"Hey, Ted check out this painting." A burglar asked holding up a red, black, yellow, and white painting. It appeared to be an abstract piece.
"You and that fucking art class… Drop it, Larry, we don't need an art piece." His companion told him.
"Oh come on. Look at it doesn't it just ensnare you." Larry said showing them the painting.
"He said it not me." The "painting" said to their mutual shock.
Only for the painting to basically leap out of the frame and cover Ted like it were the Blob.
Larry screamed as he began to shoot the blob presently covering his friend. Only for the bullets to not go through. The blob pulled itself off of the shaking and startled Ted. Before forming into a more human shape.
"Don't you fellas know that the store is closed?" He said in a cartoonishly deep voice in a dynamic akimbo pose.
Both men open fired, but their bullets did nothing. Plastic Man stretched his arms and knocked them both out with one punch.
"That'll learn ya!" He told them before he stepped out of the building. When he stepped out of the building. That was when he noticed a group of people hovering above him. Above him were Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.
"Guys! You found me!" Plastic Man called out.
"It's good to see you, Eel." Diana said.
"Have you made contact with the locals?" He asked.
"We have, publicly we're in an alliance." Green Lantern said.
"...But unpubliclly we're planning to do something to them?" Plastic Man said.
"We'll let you know tomorrow. We're supposed to attend a press meeting with them that day. After, we need to discuss our terms with them." Diana said.
"Okay hold on… I'd expect all this gleeful behind-the-back stuff from Bats, but you?" Plastic Man said pointing at Diana. "What did they do?" Plastic Man asked.
"Again, back at the Watchtower." Green Lantern said.
Stan Edgar sat in the conference as a group of Vought's lead scientists and researchers described to him their latest discoveries. Edgar kept a cool demeanor and close attention to their words carefully analyzing the meaning of each of them.
"We have a full scan on their meteorological differences, sir," said a man in a suit. "We cross-compared with their history of super related battles and all indicate their impact on the environment was real and therefore we can assume they all happened. All the pieces of extraterrestrial metal they gave us for study are indeed out of the periodic table. We're yet to understand what's that they call magic. Justice League's Watchtower has more equipment in one room than we have in the whole building, sir. Not counting their Hall of Justice and Metrotower. They have stopped full planetary scaled alien invasions and put companies on the level of Vought International, such as Lexcorp, out of business. What should we do, sir?"
Stan Edgar took off his glasses, and his hands shook. For a moment, a real expression of concern on his face before a heavy sigh came out of his mouth.
He knew what needed to be done.
Butcher and Hughie are in an empty building not far from the GCPD. Overlooking where Mother's Milk was being held. Frenchie managed to get them canisters of halothane and gas launchers. All Butcher had to do was launch them into the windows while Hughie watched his back. At least until Kimiko came back.
"Remember don't fucking leave this room until I say so." Butcher told him.
"Right. You think that Cluemaster guy was telling the truth?" Hughie asked.
"He'd better, if not, I intend to keep my promise." Butcher said.
"If you manage to escape." Butcher said.
Butcher turned to Hughie. "What's that supposed to mean?" He said.
Hughie paused, unease by Butcher's anger towards him.
"When I was at the museum, I saw what the Flash was capable of. He makes A-Train look like a snail." Hughie said. "Like A-Train can break the sound barrier, Flash is faster than light."
"Well it's a good thing we're not up against him." Butcher said.
"Yeah, well I've looked at the others. When he was early in his career, Superman managed to divert an asteroid three times the size of Alaska." Hughie said. "Alaska is the largest state."
Butcher growled. "We're not going after those cunts. Not my world, not our problem."
"I'm in position." Annie said over her walkie talkie. "I can see where they're holding MM."
"Good." Hughie said.
He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"AH!" Hughie screamed turning around and punched the person in front of him. Only to hurt his hand and see that it was Kimiko.
"Good, you're back." Butcher said. "Did you plant the stuff?"
Kimiko nodded.
"Good, Frenchie you're up." Butcher called. "See if you can bullshit your way past this."
"Should be no problem." Frenchie called, he was standing in front of the GCPD dressed as a cop. He stepped into the building.
Grace Mallory stood out her backyard, birdwatching. In the past, this hobby was monotonous but quiet. Now, it was monotonous and loud all thanks to a particular guest. As the birds started to fly away from the house.
"Jesus, Grace. Where do you keep the liquor?" The Legend called out.
"I don't have any." Mallory told him, not even turning around.
"How the fuck do you cope then?" He asked.
"By doing this." Mallory told him.
There was an awkward silence between the two. "I'll leave you to it." The Legend said.
"Grace Mallory." Batman said.
Startled, Mallory turned around while pulling out her gun. Only for the gun to have been cleanly taken out of her hand. She only realized it when she pulled the trigger. Batman dismantled it.
"You know how much those cost?" Mallory defiantly questioned him.
"Four Hundred Dollars." Batman told her.
"You're with Vought." She said.
"I'm with the Justice League, Mallory." Batman replied.
Mallory glanced at him.
"What do you want?" Mallory asked.
"Information regarding a couple of topics. Namely, your old unit." Batman told her.
"Whatever Butcher does is no longer my problem. He wants to drag people to hell, good for him." Mallory said.
"They're in Gotham City." Batman told her.
"Is that a place on your world?" She said, having heard what Neuman told her.
Batman didn't even respond.
"I understand Butcher's motive. I've digged up plenty regarding Marvin Milk and The Frenchman. As well as, the newcomers. What was your motive?" Batman questioned her.
"Someone has to keep those freaks in line." She told him. "All Vought wants is money and quite frankly I don't think they're pets should have so much influence."
"No, I've heard from your colleagues how obsessed you were about it. You used to put it above your family for a good while. It seems like it was something personal." Batman said.
Mallory tried to hide her emotions. He was good, she had to admit. His suspicions were right on the money.
"Nothing, now leave." She firmly told him.
"Just one more question." Batman said. "Why was this in your roommate's old apartment?" Batman turned away to point at something Mallory had not seen in a long time: Soldier Boy's knife. "The shield and suit were there too."
"He used to work with him, Sherlock. Vought gave it to him as a present." She said.
Batman seemed unconvinced. As Mallory went back to birdwatching. She sensed that he was still there.
"Jesus can't you…" She stopped when she saw that he was gone.
Mallory processed what had happened. She cursed herself as she realized. She didn't tell him everything, but gave him more than enough. The former colonel realized she would have to up her security.
Frenchie walked past the front desk and to the elevator. He pressed the button and for not long he was on the fourth floor. There was a cop sitting at the desk, likely the one who had the keys. On the desk sat a cup, which was just what Frenchie needed. He walked past the cell block, carefully looking for Mother's Milk without raising suspicion. It seemed that the cells separated criminals from different gangs. He walked past the cell full of men who belonged to Two-Face. He noticed how they only had tattoos on one side of their face. Soon enough he saw Mother's Milk alone sitting in his own cell. There were two cops standing guard. Frenchie winked at MM subtly clueing him in. MM became nervous and attempted to warn Frenchie not to come as he walked closer to the guards. Making sure the guards were more focused on him. Seeing this Frenchie, went to the nearest bathroom he could find.
"I found him." He told Butcher on his walkie-talkie.
"Good." Butcher said.
"Hughie and Kimi time to play." Butcher said.
Frenchie peaked out the door, and saw some of the cops heading over to where MM was supposed to be held. He grabbed the halothane grenade and threw it at the cops. They breathed it in, passing out as they turned around. Frenchie ran towards him.
"Over here!" He ordered.
"Frenchie, they were waiting for you. It's a trap!" Mother's Milk said, afraid of what was gonna happen.
"We know." Frenchie explained. "We thought ahead. Allons-y."Just then the wall blew behind MM. It was Annie who immediately leaped into the cell and tore off the door. So that Frenchie could leave with them. Ignoring the disappointed inmates who were upset they weren't being set free.
"We don't have enough time, they have to know about the decoys now." She said.
"Decoys?" MM asked as he followed Annie.
Elsewhere in the GCPD, a group of cops, discovered in their vents two remote-controlled racing cars. The trackers were placed on them as well as a note from Butcher that read "Cunts". The cops on the scene were annoyed rather than angered.
"I want to be angry, but working here we got far worse than this." A female cop said.
"Send it to Jim, he'll love it." One sarcastically commented.
At Vought Tower, The Seven and the Justice League (minus Batman) stood on a stage in front of Vought Tower. Homelander did his best to avoid looking at Superman as Edgar gave his speech. Looking through the crowd, he noticed A-Train and the Deep standing beside a bearded man in a suit. Instantly, he knew what those two were going to do after the speech. However, while looking through the crowd, he noticed that there was someone with their eyes locked on him.
He was tall, slim, and had a long thin chin. Bizarrely, he was dressed up as a tropical tourist. Wearing a Hawaiian floral shirt with a hat on top of his red hair. The stranger's grin grew into a very big and eager smile when he realized Homelander noticed him. He subtly waved at him mouthing the word "Hi". Homelander rolled his eyes at the strange man.
Also observing the crowd was Maeve. This was a massive turn of events and as much as she liked seeing Homelander squirm. Deep down she realized it would not last. While looking through the crowd she noticed a brunette woman wearing a green dress and sunglasses. She wore a purple scarf around her head. Despite her sunglasses, Maeve realized the woman noticed her. She waved at her, not like an excited fan, but rather, casually. Maeve realized that the woman seemed also interested in Wonder Woman judging how she turned her attention to the Amazon. Maybe she had a type, but right now, she had very little interest.
Maeve thought about her counterpart, on the surface she seemed to like how she used to be. A feminist icon, who women of all ages could idolize. She didn't dare look into her, no one could be that good in this line of work. No one.
This train of thought startled her, she remembered Homelander angrily walking away from the previous conference when saying Superman's name. She had to be better than this.
"It is with extraordinary gratitude, as a representative of Earth Seven, I'll let Superman give his speech." Edgar said.
Stormfront held Homelander's hand in an attempt to calm him down. Noticing his anger was starting to grow. Who did Edgar think he was giving the alien a chance to speak?
"Thank you, Mr. Edgar." Superman said. "I know that this all seems confusing, I remember my first encounter with alternate worlds. It was odd, to say the least. Some would say that alternate worlds make our own lives insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but no it does not. If there are infinite worlds then that does not make you any less special, all it does is make you realize that there is more you can do. If anything that makes the life you choose for yourself much more unique. Our world has a lot of threats, but I will promise you one thing. We will protect you from those who will want to hurt you. Regardless of where they come from." He added.
Edgar took notice of that last sentence, instantly realizing the double meaning. It made his decision all the easier.
"There isn't an Earth, that I would never let fall to ruin because it is my home no matter the universe." Superman said.
The press instantly began to ask questions mostly to the Justice League. Much to Homelander's barely held ire. That was when the bearded man in the suit came up to Stan. Stormfront began to try and avoid him.
"Stan it's a pleasure to see you once more." The man said.
"As with you, Alastair." Stan said to the man.
Homelander realized that was the leader of that cult that suckered in The Deep and now A-Train it would appear.
He was about to say something to his two former teammates when to his shock they walked past him.
"Make way for the A-Train!" A-Train greeted the League. Forcefully shaking hands with Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.
"It's nice to meet you." Superman told him.
"Thanks! So I'm wondering if you're taking any new members?" A-Train asked.
"The Leagues doors are always opened." Wonder Woman told him.
"Nice, so what are we looking for in terms of salary?" A-Train questioned.
"Salary?" Superman asked.
"You know how much do you all make a year?" He asked.
"Saving the world is its own reward." Diana told him, in a slightly stern tone.
A-Train was taken aback by this before letting out a slight laugh.
"Yeah, no I get it." A-Train said.
"So you're A-Train." The Flash said.
"You must be the Flash. As the fastest man on Earth Seven, let me be the first to welcome you." A-Train said.
"Thanks." Flash said.
"I'll take him off your back." Flash said.
"Thank you Wally." Diana said.
"What do we know about him?" Superman asked J'onn.
"He was their former speedster." J'onn said. "He was expelled from their ranks, not long ago." He added.
"Why?" Superman asked.
"I read that he was put on hiatus a year ago. Likely health-related concerns." Wonder Woman said.
"I can see it, his heart doesn't look in good condition. Probably from some sort of drug." Superman replied.
"Must have been one hell of a drug? I know he's slower than me, but he'd still require a lot of calories to stay active." Flash said.
"We'll look into that later." Green Lantern said. "Any scandals involving this guy." He asked.
"Vought swept it under the rug, but last year he ran into a woman. Allegedly delivering the heart to a hospital." Clark grimly replied.
"I see." Flash said trying to hide his disgust when he was having a conversation.
"The woman was named Robin Ward. She was the girlfriend to Hugh Campbell." Superman said.
"Butcher likely swayed him over to join his cause by vengeance." Wonder Woman noted.
As this happened, The Deep tried to strike a rapport with his counterpart.
"So Aquaman, right, I'm the Deep you've probably heard of me." He said.
Aquaman looked at the Deep looking undoubtedly annoyed.
"Yes, I have heard of you." Aquaman said his tone of barely hidden disgust. Most people would take note of this and stop, but The Deep…
"Great, I was wondering if I could join you guys. I've made my mistakes, but I am more than ready to prove myself." He said oblivious of the disdain radiating off from the man he was speaking to.
"I'll keep that in mind." Aquaman told him wanting to escape the conversation.
"Awesome thanks." The Deep said. "Is it true that in your world Atlantis is an actual thing and not a resort?" He asked.
Aquaman sighed. "Yes, and I am its king." He replied.
"Oh cool, can you take me there one day?" The Deep asked.
Arthur barely suppressed a shudder, the very thought of touring this depraved freak in his kingdom would be a nightmare. He remembered the implications that the sealife of this world told him. Not to mention, why he was kicked out of the Seven in the first place.
"No." He simply replied.
The Deep was taken aback by this.
"Alright, it was nice speaking with you." He replied seemingly taking at least part of the hint.
Aquaman turned to The Flash who was speaking with A-Train.
"Speed Force, sorry I've never heard of them." He said sounding confused.
"The Speed Force is the source of my powers." The Flash explained.
"Oh, so that's how you can run fast?" A-Train asked.
"Well, I wouldn't put it like that. My power isn't just running fast, my power breaking the laws of physics through super speed. That's how I do other stuff." Flash replied.
"Like what?" A-Train asked sounding slightly concerned.
"Phasing through solid matter is one," Flash replied.
"Oh cool… What's your top speed? Mine is Mach 1.08. I broke it last year against Shockwave… God rest his soul." A-Train said feigning sympathy.
"You know I never really kept track. Not really impressive, but I did once run around Central City in under two minutes when I was Fourteen." Flash said.
A-Train stood there in silence trying to process what Flash said.
"I gotta go." He simply said.
A-Train turned around and saw Homelander despite his smile the sheer amount of malicious intent was noticeable.
"A-Train, Deep don't tell me you're going to leave just now. I want to speak with you in private." He said.
Both men paused until they shared a look of mutual realization.
"You have our phone numbers. You can call us." A-Train said.
"Yeah, my wife is probably waiting back for me at the hotel." The Deep said.
"Oh you're married, is that right?" Homelander said trying to regain control of the situation. "What's her name?" He asked.
"It's uh…" The Deep stammered.
"Cassandra." A-Train told him.
"Cassandra." He said.
"See you." A-Train said grinning smugly at Homelander.
The Deep went straight back to the others only for them to fly elsewhere. The Deep turned and looked awkwardly at Homelander for a bit before running away. All Homelander could do was to stand there in impotent fury.
Mother's Milk was wearing new clothes, he and the boys were in their room at the Royal Hotel watching TV. A rerun of some old sitcom called "Hello, Megan!" which Kimiko seemed to be enjoying quite a lot. Despite being at last free, MM was still unnerved.
"We have to get out of here." MM said.
"Settle down," Butcher told him. "All cameras in this block are fried, Hughie and Starlight never showed up here with the trackers, we're safe and sound."
"Not the hotel. I need to leave whatever this fucking Twilight Zone shit is. I need to go back home. Butcher, I have a daughter, she needs me. We don't know what's gonna happen here, I can't risk being stuck in this place forever."
"We are in a world free of Vought, can't be too bad."
"What the fuck you think it's gonna happen? You think you and Becca are going to march towards the sunset in a Homelander-free world? I've been here for a day and a half and I already saw more batshit here than in years working with you in our world. We're outranked, Butcher."
"Are we? Because they thought they were going to trap us easy peasy but instead, we freed you!"
"That's because Vought ain't shit next to them. They assumed we must've been a bunch of idiots they couldn't get. Now that they know we're not idiots, what do you think they're planning for us?"
"Guys," Hughie intervened. "There's something in the other channel, it's about Earth, like, our Earth."
The news showed footage of the Justice League next to the remaining members of the Seven and a Catherine Colbert was speaking on the microphone. A narration described the events that took place.
"After nearly two weeks of strange disappearances, the Justice League was able to track the source as coming from the Earth of an alternative universe." Explained the reporter. "The Justice League Unlimited struck a deal of mutual cooperation with Vought International, a private company responsible for the superheroes of the Earth. A Vought spokesman has declared their Earth as being 'Earth Seven'. The number is apparently attached to the name of their version of the Justice League."
"No shit." Butcher said about the last sentence.
"'Earth Seven.' Is it bad that I like it?" Frenchie asked.
"They're welcoming Vought." Hughie said. "Or Vought is welcoming them."
"This might be good." MM said. "If they find half of the shit Vought did, they might shut them down. They probably have prisons here that can hold Homelander."
"Do you really trust the wannabe supes from Cuntland to shut Vought down?" Butcher asked.
"We tried. Who else can?"
The Justice League sat at their table once more.
"Alright so let's get down to the review." Flash said.
"Homelander, I'm sure we all don't need to be reminded of what he's capable of." Batman said.
"I know." Diana said.
"So when it all comes crashing down, how do we contain him?" Flash said, sounding almost excited.
"He's the most powerful man in their world, but not ours. He likely lacks the experience of using his powers effectively against the majority of us." Batman said.
"What about his girlfriend? She has quite the political following." Superman said.
"I've looked into her record. Significant casualties among minorities. Likely perpetrated by her." Batman said.
"No kidding, she straight up gave me the stare when she first saw me. Especially when she was here." Green Lantern said.
"So I guess you're going to want the first crack?" Flash asked.
"Oh definitely. As for her followers, we'll definitely be unable to convince them. But to those still undecided we can convince them. I think we can all care less about what some bigots behind a computer screen say about us." Green Lantern said.
"Black Noir?" Superman asked.
"Noir has been with the company longer than anyone on the team. He was a member of their previous top team "Payback". However, he seems to have brain damage from what I saw during Atom's procedure. His condition appeared to be triggered by a severe tree nut allergy. I should be able to take him on." Batman replied.
"What about Queen Maeve?" Diana asked.
"Unlike the previous three, her record remains cleaner by comparison. However, she has worked with the Seven for a long time, so he is a likely accomplice. This likely seems to lead her to develop a drinking problem. Likely brought about by those she works with." Martian Manhunter said.
"At least it appears she deserves a chance." Wonder Woman said.
"Anything else you could find on A-Train?" Flash asked.
"I managed to recover the autopsy reports of one of his former teammates, Popclaw. They were in a secret relationship. She died last year from a drug overdose in her apartment. However, her arms were also broken, which means she didn't inject herself." Batman replied.
"The Deep?" Aquaman asked in an annoyed tone.
"A nonconcern at the moment, but he is important to us. He's cowardly and an idiot, always a good source of information." Batman told him.
"What about their ex-teammate, Starlight?" Wonder Woman asked.
"I've looked up her record, she's clean for the most part. She has been working with Butcher's group for some time. There's a chance she might have blood on her hands because of them." Batman said.
"You don't think she'll tell us about the Seven?" Superman questioned.
"No, but she'll likely want protection for her and Butcher's group. How much I can't be certain." Batman said.
"How much are you willing to lend?" Wonder Woman asked.
"We'll have to wait and see. Meeting adjourned." Batman replied.
"Sounds like things are going our way." Flash said.
Back on Earth Seven, was a man re-watching the League/Seven's press conference. The room was dark with the only light coming from the hologram projection. Not from what was aired, but rather filmed in private. He sat on his chair listening to Edgar's speech taking note of the crowd. He recognized two familiar faces in the crowd. He was already familiar with what they were capable of, but they were of no concern at the moment. In fact, he could work around with what they had planned. After all, he was the smartest man in his world and in several others. His name is Lex Luthor.
"There isn't an Earth, that I would ever let fall to ruin, because Earth is my home no matter the universe." Superman from the broadcast broke him out of his thoughts.
"Home? You've never had a real home, or at least one that you never stole from others." Luthor spoke up.
He already knew what the League was planning to go after the corrupt, hedonistic freaks that paraded themselves as heroes. In fact, he was going to let them do so. After all, it was all according to plan.