really only met two like me, Golden Gail and Thunder Girl. What's your name?"
The two shake hands as Stormfront answers.
"I'm Stormfront."
Mary Marvel's smile faded away.
"That means something a bit different on our Earth." Mary Marvel said.
Frenchie and Kimiko ran out of the apartment complex, sprinting as fast as they managed. None of them were willing to look back. Fatigue started to kick in as Frenchie stopped to catch his breath. The adrenaline had worn off as he could practically hear his heartbeat.
"That… Was… Fucked… Up." He said between pants.
Kimiko went over to him and rubbed his back.
"I'm good!" He told her. "What a city…" He said.
"If you think Gotham's bad, just wait until you see Blüdhaven." A voice called up from above.
Frenchie looked up and saw who said that. He looked to be a young man around Hughie's age. Wearing a black leotard with a bluebird emblem in the center. On his face was a black domino mask.
"If you're looking for the pig murder surgeon. He's back at an apartment building." Frenchie said. Silently cursing himself for not knowing the address.
"Yeah, I know. We've already sent some of our people over there." Nightwing told him.
"Then why are you talking to me?" Frenchie asked, not liking where this was going.
"I don't know, Serge. What exactly are you planning to do in Gotham?" Nightwing told him.
"Merde." Frenchie said to himself.
"I'm sorry. I think you are confusing me with someone else." Frenchie told him trying to be coy.
"Sorry, it's just that I have a list of fugitives from this other world. You happen to resemble one of them, as does your friend." Nightwing told him. "He's described as having a "French" accent like yours." Nightwing said putting air quotes when he said the word "French".
"It could be a coincidence." Frenchie said.
"Alright, can I ask about the literal blood on your friend's hands?" Nightwing gestured.
Kimiko looked at her arm and noticed there was still blood on them.
"Look, both of you, just come along quietly." Nightwing told him. "I guarantee it's better with me than with the man himself. Hell, if I'm being honest, he's far from the worst person you can run into here." He added.
"Thanks, but no." Frenchie told him. He pulled out his gun, but before pulling the trigger, something hit his hand, causing him to drop the gun. He held it out in pain. He looked up at Nightwing, holding two other throwing weapons.
"Really should have taken the offer." Nightwing said, before using his other hand to drop a small ball at their feet. A cloud of smoke started to form around the pair.
Frenchie could barely see anything as smoke obscured his lungs. He couldn't even speak. All he could do was cough when he opened his mouth. It took over a minute, but eventually, the smoke cleared. Then he saw Kimiko collapse on the ground, unconscious. He ran to her and found that she had been shot with some tranquilizer darts. It looked like she was shot at least six times, from the darts he could see embedded into her.
"Those were meant for the Dollotrons; I had used them all on her. Her dosage would be enough to knock out a full-grown Elephant." Nightwing told him.
Frenchie pulled out a knife and glared at the superhero. Nightwing let out a sigh and brought out his escrima sticks.
"Alright, fine." Nightwing said.
Frenchie lunged at him, only for Nightwing to block it with one stick and use the other one on Frenchie's wrist. Frenchie dropped the knife but threw a punch with his other hand. Nightwing dodged it, and to Frenchie's amazement, jumped over him before kicking him in the back. Frenchie was thrown a couple inches from the impact. He tried to ease the pain he felt in his back by turning over. He then felt Nightwing pin him down on the ground. His wrists then felt something cold and metallic over them: handcuffs. He then saw him go over to Kimiko and proceeded to cuff her as well.
"Oracle, I've got two members of that hero killer group." Nightwing said, sounding slightly proud.
"Good to hear, though I'm afraid you've won second place." Oracle teased.
"Who got first?" Nightwing said.
"Black Canary told me Green Arrow got another one not too long ago. He found him at the airport." She replied.
"Well, good for him," Nightwing said. "You just know GA was looking forward to taking down someone who worked for the CIA… Well, a CIA." He added.
This caught Frenchie's attention. He noticed that Kimiko was starting to stir awake near her was the zipper on his jacket. He quietly snatched it on the ground and began to pick the lock.
"Ex-CIA and yeah. Honestly, from what I've listened into, from Batman and the League sounds like that Earth would be hell for him." Oracle said.
"Indeed, you think he was trying to fly to Gotham. I mean, Star City to Gotham is a long flight." Nightwing said.
At this point, Frenchie and Kimiko realized that Mother's Milk had been captured.
"Mother fucker!" He muttered as he kept fiddling with the lock. Frenchie managed to unlock the handcuffs as a startled Kimiko broke free. The pair fled
Nightwing took notice of this.
"Alright, nobody said this would be easy." He told himself as he grappled onto a nearby rooftop.
Billy and Becca walked away from the park, having managed to escape during the confusion. They stopped in an alleyway.
"This is pointless! We're getting nowhere!" Becca told Billy, frustration growing evident.
"We need to regroup," Butcher told her.
"Where?" Becca questioned him in an unconvinced tone.
Butcher was about to respond when someone cut him off.
"You there." A man demanded.
Becca and Butcher turned and saw three men decked in armor that read "SCU".
"You two shot firearms at Parasite. Not wise. IDs, please." One of them said.
"Back off, mate, FBI." Butcher said and pulled his fake badge.
"I'll need to see hers."
"I just showed you mine. What the matter? Need an extra sticker on your little book?"
"Hey, screw you-"
"I recognize her. She's one of us." A gray-haired man with thick eyebrows said. "She's a cop. A lab cop, so I don't know what she was doing with a gun."
"It's my own gun." Becca said. "For self-defense."
"I'd think those Central City freaks would teach you better. You can go, Spivot. Heard that, fellas?"
"Understood, Lieutenant Turpin." The SCU officers said before departing.
Becca and Billy were both taken aback by this. The couple let out a sigh of relief and walked out of the alleyway.
"What was that?" Becca asked. "He looked at me, sure I was someone else."
"I don't know. Not yet. I'll call MM." Butcher told her as he got his phone out.
Butcher began to call, but to his confusion. Nobody picked up. He called again, but again, no response. A look of concern grew on his face.
"Something's wrong." He told her. "MM would respond, especially now." Butcher explained.
"You think he's been caught?" Becca asked.
Butcher's face soured.
"Fucking cunts!" He's angrily yelled, kicking a trash can.
He began to call Hughie.
Hughie and Annie watched the younger heroes take on the supervillains on the rooftop. Annie overheard from some civilians that the supervillains were known as "The Rainbow Raiders". However, that was not their biggest concern at the moment.
"Why can't we jump off?" Hughie asked her.
"I could injure you. I might not be able to properly brace for the fall." She told him.
Just then, Hughie felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. In all this excitement, he forgot that it was put on vibrate after Butcher's call in the museum.
"Butcher?" Hughie asked.
"The cunts got MM." He told them in a cautious tone.
Hughie felt his heart stop for a moment.
"What?" Hughie asked.
"I said they got Mother's Milk. You need to get far from where you are now!" Butcher angrily whispered into the phone.
Hughie hung up and turned to Annie. She looked worried.
"That was Butcher they got MM." Hughie told her.
"Fuck." Annie muttered.
"We need to get off this rooftop." He told her. "Just carry me and jump."
Just then, Annie noticed a firetruck ladder.
"Everyone, please take your time and slowly take the ladder." A fireman said.
Needless, to say, Annie and Hughie did not waste their time being the first two on the ladder.
Frenchie and Kimiko ran through the Gotham sewers. Frenchie paused to catch his breath.
"We need to call the others, and warn them." Frenchie told her.
He took out his phone and saw that there was no signal to his frustration.
"We'll need to get above ground." He told Kimiko.
She nodded when suddenly, a wingding was thrown in front of them.
They turned around and saw Nightwing again.
"I know this sounds cliche, but you're only delaying the inevitable." He told them.
Frenchie turned around and flipped him off.
"You really want to do it in the sewers?" Nightwing asked. "I know you both are tourists, but I am the least of your worries down here." He warned them.
Both slowly approached him as his eyes darted towards the ravine next to them. The water began to bubble, and in the next instant, a massive figure leaped out of the water and grabbed Frenchie. Kimiko was pushed back by a swipe of his razor-sharp claws. Frenchie screamed as he was held in the air by his reptilian-Esque captor. He was around seven feet tall, covered in green scales, and sharp teeth that were ready to tear through his captor. His sclera was yellow and bloodshot red. The only clothes he wore were a pair of ripped black trousers. The residents of Gotham knew him as Waylon Jones, better known as Killer Croc.
Acting fast, Nightwing threw an escrima stick at Croc's face. It hit him straight on his nose, causing Croc to release Frenchie. Croc grabbed his nose. Frenchie immediately went to Kimiko, and they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.
When he removed his hands from his eyes, Croc saw that his meal had left him and angrily turned to Nightwing.
"You're gonna regret that bird boy." Killer Croc snarled at Nightwing.
"I'm already going to regret the lecture I'll be sure to receive. So why don't we make this quick, Jones." Nightwing joked.
Croc roared as he lunged at Nightwing, only for the former Robin to leap over him. Nightwing threw a wing ding at Croc, striking the man-beast in the forehead. Croc quickly recovered from this and charged once more. Killer Croc threw a series of scratches at Nightwing who dodged all but one of them.
It hit him on the right side of his ribs, causing Nightwing let out a pained yell that echoed the sewers. Croc pinned him to the ground and tried to bite him. Dick held Croc's head back, but he kept getting closer. Nightwing looked and noticed a rock on the ground. He grabbed it with one hand and immediately hit Croc right in the teeth. Croc roared in pain, clutching his mouth. The rock managed to chip a couple and knock one or two out of his mouth. Nightwing grabbed his escrima sticks and turned on the stun function. He worked in tandem, starting at Croc's right leg and using his stick on his left shoulder. Bringing Croc to one knee and being stunned. Then, he let out a series of electrified jabs to Croc's chest and stomach. Finally, Nightwing knocked out Croc by holding his electrified weapons on both sides of Croc's neck. Croc's roars were silenced before he collapsed onto the ground unconscious.
Nightwing panted in relief. His sides still hurt, and he could see there was some bleeding.
"Dick, are you alright?" Barbara asked him, wholly concerned.
"I'm fine, Barb. The good news is we can list that manhunt on Croc as over." He told her as he started to tie Croc up.
"The other two ran off, I'm assuming." Oracle guessed.
"Yeah," Nightwing said before noticing something on the ground. It was a phone. "Although I don't think they'll be lost for long." He said as he picked it up.
"Could you call Dinah and Ollie over? I think it's time we began to compare notes." He told her.
Mother's Milk regained consciousness, his eyelids are heavy, but he's slowly getting his strength back. "He's up." Said the voice of a woman. MM looked around and realized he was in some kind of bunker where everything was green, and he could feel his hands cuffed. In front of him was the Green Arrow, and next to him stood a woman with light blonde hair, blue eyes, and the physique of a female wrestler.
"Green Arrow to Watchtower, Milk is up." Green Arrow said. "Alright, I'll be bringing him in a minute."
"Where am I?" MM angrily asked.
"You're in the Quiver."
"That's a dumbass name." MM said.
"Hey, it fits my theme." The Green Arrow opened a water bottle and offered MM, who was reluctant. "This is your water, don't worry, I'm not Batman." MM drank the water. "Marvin T. Milk, former CIA and not from this Earth."
"From what I knew, it was the only Earth." MM answered.
"It's weird, I know. I remember my first experience with the Multiverse. There was an Earth with an evil Superman who killed me. I used to call this the Arrow-Cave; I took the Quiver from the dead Arrow. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I prefer to help the little guy, like you with the kids in juvie. What exactly did you do with the CIA then?"
"Your goatee-ass really think I'm dumb enough to talk just after some fake bonding?"
"Mr. Milk, I'm Black Canary," The woman said. "We don't expect you to betray your partners, but what about Vought? Based on what we know, you and the others may have valid reasons to be against them. Right now, the JLA is starting an alliance with Vought. Could you give us some insight?"
MM gave a few seconds of thought. He didn't know how helpful it would be to answer.
"Things are different things here, crazier, but you had World War II? Nazis? Commies?" MM asked.
"Unfortunately." Green Arrow answered.
"You know what the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was?"
"Deal between the Nazis and the Soviets not to attack each other during the war. Hitler broke the deal and attacked the Soviets."
"Here's your answer."
Then Green Arrow heard something on his earpiece.
"They're ready." Green Arrow told Black Canary.
Black Canary uncuffed MM and pulled him by his arm. MM felt her grip wasn't so tight, she didn't have super-strength, and Green Arrow wasn't paying attention. For one second, he thought about fighting, but Black Canary warned him.
"Mr. Milk, for your good, don't try… anything." That "anything" pushed MM back and was louder despite no change in her tone. She was a supe. Black Canary and Green Arrow took MM to a metal tube full of lights. That illuminated around them. They stood in the lights for a few seconds until they took MM out.
"What was that about?" MM asked.
A speaker announced inside the tube: "Black Canary, 13.", "Green Arrow, 08" as they left, MM realized they were in a different place, a dirty alley. MM looked around, confused as the brick wall closed behind him, hiding the tube.
"I, also, hated the first time somebody played pinball with my molecules." Green Arrow said.
"What the fuck?" MM quietly muttered to himself.
They all smelt a foul odor in the air. Nightwing approached them, his suit heavily damaged.
"My God, kid, you smell like a sewer." Black Canary said.
"Don't ask." Nightwing said irritatedly. "I saw Kimiko Miyashiro and the Frenchman, but they escaped. I got their phone. They have called Metropolis, Keystone, and Star City. The others know they're in Gotham."
"Fuck, Frenchie…" MM murmured to himself.
"We just need to make sure they know we got one of them." Nightwing told them.
