It was a peaceful evening in Indian Hill, Ohio.
Sarah Wright had just gotten home picking her six-year-old son up from soccer practice. On the drive home, she felt like she was developing a headache. She went to the medical cabinet and took out a pill. She stuck it in her mouth before drinking it with a cup of water.
That was when she felt the sudden urge to laugh. At first, it started out as a case of giggles. All she could think about was a funny joke she saw the other day. Soon her giggling turned to uproarious laughter. Sarah started to lose her balance and had to support herself by holding onto the counter.
Her husband, Ted, came out of the office and went to her.
"Sarah, what's so funny?" He asked.
She tried to answer, but all she could do was laugh. In fact, it was the only thing she could do as inhaling was impossible. She could feel her jaw painfully remain rigid in a smile, as she could not close her mouth. Her lungs were practically trying to break through her rib cage.
She collapsed onto the floor as her husband dialed 911 on his cell phone. She could barely make out his voice.
Tears started to well in her eyes as her vision started to get blurry.
Within the next hour, this broadcast made the airwaves.
"Hello Earth-Seven, I'm back!" The Joker announced from the same stage as before. "Now first order of business, I'd like to announce an "official" business partnership with Vought International as their new spokesperson because let's face it folks no one is more suited to such a task than yours truly. I mean seriously the last one was only suited for milk commercials." Joker said.
At Vought tower, Homelander destroyed the television in his room with his laser vision upon hearing that.
"Not to mention the guy before that trainwreck too. I mean who seriously taught that guy how to sing? Not the military as far as I can tell. Anyway, I digress, you see Vought's Compound V is spreading around Gotham and other cities like candy on Halloween. So I thought I'd put my trademarked formula into their stuff. As part of a new sweepstake, I like to call "Joker's Wild"." Joker said as a poster saying "Joker's Wild" dropped behind him. It was written in green paint with pictures of his trademark Joker card next to it.
"So first and only rule of this sweepstake. If you die, then congratulations! You've won! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Joker explained.
"You need to call a complete recall now." Batman told Edgar. The rest of the League surrounded him.
"We are working on it, you do realize that these things take time. Unlike you, we just can't force things to go our way." Edgar said.
"By that you mean, non-conspicuously, right?" Flash asked.
"Every second we wait, someone is at risk. How did Joker get into one of your labs anyway?" Green Lantern asked.
"We are still looking into that matter." Edgar told them.
"You'd better, because if I find out this is more about your company's stock than the lives of innocent people. Then I'm stepping in." Superman warned Edgar.
There was a knock on the door and someone was let in, Congresswoman Victoria Neuman.
"Mr. Edgar," She said.
"Congresswoman, what is the meaning of this?" Edgar said.
"Congress and the NSA have demanded that you begin a total recall of any available Vought products in the last twenty-four hours. This is now an act of National Security" Neuman told him.
"I can assure you we are doing the best we can in light of this contamination- -" Edgar said but was interrupted when Neuman put down the warrant on his table.
"Your best is not enough. This was signed by a Supreme Court Justice and Vought has to do exactly what it says or else you'll end up in a federal prison."
As this happened Batman kept his eyes on Neuman.
"You seem suspicious." J'onn telepathically told Batman.
"I was reviewing the footage of the Congressional hearing. All the casualties died seconds after she looked at them. I also watched Homelander's interruption of her protest against him, her eyes were on him at all times." Batman told him.
"You believe that she is Vought's controlled opposition?" J'onn asked.
"Yes, but I need proof." Batman told J'onn said.
"We will follow your demands, and hasten our efforts in this recall. You may leave." Edgar said.
With that said, Neumann left the room unaware that Batman and Martian Manhunter were keeping an eye on her.
"What kind of proof?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"Blood." Batman replied.
Butcher opened the door to the hideout, an abandoned meat packing plant, a cool breeze immediately burst through the door. Hughie and Kimiko shivered.
"If your dicks froze on your ballsacks, you can worry about it later." Butcher admonished them and was answered with a look of confusion from Kimiko. "Just an expression, love." He stepped in through the door only to find himself wrong.
It was freezing cold, and he could even see his own breath with each exhale. It was the coldest room Butcher had ever found himself in. The temperature was more akin to a typical winter day, not for someone who happened to live there.
"Your dick froze on your ballsack?" Hughie sarcastically asked him.
"Point proven, but still man up." Butcher told them.
"Says the man who has a coat on." Hughie muttered under his breath all while shivering.
Hughie suddenly tripped over something.
"You alright, lad?" Hughie asked.
"I'm fine, I just tripped." Hughie said as he put his hand to lift himself up. To his surprise, it felt like ice. He looked up, but could see no pipes above them.
"I think he has ice powers." Hughie said.
"No shit." Butcher said. "Just watch your step." He added.
They continued down the hallway, and could hear two voices speaking. As they got closer, they began to note that one of them sounded mechanical. As if he was speaking through some filter of sorts.
"I have done what you have asked, Sionis, the formula is ready. All I ask is for you to return Nora to me, and I shall pretend this never happened." The mechanical voice said.
Butcher peaked out the door and saw the source. It was a man wearing a form of power armor not unlike Tek Knight. It was primarily blue, but the arms and legs were black. He had a dome on his head too. The man was facing away from them, but straps were on the back of his head. They were likely goggles of some sort. The more uncanny aspect was his skin, which Butcher could have sworn was an icy blue. He was looking down at something, possibly a video screen.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Freeze. I've been getting troubling reports. Word on the street is that Penguin and Two-Face also have it." Sionis said.
"That was not a part of your arrangement!" Freeze protested. Despite the obvious anger his tone was collected.
"I know, which is why I am changing the agreement." Sionis said. "You don't have a problem with that do you?" He questioned in a threatening manner.
"If Cobblepot and Dent have the formula it's no use to them at the moment. I've found that the base formula gets the desired results on infants. The formula you've had me concoct will work on adults with very little side effects." Freeze told him.
The Boys' eyes widened with horror upon hearing that. Vought had spent years trying to perfect Compound V so that it could be injected safely into adults. All of their labs and resources only got them close, according to Lamplighter. This man managed to do that with very limited resources in a matter of weeks.
"Thanks for the information. Now you've proven to be my most valuable asset. I want this to be confidential. I don't want the competition getting their hands on this." Sionis said. "Unless you want me to get your wife out of that pod she's been stuck in for many years." He added.
"You will regret this, Sionis." Freeze seethed.
"Let's hope for Nora's sake that I don't." Sionis grimly replied.
Freeze turned around and went back to his desk. It was there they could all see his red goggles. He started to tinker with some of the equipment presently laying on there.
"What do we do about this bonhomme de neige?" Frenchie whispered.
"I say we kill him." Butcher replied.
Kimiko nodded. Though it was clear there was some form of reluctance.
"Do we really have to kill him? I mean it sounds like he could be helpful." Hughie said.
"Really why's that?" Butcher asked, rolling his eyes.
"Sounds like Black Mask has his wife. We could ask him for info about Black Masks base if we promise to save his wife." Hughie said.
"Alright, good idea, but what if he doesn't trust us? What if he decides to tell all the other psychos in this shit hole of a city about his new formula? What if he decides to sell it on the streets? What if Vought hears about this?" Butcher asked.
Hughie tried to think of a retort.
"You need to stop expecting so much from supes, Hughie." Butcher replied.
He was about to step in when he saw Kimiko had already entered the room. She slowly, quietly went over to Mr. Freeze. Until he turned around and fired his weapon at her. The sound was unlike anything they had ever heard before. It looked like a strange pistol, but instead of a bullet, it looked almost like snow. Almost instantaneously, Kimiko had been encased in ice.
Hughie watched on in silent terror. Contrasting Butcher's disposition who let out a quiet and frustrated "Shite!" upon seeing that. None of them dared to head back there even though it killed them leaving Kimiko like that.
"Identify yourselves now." Freeze ordered.
The Boys refused to let out another word.
So Freeze decided to end the silence by picking up the chair he sat on and threw it past the doorway with one arm. It broke into pieces once it hit the wall. Butcher realized he was trying to intimidate them, but he was mostly unfazed. However, Hughies' eyes bulged as his breathing started to pick up. Mister Freeze started to walk towards them, holding his gun up. The sound of hydraulics echoed in the room with each step.
"Run!" Butcher ordered as the others followed suit.
Another blast from Freeze's gun hit the wall as the ice formed upon contact. Hughie narrowly ducked under it.
"He's got a fucking freeze ray!" Hughie said.
"No shit!" Butcher called out.
Hughie screamed upon seeing Freeze step out of the door frame.
"There is no escape." Freeze said as he could be seen from behind. As he fired another blast that hit the ceiling.
"What do we do?!" Hughie asked desperately.
"Get the hell out of here!" Butcher replied upon seeing the door. Until the same firing sound could be heard. The door was now encased with ice.
"New plan, find another exit." Butcher said.
"What about Kimiko?" Hughie asked.
"She can heal from bullets and disembowelment. We'll have to get her back later. I'm sure frostbite can't kill her." Butcher told him.
It was the packing room, indicated by the heavy machinery spread throughout the room. The room was spacious, with catwalks above them. Not to mention some of the offices could provide hiding spots. Furthermore, it was dark, which only irritated Freeze more. The main entrance opened up and six of Black Mask's men entered. They all carried firearms, ranging from a pistol, three shotguns, and two assault rifles. All of them sporting similar masks like their boss.
"What the hell is going on Freeze?" One of them demanded from the former scientist.
"We have three intruders. One of which I have dealt with. Two remain here hiding." Freeze said before raising his gun and firing it at the door they had entered.
"What the hell was that for?" The head henchman demanded. "You froze the only other door out!" He explained
"No one leaves this room until they are found. They might know sensitive information." He told them as he started to search. "Information your employer wants me to keep private, and if it does, I will hold you all accountable." He added.
"Spread out and find them. You see anyone you don't recognize, shoot them on sight." The head goon ordered.
"No, I want them alive for questioning." Freeze told him.
"Yeah, what gives you the right, frosty!" The head goon asked.
Almost instantly, Freeze fired his weapon at the mouthy henchman. He was frozen even worse than Kimiko. While they were covered in ice, the henchman looked like an ice sculpture. The pistol in his hand fell along with his hands, which shattered like glass upon hitting the floor. Freeze immediately continued his search for his assailants.
"Spread out and find them!" Another of Black Mask's men ordered the rest as they fanned out.
Meanwhile, Butcher and Hughie were hiding in a nearby office located above the catwalks.
"You stay here." Butcher ordered him.
Neuman stood in the elevator when all of a sudden the lights went out. It stopped instantly. She looked around for a moment, startled, when she felt something prick the back of her neck. That only heightened her paranoia when the lights turned on a moment later. She rubbed the back of her neck. When took off her hand, she saw a dead wasp on her palm. She laughed off realizing what the prick was.
On top of the elevator was Batman, who had managed to get a blood sample from Neuman and planted the wasp. Now he needed to go back to Gotham and run a blood analysis.
Hughie followed Butcher through the dark hallways of Mr. Freeze's hideout. They could hear Black Mask's henchmen looking for them, their hope was to find a window or somewhere else they could escape from. In the shadows, they could see a human silhouette for a second. Shots. Deathstroke had his pistol out and fired several shots at their torsos. They could see Deathstroke fully in armor as his shots illuminated the hallway. They both fell apparently dead on the floor and Deathstroke touched the earpiece on his helmet.
"They're down, both of them." Deathstroke.
"You're sure?" Black Mask asked.
"If their hearts are on the left side of the chest, I'm su- -"
Butcher put out his shotgun and hit Deathstroke twice in the chest. He fell and Butcher and Hughie got up and ran. They faced a pair of goons and Butcher shot them both by surprise. He and Hughie got down to get their machine guns, Hughie was having trouble breathing.
"Get your lungs out of your throat." Butcher said. "It's not so bad, it's like getting punched."
Hughie opened his jacket and took out the 4 bullets attached to his vest.
"This is way worse than getting punched!"
As more goons got in, Butcher and Hughie gunned them down. Hughie didn't leave the trigger even after they were down and kept screaming.
"Save the bloody bullets for later." Butcher ordered.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Butcher put his gun up and realized Deathstroke was back. He tried to shoot but as he raced towards him, Deathstroke deflected the bullets and even shielded himself with his sword. Once he got close enough, Deathstroke cut Hughie's machine gun in half, lifted him, and threw him at Butcher, sending both of them to the next room. When Deathstroke came back with his sword, Butcher pushed Hughie out of the way and fought Deathstroke with his crowbar. He was no match and was kicked back on the ground. Deathstroke was ready to decapitate him when a table full of chemicals was hit against him. Deathstroke cut the table in half with his sword, revealing Hughie behind it. Deathstroke hit Hughie with his blade, instead of killing him, it simply sent him to the ground as the blade broke. Covered in chemicals, Deathstroke put out his pistol and aimed for Hughie's head, the frozen trigger broke and fell on the ground. Suddenly, Deathstroke was hit on his right side by Butcher's crowbar.
"A mercenary with a huge blindspot." Butcher taunted with a grin. "Does Black Mask give you a special parking spot?"
Deathstroke put out his other gun, also frozen and broken in half. He then realized his weapons were no good after Hughie gave him a chemical bath with Mr. Freeze's equipment. So Slade removed his belt and most of his armor, which fell frozen on the floor as he closed his fists ready for a fight. Butcher held his crowbar tightly.
"This guy has powers." Hughie warned.
"But Batman doesn't." Butcher argued. "And still kicked this cunt out the curb more than once."
Butcher attempted to hit Deathstroke with the crowbar, but he ducked and returned with two punches on Butcher's face knocking him down.
"You're no Batman." Deathstroke said.
"Hughie, get out of here!" Butcher yelled.
Trying to go, Hughie his shoe's sole stuck on the floor, it melted into it. A large round chemical flask was on the floor and dropped a strong acid so powerful it was melting the ground itself. Hughie grabbed the acid flask and planned to throw it at Deathstroke but in the struggle with Butcher, Hughie couldn't aim correctly and wouldn't risk hitting Butcher. An idea came to him and he left taking the flask with him.
Butcher's face was bruised, fighting Deathstroke was like fighting a tank too fast to land punches, he kept protecting himself with his arms, but even those were bruised already. Butcher managed to land a powerful hit on Deathstroke's throat, pushing him away. When Butcher attempted to use the moment to attack Deathstroke, he was kicked in the chest and thrown against the shelves, hitting the wall and breaking them. Butcher caught his breath on the floor, Deathstroke was getting himself back together after the punch to the throat.
"You were SAS?" Slade asked.
"Right on the money." Butcher said while he took chains that were on the shelfs and rolled them on his fist.
"I beat a SAS before."
"I beat supes before."
Butcher got up and attacked Deathstroke, held his body, and threw several punches with the chains on his head. Deathstroke switched his position, held Butcher with his arm, and pressed his throat. Butcher bit Deathstroke's arm, and his teeth sank into his flesh but that didn't do anything.
"Please." Deathstroke said, offended that he thought this would work.
He was about to faint when he decided to get up and hit Deathstroke's body against the wall, Butcher aimed for where the broken shelf was and stabbed Deathstroke's back with the supporter, several times, piercing his shoulder and back several times until tell was red with blood and Butcher had the strength to break out his clutch. Butcher fell on the floor and spit out the piece of Deathstroke's arm.
Hughie ran through Mr. Freeze's hideout until he got to a room where Mr. Freeze and Black Mask's goons were. He was immediately received with bullets and a freezing ray and couldn't go in. He knew the goons and Mr. Freeze were about to go get him, he was afraid, but had to do it fast. Hughie showed himself on the entrance again, obscuring his head with his arms as he hurled the flask of acid. He was shot and fell to the ground. Mostly on the vest but a bullet hit his arm and he was bleeding.
"You've got a terrible aim, young man." Mr. Freeze said and he was about to kill him.
Suddenly, the sound of cracking, the flask of acid hit Kimiko's ice, it was melting and breaking. She jumped out of the ice and attacked Mr. Freeze. The goons shot her but the bullets didn't do anything. Kimiko ripped off the ribs of a goon and used to stab others in the jaw. She ran to help Hughie, leaving Mr. Freeze unable to move with his damaged armor.
Butcher waved his crowbar around and used a piece of the shelve as a shield. Deathstroke kicked him to the ground, breaking his shield. Deathstroke was about to stomp Butcher's skull, but he grabbed the broken glass from the table and threw them at his eye. Butcher kicked Deathstroke's legs, knocking him on the ground.
"You fight dirty." Deathstroke said, as he blindly searched for Butcher.
Butcher covered his mouth with one hand so Deathstroke wouldn't hear him breathing, took off his boot with the other hand. Butcher threw his boot to the other side of the room and Deathstroke attacked believing it was his step. Butcher hit Deathstroke's head from behind with his crowbar. He caught the chains and attempted to roll them around Deathstroke's neck but Butcher was thrown back on the ground and received a punch that broke his nose. He put his thumb inside Deathstroke's eye, and he could feel the glass, Deathstroke dislocated his shoulder. Even with the blood and the glass, Butcher could see in Slade's pupil that he could still see him, and could see the rage in his eye. That next punch was going to crush his skull, he knew. Tear gas covered the entire room, and they heard the steps of a squad entering.
"GCPD, hands in the air!" They heard.
Slade was ready to ignore and still kill Butcher. A bullet was shot in his helmet and took him off Butcher as the police tried to take them in.
The scene was closed, Mr. Freeze was being put in a truck back to Arkham and the coroners were taking the bodies of the goons. Captain Harvey Bullock took an electronic device out of his pocket with the symbol of a bat in it.
"Hey there, Batgirl." He said to the device.
"It's Oracle." Barbara Gordon replied.
"Right, right, things change. Deathstroke escaped and put five of my guys in the ambulance in the process but we're lucky he didn't kill anybody. He almost killed this Butcher guy, he could barely walk but we got him, just him."
"And the others?"
"Nowhere to be seen. But hey, we caught the leader, count that victory… You gotta be shitting me."
"What is it, Harvey?"
Bullock found the patrol car where Billy Butcher was, empty. Not just that, the passenger door was ripped out raw and there was the mark of a small hand printed on it.
One block away from the scene, Hughie tried to keep up with Kimiko while he had a bullet in his arm, she was carrying Butcher and they all hid behind a dumpster when a patrol car passed by.
Homelander and Stormfront were on stage at their rally. Very few people were around, most of the seats were empty, only a couple of supporters with signs written messages like 'Our Earth our heroes' and other similar messages. Stormfront checked her phone. Lots of open space waiting to be occupied.
"That's not possible." Stormfront told Homelander. "It's all over social media, not just generally but for people in this area, people who live close- -"
"This is it." Homelander interrupted. "No one else is coming, we have to start."
Homelander put on his fake smile and prepared his microphone and addressed the crowd. Before he said anything, a familiar face approached, it was Blue Hawk (whose jaw was wired shut), followed by more people wearing shirts with his name and signs of support for Homelander and Stormfront. Blue Hawk waved to them.
"Hey, guys, we got Blue Hawk here." Homelander said.
"Just showing my support." He said. "I also brought my friends and family."
"Okay, if everybody is here…" From far away, Homelander saw a new crowd approaching. Youngsters, college-aged. "Are those Godolkin University students I see, wow, you are the future, it's so good to see you here. You know what, can you wait five more minutes? I gotta feeling we have more supporters coming." He said and he and Stormfront smiled at each other.
Sure enough, more people came, C-Listers and D-Listers heroes, military rejects who wanted to enlist just for a shot of getting Compound V. And parents, many parents with supe children, kids and babies with shining eyes. Homelander finally started speaking.
"Woosh. Not gonna lie, I was worried there for a second. I thought nobody would show up, but you are here, the real Americans. You support the heroes of your country, the version of your country that counts. Because when they say 'Justice League of America', we all know they're not talking about our America!" Homelander looked at the crowd, the parents with children, and pointed to a mother, her baby was in a stroller covered with a transparent shield. Every now and then the baby would shoot a blue laser against the shield. "You, ma'am. You got a beautiful child there, can you tell us why you came here?"
Homelander took a microphone and gave it to her. The blonde woman wearing a flag-themed vest was nervous to speak in front of a crowd but happy about the attention.
"Hi. My son was one of the last children who received Compound V and Vought promised this would give him a better future. But now I'm afraid his powers won't mean anything since the Earth-One people showed up."
"This is not right." Homelander said, showing empathy for the woman in front of the crowd. "None of you should have to feel inadequate because of people who aren't even from here while the whole world thanks them for fixing the mess they brought from their world."
"Don't let them fool you." Stormfront said. "The poisoned Vought products came from the clown from their universe, not ours. All that chaos and mayhem is something they are bringing in, Earth-One people are dangerous, you all saw the footage of the alien invasions, the near apocalypse. They are destroying our culture and threatening our ways."
"Superman and Martian Manhunter are aliens." Homelander said. "But aren't them all? They don't come from our planet, that makes them all aliens. They're not like us, they think they're better than us. Answer, folks, are they right?" The whole crowd shouted 'No!'. "Louder!" Homelander got the response he wanted. "Not Earth-Seven, not even Earth-One, this is Earth, this is America and it's ours!"
"How many people have to die by the hands of their monsters for the world to see that this pacifist shit doesn't work?" Stormfront asked. "Right now Vought is making deals with them despite everything and we work Vought, but you know what? That doesn't matter, we are here for you. But we ask you to be here for us, especially those who have powers. We don't have to stand down, we can't stand down!"
Applauses echoing loudly, people chanting the names of Homelander and Stormfront. Some of them shine lights from their bodies showcasing their powers while screaming their support. Homelander looked at Stormfront with a terrifying smile, she put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him.