[17th January 2011]
[The Cauldron, Gotham City, New Jersey, United States of America]
Things were bad when Batman wanted you in 'his' city Nathaniel Adams found as he escorted in the convoy full of food and water through the streets of Gotham. It was Gotham, an American city he had to remind himself as he hovered along above the column of trucks and seeing what appeared to be a third world warzone, or at least the aftermath of one through the fog. Fog that near ever present, eerie, and very much unnatural according to Zatara and Captain Marvel, fog; it'd been around before the Quake and seemed to persist for long periods every day since. Much as they tried the damned thing continued to hover about here and down the bay towards Bludhaven...starting from that damned Asylum as an epicentre as best they could tell.
'Has anything good ever come out of the blasted place' he wondered as he noted the impromptu barricades that had sprung up around this particularly bad area of Gotham. Or least it been before the Quake anyway, right now it was one of the enclaves of calm and order within the seemingly crumbling city; now it had containers from the back of trucks, piles of rubble, and other things like broken cars formed into crude 'walls' around the various streets with armed people standing on roofs standing watch. Criminals and minor villains in some cases, but right now they were 'deputies' according to both the overstretched GCPD, barely recovered National Guard, and of course the Governor and government above all them.
"Lovely" he stated landing in front of the barricade-walls 'gate' where a signpost hung with strange skulls dangling around the words; Peckinpah Street, Welcome to the Cauldron. BE NICE. Look like they'd robbed the local graveyard to make a statement, because there wasn't any blood on the damned things, and the few actual cops still doing their jobs in the area weren't reacting to them. Then again...seemed like half the police force from Gotham to Bludhaven had upped and left their jobs, or turned criminal, after the starfish alien attack and then everything after that.
"Bit tribal I'll admit, whole damn world seems to have gone mad of late..." a dark skinned woman in GCPD body armour over a black t-shirt and jeans. An assault rifle was slung over her shoulder and she motioned for the trucks to continue their way into the 'Cauldron' with a wave of her hand "...so, here we are acting like a bunch of savages in return. Sorry, Detective Deborah Tiegel, GCPD 12th Precinct, thanks for bringing in the convoy...the natives have been getting antsy with it being late"
"Apologies from the National Guard is all I can say, thanks to Scarecrow and Killer Croc there's been delay along the line the past two days. Unavoidable delays I'm afraid" he explained taking her proffered and giving it a firm shake. After what had happened to the members of the convoy on the 14th the National Guard when that particular Arkham escapee had mixed gas in with the Fog, and the...Superman incident...things had been somewhat tense and disorganised. Batman was doing what he could of course, but even with Justice League support there was only so much that could be done between Star City, and yesterday's brief panic over the sea in the UK.
"Uh-huh, well if we were all sensible we'd move elsewhere I guess...assuming they'd let us anyway..." the detective muttered. An honest complaint, after the near destruction of New Orleans, then large areas of the North-East, in the Starro invasion the Federal government and the various State governments had largely worked to confine people to their 'home regions' should the area prove 'liveable' in their view. Considering the state of Gotham ...well Bludhaven was worse, but that wasn't much of standard to judge by he thought darkly as the woman continued talking as they moved down the streets "Now, Tommy's sleeping off last night's adventures, but I've got reports for you lot to bring back with you. Got proof that theirs vampires down in the old subway tunnels, sewers too maybe, north of here"
Something clicked "The skulls?"
"Eyep, gang of the things tried grab a bunch of folks livin' just outside the safe zone here. Damned hard to killed them mind you, 'specially with this blast fog keepin' out the sunlight, so Gordon wanted paper copies through secure channels, you lot, SWAT, Army, so as not get out to the media. Bit silly I think considering there are other things out in the mists just as bad, most of'em home grown 'human' monsters like the mad bastard Firebug. Sooner someone puts him down the better"
"League and the Army doing all that they can Ma'am, I can promise you that" he stated back, though the situation was straining everyone. The Justice League just wasn't setup for a constant, long running, problem like this where threats were dangerous, but not especially so, while also being spread out over a significant area. Now they had this Vampire and Demon problem to add to the mix...well, they hadn't failed before and they weren't about to start now. Striding forward as the detective laid out the details of the situation be started to help unload the crates of water from the last truck...
--
[17th January 2011]
[Batcave, Beneath Wayne Manor, Gotham City, New Jersey, United States of America]
Dick Grayson was having a really weird week, which was saying something when being Robin, and it was really hard to stay 'whelmed. Like really, really, hard with Catwoman and Talia al Ghul, now in the Batcave while Bruce was sleeping in a bunk in the corner thanks to Alfred and the two women who'd seeming decided that Batman was 'their man' like the crazy people they were. Oh, and of course there was baby Batman, as crazy Catwoman called Bruce's and the other crazy lady's child, who was sleeping in a cot beside silent mute ninja girl whose name they still hadn't got beyond a fake one in Kasumi.
'I am not calling either of you supervillains Mom' he stamped down on the words before he could say them, instead nodding respectfully as Al Ghul [Female Version] sauntered towards him as if she was the Boss of him and the place. Sure...technically...Bruce had put her in charge after Alfred, but he'd also been very clear on Robin keeping an eye on her, while also keeping it secret from both the Justice League and the Team. So Dick would do what Batman wanted, even if he hadn't directly said anything to that effect, and keep them in line while Bruce slept off the Alfred induced sedatives just like he himself had slept off the Bruce induced ones earlier today. For now thought he was Robin: KEEPER OF THE BATCOMPUTER AND ALL THINGS INFO RELATED!
"So, they seek me do they little bird? Reports of the creatures in the mists?" she announced standing beside him arms clasped behind her back like she was a female Napoleon. Either that or to thrust her boobs out, but the jumpsuit did her no favours there he found. That was unlikely though because disliked him, mostly for her crazy supervillain father being a lemming and jumping after the laser crystal thing when he'd thrown it off the Space Launch tower. It was always a bad sign when he wanted Selina Kyle around Bruce to offset the crazy that was Talia Al Ghul...or that crazy lady seemed to understand that and intentionally include [blackmail] Catwoman into a full time relationship with Bruce instead all the [irritating] flirting they did.
"Sure the whole world revolves around you doesn't it? Maybe they're just, like all the other crazies, here to hide out and break things?" he knew he shouldn't be snarky back, but the lady annoyed him despite her seeming to smile at his anger at her presence. Sure it was really cool Bruce was building a harem, something to emulated sure, but why did have to be female supervillains? There was Wonder Woman, and Canary if she'd been single...they were cool...instead...who was next, Poison Ivy? Lady Shiva?
"Beloved taught you too well to believe such things little bird"
He huffed, then sighed and threw his hands up in defeat "Yeah, yeah, most likely...and that's probably what Bat's 'ill say when he wakes up. Prob' they ain't looking for you here directly, but hopin' that Bats will come out and they can figure out if your around the city. An' way Gotham is right now...things are aster for bad guys and the monsters really"
"Aster is now the opposite of disaster little bird. One most work on correcting such issues, when time becomes available, now that we are soon to be family..." she commented back not bothering to look down at him, instead studying the flashing map of Gotham and its environs, along with various video footage they'd managed to hack "...but for now let us focus on the task at hand. Kyle, come here, we must strategise your patrol route to gather more information"
"I had a secret identity once, and this was alot more fun in my dreams than..." he could hear Selina Kyle mutter, yet again, as she strode over with arms folded across her chest and her mask handing back from her neck like a cowl with goggles. It was one thing Dick was glad of; she wasn't going to betray them, because if she did then her secret identity would be completely shot, and he and Bruce had already tracked down her many, many, bank accounts once the Batcave had been accessible again "Right, monsters, where do you want me to help people..."
The idea of patrolling with Catwoman was weird to say the least, but it was the only way he'd be able to get out on patrol without Bruce. Gotham was...a mess, and there were simply areas Bruce just did not want them going into without alot of prep. Being sent back to Mount Justice to the rest of the Team then felt like being sidelined for the action as much as Bruce framed it as preparing them for the nature of operating in Gotham...especially post natural disaster Gotham where somebody/something was using magic to hide in. But he and Bruce would reclaim their city block by block if they had too, even if they had to stoop to let others help them do it...
--
[17th January 2011]
[The Watchtower, Low Earth, Orbit]
"Look at'em go, like he stepped out a medieval re-enactment...except he's glowing, and the swords on fire...oh, and there's Captain Boomerang, can't believe they managed to get Digger to go to Hell and fight..."
Dinah Lance tuned out Flash's running commentary on the, rather disturbing, footage that Lantern Stewart had either received, or simple hacked, from the military systems of the madmen who'd gone into Hell. Hell, actual physical hell...then again, the Actual Devil was real and somehow ran a Piano Bar in Los Angeles so she reminded herself she really shouldn't be shocked about these things anymore. Diana was the most unbothered by it; it was problematic to her apparently, deeply so, but only in regards what she was to tell her people rather than what had happened.
It was only a partial meeting of League members; Batman remained barely contactable, Martian Manhunter dealing with his people's delegation, as were the Hawks, and the ongoing confused negotiations with the United Nations. Captain Atom, and Captain Marvel, were helping with the situations in Gotham and Bludhaven respectively while Lantern Jordon and Icon hunted down a gang called the Blood Syndicate who'd become very active in the wake of recent disasters.
Thankfully the most magically active members, Diana, Aquaman, and Giovanni Zatara were present and able to brief her on their problem case on the Team as part of the overall strategy of dealing with the loose cannons running around known as SHIELD. Sadly Giovanni seemed most upset over John Constantine apparently having a demon blooded child, one surviving of three, and the potential dangers of her existence, let alone the fact the US, UK, and Irish militaries had invaded, and nuked, a part of Hell.
"Wow...his enemies attacked his family, apprentice, our sidekicks, and a whole bunch of people sooooo...he could get Mr. Constantine to go off and bang his smoking hot daughter! Come'on ours want to blot out the sun, blow up Washington, or kill everyone off for plants to live in peace..and he gets crazy look heres my daughter guy..."
That...bothered her greatly for other reasons and she tore into Ollie and Flash when he tried to make fun of Constantine's vanished day. Sure she didn't like the man, or the dreadfully disturbing 'experiences' he seemed to called teaching with John Fortune, but this was too messed up to make fun off. The man was in, an apparently happy, relationship and he'd been abducted by demons to basically act as 'bull' to some monster's desire for grandkids and now had a child he'd known nothing about. One who according to Giovanni almost destined to be a villain, or at least darkly inclined, due to both said demonic parentage and then 'childhood' in Hell.
Oh it wasn't so funny to Ollie when she pointed out how he'd feel if it had been her vanished off to Hell for twenty-four hours and used some broodmare for Satan's armies. God she loved that man, but he could such an idiot at times she'd found. And of course how all this was going to impact the member of Team Constantine, who'd likely be effected by his mentor's daughter suddenly being around, who was on The Team with the sidekicks. A young man who'd they just watched violently kill anything between him and his objective of getting even with the creatures that'd attacked his friends and apprentice, who was John Constantine's niece.
'Well I suppose it's good to see his loyalty to them I suppose' she mused to herself as the conversation swiftly skipped over that part, instead settling on leaving what to do up to her, Red Tornado, and Batman. Which meant herself of course; because Red Tornado wasn't exactly great at interpersonal or group dynamics, and Batman was even worse...and busy right now as well. Yes the magic situation, and invading Hell, and everything else, was important but the children needed a bit more guidance and support in the wake of...well, all the craziness that had happened...
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