This world lives in a constant cycle of conflict. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The very presence of power invites an opposing power to challenge it. Whether their differences be between good and evil, order and chaos, or an arbitrary sense of tribalism. Since the dawn of this universe, or at least in the dawns of the previously existing universes, any rising source of power was responded with another power to clash against it.

When the Kree Lantern Corps were formed on Haloa, they were challenged by the Skrulls of Appellax, and they have warred for eons. When the Demonic Lords of Chaos began causing havoc throughout the universe, the Lords of Order were formed to clean up their messes and maintain peace and structure in the universe. And when evil reared its head to prey upon the good people of this world, the League of Marvelous Individuals rose to the occasion to serve as Earth's protectors.

The LMI has been active for roughly six and a half years, and throughout their tenure, the League had defended the people of Earth from invasions from rogue Asgardians, warring Gods of the Greek Pantheon, and aliens donning every color of the rainbow. But aside from the threats one would consider beyond human, the members of the League still handled threats low to the ground. For every world-ending threat, there were maybe five more costumed bank-robbers attached to some inane gimmick serving more as a general nuisance.

The prevalence of prideful criminals thinking some two-bit gadget or crazy scheme could best the godlike figures of the League was always high. One must ask where they all come from. What inspires someone to want to be a supervillain? Is it greed, wrath, pride, tragedy, perhaps a combination of them all? If one is to do evil, it is likely that evil was done onto them. Unfortunate circumstances fall upon once good people and twist them into something sinister. What we have seen with poor Kamala Zeul is evident of such.

Perhaps it's a universal compulsion to maintain balance. A world can only be good and just if there is evil and sin to overcome. All forces require opposition to prevent total consumption of the greater universe. And thus, the supervillain is a key part of the superhero ecosystem. But one must remember that everyone involved in the hero/villain dynamic is a person. A person with hopes, dreams, and the desire to make an impact on the world.

I am the Phantom Watcher, the once Spirit of Justice turned benign observer. In a change of pace, we shall be examining the so-called supervillains that populate this world, and what drives them to make the choices they have here, in the Amalgam.

Over the Atlantic Ocean, a silver and blue form rocketed across the sky. It was the Iron S.T.R.I.P.E. flying towards a unknown location, operated by the dastardly diminutive, the Toymandarin. Riding on the back of the patriotic painted armor was Ms. Gigantic. The two had just escaped from the Belle Raft Superhuman Containment Facility after handily defeating two members of the LMI.

As they soared across the sky, Kamala had a death grip on the handles on the armor's back. In addition, she had stretched out and wrapped her legs around the torso, she was deathly afraid of falling off and into the treacherous ocean waves below. She didn't know where the Toymandarin was taking her, but it had to be better than prison.

Everything had happened so fast. She acted out of fiery rage, she caused a lot of destruction, denounced her idol, and became a fugitive of the law in just a few minutes. Kamala was starting to regret her decision to escape with the boy. She had basically thrown any chance at her normal life away, and it was greatly stressing her.

The wind blowing past them was very loud, but she may as well try to get some information about where her life was taking her next.

"HEY, KID, WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" Kamala shouted at the helmet of the armor, hoping it got through to Toymandarin.

Toymandarin cringed at how loud she was yelling, "Easy, Stretch! I can hear you just fine. This thing is full of speakers, I could probably hear a fish break wind from in here," his voice boomed from within.

Kamala grew embarrassed, "Oh…sorry. Where are we going? Where's a safe place for us to go," she reiterated in a still loud, but more manageable speaking voice.

"I've been receiving notes from a little birdie for the past month or so. Someone wanted my help to change the world, so they put together that little breakout and gave me a set of coordinates to fly to. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine," Toymandarin explained with a great degree of calm.

Kamala's interest piqued at the mention of the bird, "I saw the bird too, it gave me that weird ring to break open my power dampener."

"I know, my pen pal told me you would get it. They wanted me to work with you to get out of there, and I'd say we made a wonderful team. You were amazing in there the way you almost broke the Barbie doll!" Toymandarin gushed after he explained further.

Kamala was put off by Toymandarin's quirks, but moved on to the more important piece of information, "Your friend wanted me specifically? Why? I'm not a supervillain like you, I'm not evil! No offense," she said defensively.

"Oh, none taken, Ms. Armstrong. I was just as surprised to be brought into this as you are. I wouldn't call myself a supervillain either, I just wanted to play a little game with my favorite toys," Toymandarin responded with a creepy giggle.

"The other girls in my cell block said a lot of things about you, I never thought they'd be true. What did you even do to get locked up in Belle Raft at so young?" Kamala asked.

"Well, before I used one of my rings to collect my action figure, I used one of the other ones to make this dragon toy I found really big, and I just pushed it through the streets of my hometown. Then a built an army of toy soldiers to fight the dragon. And then I built a nuclear bomb because I wanted to see a mushroom cloud up close," Toymandarin answered with a nostalgic sigh. "They tried putting me in a few juvenile halls, but I kept blowing them up with plastic explosives made of teddy bear stuffing! What about you?"

Kamala was shaken by Toymandarin's answer, more so how she had never heard of any of this before. While processing that information, she gave a rather vague answer, "Have you ever seen the movie "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"?"

"No," Toymandarin answered blankly.

"Well, neither have I. But I assume it was like that movie," Kamala added with a shrug. Weird as it was, she appreciated the casual conversation, there weren't a lot of those in Belle Raft.

Eventually, the two reached the coordinates Toymandarin received. But when they arrived, all they saw was more empty ocean. As they hovered over the exact location, Kamala had assumed they were led astray and began to panic, stammering about this and that, displaying great dismay over their current situation. Toymandarin tried to tune her out and figure out what was happening. As the waves cascaded below, the boy noticed patterns in the water. The water seemed to flow around and away from a large unseen shape in the ocean. Alongside that, the armor was picking up on a strange frequency.

Toymandarin raised the mech's arm behind the head and flicked at Kamala. She didn't fall off, but was snapped out of her panic, "What the hell was that for!?" She snapped as the iron fist deformed her face like clay. But with slight concentration, she returned it to normal.

"I need quiet to think. You were disrupting my concentration," Toymandarin answered nonchalantly. "The robot is sensing something giving off weird sounds. Some kind of sonic camouflage. I experimented with the idea myself with large invisible rubber duckies. Do you think they're reusing my designs?"

Kamala ignored Toymandarin's question, "So, there's a big invisible thing out here? Are you sure?"

"Well, we're in luck. The Transformer built a fancy sound gun in this thing," Toymandarin extended out the arm of the mech and brandished the sonic cannon mounted upon it, aiming it towards where he believed some secret base was. "And if I match the frequency at an equal intensity…" the boy continued as he fiddled with some dials and controls within the mech. He then hit a large red button and fired off the cannon.

The sound wave hit what appeared to be some kind of force field, the impact rippled across it until the whole thing dissipated to reveal a massive black dome within the field. The once hidden base seemed to be shaped like an elaborate helmet, Darth Vader's to be specific. Star Wars existed in both universes, so the Amalgamation left it untouched. It was a dull gunmetal grey with glowing yellow eyes. Surrounding the helmet shaped base was a deck for the Iron S.T.R.I.P.E. to land.

Being in prison for so long, Toymandarin didn't recognize what this was, but Kamala did. "I never thought I'd see it up close! This is the SS Doom. This is the base of Ulysses Hyde: the Sonic Manta, the Murderous Master of Sound! He's the archenemy of the Black Orca," she rattled off as if it were some compulsive tick. Once being an obsessed fan of all thing's superhero, she had done a lot of research on the various villains they all fought. "It was a gift from Black Doom after they worked together to fight the Elemental Four 5 years ago."

Toymandarin gave Kamala an odd look, but given he was inside the mech, she couldn't see it. She was eerily in-depth, but he had a somewhat strange obsession himself, she could have hers. "Let's just land and figure out who's orchestrating all of this." With a flew flicks of the levers, the giant robot descended towards the landing deck of the base, and promptly stopping on the ground.

Kamala then unlaced her legs from the machine and stood on the deck. She took a deep breath and looked up to see the sun. After not seeing it after being underwater for seven months, the beautiful golden light and warm rays were an absolute delight, momentarily calming the polymorph's frantic mind. "I can't believe we've missed so much. I didn't think freedom would taste this good."

Toymandarin popped open the faceplate of the armor, shimmying his tiny body up through the cockpit to poke his head through the opening, "Honestly, outside's a bit overrated."

Kamala was now the one to shoot Toymandarin a look of confusion, "You were in there for 4 years, a quarter of your life, how is this not huge for you?"

"I've spent roughly 90% of my life indoors. My home country was never big on the nature stuff, especially when I started working at age 8," Winwu answered before he started advancing towards the front door.

"Wait, w-what? Work, what did you do?" Kamala stuttered at the shock of hearing that.

"I worked in a toy factory; I made all kinds of stuff," the boy answered. "That's where I picked up my basic skills, but I never got to play with any of what I made. I always envied the kids who'd get to," he said with a twinge of regret. "But once I got the rings, that was when I really got to have fun. So, my whole life has essentially just been toys," he said as his ominous voice turned more emotional.

"Wow, that is really sad. Sorry your life turned out like this," Kamala said embiggening her hand and sympathetically patting the big robot on the back.

Winwu smiled as they approached the front of the massive Manta head. Kamala stretched out her still enlarged hand and knocking on the space between the eye windows. "Hello? Anyone home? Mr. Hyde?"

For a moment, there was silence, but then the center of the helmet slid open. Fog billowed out from the opening as a tall, slender silhouette stepped out still shrouded by the cloud. The figure outstretched his arms to greet them, "Your savior, is here!" he belted as the smoke cleared to reveal Loxxi Luthorson standing there to welcome them. He was now clad in a gold collared shirt, green pants, and a pair of black suspenders crossed over his chest, forming an X. His golden horned helmet glistened off the sunlight as he stepped out from the base to welcome the two.

Kamala's eyes widened, "You're…you're umm…" she was speechless.

"Loxxi Luthorson, yes, I know. It's shocking for a lot of people to meet me for the first time. Welcome to the big leagues, kiddos. Come with me," Loxxi instructed, leading the two back inside. As they entered, the sound barrier reformed around the base, shrouding its presence once again.

Inside the SS Doom was like what one would find inside a high-class submarine. The interior was covered in a crisp, clean, silver paintjob. The main room of the base was wide, round, and about 50 feet high with a visible upper deck with control panel for steering. Doors lined the rear edge of the main room with some doors. One side of the room dipped down, leading into some kind of workshop, while another did the same leading to a galley. And at the center of it all was open roundtable near identical to the one in the LMI Watchtower, but without the large teleportation pad filling out the middle.

"Welcome to the new headquarters of the Legion of Masters. I am grateful to have you on board for my newest endeavor. With help from the two of you and the rest of the team, we will change the world for the best," Loxxi introduced as he pointed over to the workshop. "Mr. Winwu, there's a place just to your right where you can leave the Iron S.T.R.I.P.E. for now. We shall make adjustments to the armor so that it suits you better later. I have plans for it that will be to your liking," The man exuded a kind of magnetic charm that was difficult to remain on guard from.

"It's truly a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Luthorson. Thank you for this opportunity," Toymandarin said returning to his eerie disposition and piloting the mech to the workshop.

Kamala looked around in awe of the base, it was surely and upgrade in accommodations. But now, she realized just how large scale of what she stumbled into was. With Loxxi Luthorson, one of the most infamous supervillains in the world at the helm of whatever this was, "As grateful as I am for the breakout Mr. Luthors-" she began to say before being cut off by Loxxi.

"Ah bup bup, please, Kamala, call me Loxxi. Employees and children call me Mr. Luthorson, you and I shall be peers," Loxxi said placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

Kamala, still a bit wary, continued, "Right…Loxxi. I don't know why you wanted me as a part of your Legion or whatever. I'm not a supervillain. I made a mistake…well, two mistakes now."

Loxxi gave Kamala a warm smile, "Precisely. This is not a team for villainy, I want good people on this project," he asserted, "And after reviewing your file, you seem like someone who deserves a second chance. I received and wasted far too many of those by my brother, before ever truly learning the value of one. I hope you don't waste yours." He was telling her exactly what she needed to hear. Loxxi seemed like someone who finally understood her.

Kamala remained cautious, but gradually being put more at ease. That was until she looked down to see her eviscerated prison jumpsuit, barely holding itself together. Her ease turned to extreme embarrassment, stretching her arms around her body to cover herself up. "Thanks, can we continue this after I get some new clothes? You do have something else for me to wear, right?" She requested, avoiding eye-contact out of shame.

Loxxi eyed Kamala up and down, "Yes, of course. We'll provide you something that will accommodate your powerset in due time, but for now you can borrow some from Minerva." He then turned his head to look towards one of the doors in the back. "Oh Minnie!"

Out from one of the doors shot out the Silver Cheetah. Like a blur, she came to Loxxi's side, wearing a black tank top and shorts, her tail poking out through a hole in the latter, and her speed talisman mystically fused to her chest. "Yeah? What do you want, Loxx," the cat-woman asked in a low growl, barely acknowledging Kamala was even standing there.

Loxxi held back a glare and gestured his hand to Kamala, "Minnie, I'd like you to meet Ms. Zeul. She's in need of some new attire for the time being, you are willing to accommodate, yes?"

The cheetah narrowed her eyes and stared down at Kamala, who at this time was shorter and curvier than herself, "I don't think she's my size."

Kamala concentrated and stretched herself up a few inches and reshaped her body to match Minerva's more athletic physique, "How about now?"

Loxxi smirked at Kamala's resourcefulness, Minerva was less amused, "Fine, hope you're not allergic to cat fur." She then darted around to behind Kamala and grabbed the back of her neck.

Kamala tensed up from being so unexpectedly clutched, "What is this for?"

"It's so you don't get whiplash," Loxxi answered, clearly having been through the same thing before.

Kamala was confused, "What?"

"Whiiip-laash," Minerva reiterated, slowing down the word with a sly grin across her face. She then made a mad-dash to her room with Kamala in her grasp, leaving behind some dust and some of the remaining scraps of Kamala's prison jumpsuit in their wake. In half a second, they were inside Minerva's quarters.

The den of the Silver Cheetah was oddly tame. A beast known as one of the most savage and deadly assassins in the world had a room of very average appearance. The only distinguishing factor were a very badly beaten punching bag chained between the floor and ceiling, and the floor being covered in skid marks. It was quite small given there had to be rooms for the other members of the Legion, but it had the expected bed, drawers, desk, wall mirror, et cetera. Minerva left Kamala standing in the middle of the room as she rummaged through the dresser.

Kamala observed the cheetah while still on edge, she was well aware of who Minerva was. She was aware of her brief few days as a member of the LMI as Miss Mercury before turning to the dark side. And she was well versed on the pools of blood the woman standing in front of her had shed to satiate her cursed bloodlust. So understandably, Kamala was a little afraid of Minerva.

Eventually, Minerva pulled a dark blue shirt with a lightning bolt decal and a pair of red leggings from her drawer and threw it at Kamala, "Here, not exactly fashionable, but it'll do until Loxx can get you something else."

Kamala gave a sheepish grin before changing into the new clothes, even with her shapeshifting, the clothes were still quite tight. "Thanks. Why do wear clothes anyway? It's not like you need them with all the fur. Isn't it itchy?" Asking pestering questions to Minerva seemed unwise, given her proficiency in violence, but the girl's curiosity got the better of her.

Minerva turned back to face Kamala with a cocked eyebrow, "Tight clothes keep the fur down, lowers air resistance. Otherwise, I like to hold on to at least some of my humanity." She answered with resentment for her current situation.

"I've always been curious whenever I heard about your killings, how much of your humanity is left?" Kamala asked sitting down on Minerva's bed. "Is Miss Mercury still in there?"

Minerva scoffed at the mention of her old hero-name, "Hard to say honestly. I still got all the old memories in here, I'm not some mindless beast like the tabloids would tell you." She then whizzed over to Kamala's side, sitting down next to her.

"But I'm not all me anymore either. This stupid talisman my asshole dad gave me is like a parasite. It's the God of the Hunt, so he's always nagging me in the back of my mind to kill everyone in the room. It tells me how, and it never stops," Minerva continued with a heavy sigh.

"Do you regret the murders," Kamala asked, trying to find any goodness in Minerva. If she could, maybe being surrounded by so many supervillains wouldn't be as daunting.

"At first, I did. I didn't want to be a killer, each one used to haunt me, but eventually that voice got too loud, and I just gave up. Whenever the bloodlust takes over, I can't stop who I hurt. Eventually it became easier to just forget about them, and start to enjoy it," Minerva answered darkly, "Having a soul just wasn't worth the guilt, but you get used to it."

Kamala inched away from Minerva, horrified by her answer. She put her head in her hands, breaking down at the realization of what crowd she's fallen in with, "I never wanted any of this. All I ever wanted was to save people, to be a symbol like the rest of them. But I guess the world never wanted that for me, huh!" She then started crying into her hands.

Minerva grew uncomfortable with her display of emotion, "Jeez, kid. Quit wallowing. You're leagues better off with us than you were rotting in that cell."

Kamala took what Minerva said with great exception, "Oh yeah, being a fugitive from the law, forced to hide and fight for the rest of my life, surrounded by mass murderers is way better! I'm never going to see my parents again! My life, as I know it, is over. Kamala Zeul is dead!" She then started to grow larger in response to the stress.

Minerva popped her claws as a reflex, "Look kid, don't think of this as your death. It's a rebirth. It sucks now, you're going to do a lot of things you're going to regret at first. Take it from me. But eventually you get used to it. Eventually, you're going to be just like the rest of us."

Kamala enlarged her hand and pinned Minerva against the wall, making a loud thud. "I AM NOT LIKE YOU! I AM NOT A MONSTER!" she yelled indignantly.

Minerva squirmed, trying to speed her way out of Kamala's grasp, but the polymorph's perfectly pliable body kept her trapped, "Well to me it looks like your two options in life are go back to your cage, or run wild with us. Seems a lot like a monster to me," she answered with a hint of sass.

Kamala sneered at the cat in her hand as she began to grow larger, yet again stretching away at her clothes. Any larger, and she'd flatten the cat against the wall. She then turned around to hear the door open as a large yellow beam shot from outside and clashed with the girl. The beam formed a fluorescent film around Kamala, pulling her away from Minerva, and letting the cheetah drop to the floor. Eventually the growing girl was ensnared in some kind of glowing, yellow bubble, frcing her back to normal size. It was then the source had entered the room.

Entering the room was Yon-Sinestro, primarily the nemesis of Green Marvel, but he held resentment against anyone wielding a green ring, so Loxxi brought him onboard to fight Jessica. He was a Kree who once worked for the Lantern Corps and trained a rookie Carol Jordan. But after what can be simplified down to "administrative differences", he left the Corps to study different sources of power. He wore garb like the military armor of the Kree Lanterns, but it was augmented to replace the noble green for a cowardly yellow. His ring generated constructs of the same color, but instead of being powered by Will, Sinestro's ring was powered by Fear. And with Kamala having a nervous breakdown, Sinestro's ring had plenty to feed off.

Yon held out his ring and kept the girl encased inside his construct, absorbing the abundance of the emotion radiating from her, "Now now, child. Relax. Worry is wasted on the worriers, but I shall make proper use of it later," he said in a posh accent.

As the ring worked its magic, Kamala was calming down. She knew she should be panicking at the situation, but she felt no fear, only a desire to keep moving forward and continuing to live. Eventually Yon-Sinestro released her from the bubble and dropped her to the ground, making a brief splat noise upon contact with the floor. "Okay, is all that out of your system now?"

Kamala pulled herself back up and looked to Sinestro. She knew him as a fear-mongering despot who once threatened to blow up the Earth, but she didn't fear him at the current moment. "Yes, I'm…fine. This is all just a lot to take in. I'm not like the rest of you. I've never killed someone, had a big scheme, or ever even stole a candy bar. All I did after I got my powers was try to help my community to impress someone I looked up to. It was then when I was forced to do what I did. And I was made to pay along with him," She explained through slow, deep breaths. Clear of her panic, Kamala spoke more succinctly.

Sinestro gave a small "Hm," after listening to the girl, "Well, we never do get to choose our own fates, do we? I created the yellow ring because I knew the Guardians would eventually fail to protect the universe with the current power they have. They exiled me because my light did not fit with their dogma, fearing I would "corrupt" the other corpsman. Even my favorite protégé turned against me. All I wanted to do was help my employers protect the universe. How awful of me," he regaled bitterly. Everything he said was technically true, although he did leave out a few details.

Minerva was the second to pipe in, "I took the stupid speed charm from my father because I wanted to be a hero like him. He always loved my sister best, viewed me as inferior to her. When I was dating Wonder Crystal, she saw me as just another helpless little mortal fling. I just wanted the people I loved to respect me. I had it for maybe a week, then the fucked-up magic with this thing cursed me for finally being happy," she explained clutching the talisman. "Everybody like us starts out like you, Kamala. All innocent and optimistic; they think that they can make a difference, change the world for the better. But the world doesn't want to get better, it wants to stay the same as it always was. So, they screw over guys like us and the guys who keep everything the same will want to stop us. With Loxxi, we have a chance to finally do something that'll make a difference."

"I'm not sure what Luthorson has planned for you, Ms. Zeul. But if sees you as someone of value, someone worth giving a second chance to, it would be very beneficial to have you fight alongside us. So will you join us," Sinestro propositioned extending out his ringed hand.

Kamala looked at the both of them, she had more in common with the two than she'd like to admit. She didn't want to become exactly like them, she still wanted to be a good person. But at least for now, she'd work with them; for the sake of learning what their plan was, and to see if she could benefit from it in some way. "Okay, you got me." Kamala said reaching out and shaking Sinestro's hand. "And please, call me Ms. Gigantic," She then grew only about a foot and a half taller than her natural height to embrace a level of confidence within herself. Also given how much she had already stretched out her clothes, it was the only way to make them fit now. "That's what the guys in S.H.I.E.L.D. already call me, might as well own it.".

Yon-Sinestro smirked, "Excellent choice, Ms. Gigantic. Now, let us go to the main hall so you can be briefed on the overall plan. Luthorson will finally explain everything now that most of us here. He doesn't like to waste time saying the same thing repeatedly, so he's been vague so far."

Gigantic grew a bit confused, "Wait, if you don't know the plan, why are you here? Can't you go anywhere else in the universe?"

"Well, yes. But I'd rather be in the one place I know Jordan will eventually come back to. So, this is just barely interesting enough to pass the time while I wait for her," Sinestro answered strategically, "Also the chefs Luthorson has on staff make a very good frittata."

The shapeshifter felt her stomach growl, "I am pretty hungry, actually. Food at Belle Raft was not good. It was halal at least. Let's go. Minerva, you comi-" she stopped as she felt a heavy gust of wind left behind as Minerva had burst out of the room. "Does she do that a lot?"

"Yes, it becomes quite troublesome amidst conversations. Patience is not one of her virtues," Sinestro said turning around and leaving the room, Ms. Gigantic followed behind him.


About ten minutes later, seven of the current eight members of the Legion of Masters sat around the roundtable. The podium at the head of the table had a logo painted onto a shield. The symbol was that of skull and crossbones, but with the latter above the former, the bones replaced with a marionette's crossbar, and the base of the skull designed to resemble the surface of the Earth. Beneath the symbol were the letters "L.O.M." across the bottom of the shield. The businessman Loxxi was heavily involved in the personal marketing and branding for his new team.

At one side of the table were of course Silver Cheetah, Ms. Gigantic, and Yon-Sinestro. The latter two were both eating frittatas at the table. At the other side were Toymandarin, now dressed in a smart looking blue sweater vest with an ornate Chinese pattern, a red tie, and grey slacks. He was joined by Beta Ray Zero, who seemed to be facing the opposite direction, and two other gentlemen.

One was the Sonic Manta, the owner of the base. He wore a black and red suit of armor akin to a diver's suit and his helmet shaped was like the surrounding base. On the man's left arm was an advanced cannon designed to emit concentrated sound waves even more potent than the one upon the Iron S.T.R.I.P.E. The Manta's armor was constantly vibrating, pulsing with sonic energy. There was once a man within that suit, but Ulysses Hyde was now a being made of pure sound, barely contained by the armor.

"Where is Loxxi? I didn't let him use my ship just to house a bunch of freaks," he spat impatiently. Hyde's voice was raspy and garbled, with a South African twang. But it sounded like that before the accident which destroyed his body. Of all things for a being made of sound to carry over, the voice would be the only thing. There wasn't any thematic reason Loxxi wanted him on his team, he just needed easy access to a headquarters with adequate cloaking technology, and Hyde just so happened to fit the bill. The fact he already had a vendetta against the Black Orca was just an added bonus.

The other was Wesley E. Nygma, he was dressed in a fine tailored, charcoal grey suit and bowler hat covered in bright green question marks. He possessed no abilities save for a brilliant mind, a penchant for strategy, and nigh infinite connections throughout the criminal underworld. While he never held a presence as a supervillain independent of his employer, since Bane's incarceration, Nygma had taken the title of "The Inquisitor".

It appears that the Blind Bat was correct in his assumption that Loxxi Luthorson would require the services of the man who orchestrated the complex operations of the Kingpain. "He'll be here shortly, Mr. Hyde. Mr. Luthorson is on a call with his benefactor. Before he tells us the plan, he wants to run everything by them to get their approval," the Inquisitor answered as he adjusted his glasses.

Manta scoffed, "Oh please, Twig. Since when does a man like Loxxi Luthorson go to someone else to get approval for a scheme? Who is he working with, anyway? Or more accurately, who is he gonna double-cross when things inevitably go to shit?" He swore like a pirate, mainly because he used to be one.

"The identity of our employer is unknown. All I know is they have a powerful affinity for magic, and possess a teleporting, blue raven," Wesley responded, "Given the name Mr. Luthorson chose for our merry little band, the "Legion of Masters", I suppose it's another ploy for world domination."

Manta looked over at the backwards facing Beta Ray Zero, "Hey, Bezarro. Has Baldy told you anything about what the plan?"

Beta Ray Zero spun his chair around in circles, eventually losing angular momentum and stopping facing the same way as everyone else, "Yes. Luthorson tell Bezarro everything!" he proclaimed proudly, staring up at the ceiling.

The red eyes of the Sonic Manta's helmet pulsed, seemingly indicating the audial marauder's excitement, "That's great…wait," it was only then when he remembered the nonsensical backwards speak Beta Ray Zero spoke in, realizing the abominable horseman knew nothing. A crackling groan of frustration escaped from within the armor.

Kamala looked up from her frittata to give her own theory, "Well, if they're a magic user, perhaps they have a vendetta against the Fatal Compass. They want to defeat him, so he recruited us to handle the rest of the League while he handles Fate himself."

Sinestro looked to Kamala confused, "Um, Ms. Gigantic, Fate is dead. He died 6 months ago. He's not really a problem for us anymore."

Kamala's face fell, "Oh…I actually kind of liked him. Sorry, news didn't travel much in prison." she then looked to Minerva, the Silver Cheetah was quiet, her expression one of bitterness at the mention of her father. "Sorry for your loss, Minerva."

"Whatever," Minerva grumbled aloofly. Her relationship with her father was always complicated, especially after the curse. She never truly made peace with the Fatal Compass before his death, so she continues to resent him.

Kamala looked back to Sinestro, who was eating his frittata with a yellow construct of a fork, "What else did I miss?"

"Quite a lot. It was seven very eventful months. I'll give you a pamphlet after the meeting," he responded sarcastically between bites.

"I like the cross bar on our symbol, making the whole world one great big toy for us to play with," Toymandarin interjected his observation amidst the conversation with his grin still plastered across his face.

Manta eyed both Winwu and Kamala with skepticism, "I don't get it, why'd he go through so much trouble to get you two children out of prison? He already has a weaponry expert with me, and muscle with the cat and the horse. What do you bring to the table, kid?" He brandished his sonic cannon, subtly aiming it towards Ms. Gigantic.

The descendant of the Inhuman Amazons stood up straight to assert a level of confidence. If she were to play with the big boys now, she had to appear as such. "Encyclopedic knowledge on the history of superheroes dating back to the second World War, a Bachelor of Science and Engineering Degree from Princeton, and I've fought Wonder Crystal and almost won," Kamala proclaimed pounding her fists together. She wasn't sure how much of what she said would be useful, but she needed three things to say, and those were the biggest assets.

"I can confirm. She almost squished Barbie like a blob of Play-Doh. It was quite exciting to watch," Toymandarin added in defense of Kamala. Despite their limited interaction, he viewed her as a friend.

"And per my records, you've lost against the Elemental Four three times, against Fireant twice, Beetle-Man, Cyberman, and Sergeant Speed once each, and against Black Orca around 17 times. Your reputation isn't exactly stellar, Mr. Hyde," Kamala rattled off, then cracking her knuckles to look tough.

"She's got you there, Manta," the Inquisitor said with a smirk. The Sonic Manta could only grumble in annoyance at Ms. Gigantic's analysis.

It was finally then when Loxxi Luthorson re-entered the main hall and joined the rest of the Legion. He approached the podium at the middle of the roundtable, "Ladies, gentlemen, monsters, I am Loxxi Luthorson, and I have been burdened with glorious purpose," he announced to a crowd who already knew who he was.

"When I heroically stood against Ghanoseid to lay down my life to buy my brother time to escape, I was given another way out by a generous benefactor. An avatar of Chaos Magic, he taught me so much in the time of my absence from this realm. But most importantly, he gave me perspective on the greater universe. His power let me see the infinite possibilities for what the world could be. And the future can be beautiful." Loxxi spoke with great gravitas. After years of running a company, he knew the right way to hook a crowd. Although not the entire crowd was hooked.

"Get to the point, Luthorson," the Manta shouted, frustrated.

Loxxi glared at the Sonic Manta and raised his hand. He snapped his fingers and what appeared to be the "Mute Volume" symbol one would see on a television remote would fly from Loxxi's hand and into the Manta, promptly shutting him up for the time being. He cleared his throat and continued his speech.

"That was a little trick I learned from my benefactor. Anyways, he showed me the potential of a truly immaculate world. It is perfect because it ever changing, a world that is infinitely fractured, a world constantly altered to provide every person in it exactly what they desire. It was glorious, but the way the world currently is, it is unattainable," Loxxi explained with a sadness in his voice at the thought of his perceived tragedy.

"Our world has been stagnant. A bitter status quo where the natural world order creates suffering in so many. And those who wish to improve their situation by any means are quashed by the new enforcers of the Lords of Order, the lackies of the late Fatal Compass, the League of Marvelous Individuals led by my well-intentioned but utterly hapless brother, Thor-El," he continued bitterly.

This proclamation confused Kamala, "I'm sorry, excuse me, Loxxi? I'm fairly certain the Fatal Compass was only a consultant for the LMI? How could all the other members be working for Fate's bosses?"

Loxxi smiled, "Very good question, Kamala. Since the new age of heroes begun, the League of Marvelous Individuals have taken control over the world's international defense. They police the world with iron fists. Any conflict between nations is intervened by one of them and are forcefully resolved. They've partnered with SHIELD to take control of any situation involving superhuman affairs. Most of SHIELD's technology is funded by Stark Labs, making Cyberman even richer than I once was. People like you Kamala, are detained all the time because you pose a threat to their perfect, orderly world."

The demigod briefly clapped his hands together and turned out the lights. He outstretched his hand and began conjuring illusions in the opening in the center of the table. A murky, green fog rolled throughout the room. Mirages of Thunderman, Blind Bat, Wonder Crystal, Sergeant Speed, Black Orca, Cyberman, and the Emerald Witch stood against those at the table. The ever-naïve Beta Ray Zero saw the illusion of Thunderman and readied his nail to strike, but he was held back by Nygma. The illusions loomed over a small representation of the Earth, soulless eyes glared down at the planet like a pack of wolves to a wounded lamb.

"And worst of all, they have made humanity weak. They are complacent to live within a mundane status quo. Nothing changes, and the same problems they continue to ignore always remain. People always get hurt because they fail to attack the roots of their problems. Those blessed with abilities like Kamala's, cursed by circumstance like Manta or Minerva, or even those like Nygma or myself, who work to change the systems from within, are deemed criminals, terrorists, or supervillains, and are squashed by either the League themselves, or the agencies they enable so they cannot make a world that they can actually live in," Loxxi continued as he changed the illusions to each member of the League destroying a mirroring mirage of members of the Legion.

"Even if they don't understand that themselves, the League members have become tyrants of order. I know that they were once altruistic, but working with the Fatal Compass pushed them down this path, and they have lost their way. Even if he is gone, the man's crusade to maintain order infects them," Loxxi said sadly, thinking back on his brother. He then slammed his fist against the podium. "And if the people of this world are to grow beyond that pitiful template, to what I know humanity CAN be, I've assembled this League of my own. We will take back the proverbial marionette strings the LMI holds over the Earth, and we shall be the new Legion of Masters that perambulate the world towards a true greater future!" He raised his arm up, dropping his hand in the position one would hold a marionette's crossbar, "Now, who shall join me?"

Now, everything that Loxxi had asserted was farfetched to say the least. But throughout his speech, different points of note resonated with each member of the Legion. Toymandarin was motivated by gaining revenge on Stark and taking back the greatest toy he ever lost. Ms. Gigantic truly did want to be a hero and make the world a better place. Sonic Manta wanted to take down the Black Orca, to depose a monarchy. Inquisitor wanted to reshape Goth's Kitchen to a city that didn't need the Blind Bat protecting it. Silver Cheetah wanted to spite her father and her ex-lover. And Yon-Sinestro, spiteful to his old Kree allegiance, wanted to see humanity thrive. All had ends that would be supported by Loxxi's means. And one by one, each villain would raise their hands, taking a similar position to pledge membership to the Legion of Masters. Everyone had done the same except for Beta Ray Zero, who had done the same hand gesture, but his hand was below the table.

Loxxi looked upon his new Legion and grinned. "It'll be a pleasure doing business with you all." With a snap of his fingers, all the illusions he had created faded away, the green smoke cleared, and the lights came back on.

Manta's mystically imbued muteness had also since ceased, "Alright, alright. We're with you. But what's your plan? That's why we're all here. And who's this benefactor guy you were talking about?"

Loxxi bent over and condescendingly pat the Sonic Manta on his helmet, "Yes, yes, of course. How dare I waste any more of your precious time," he said sarcastically. "My benefactor is, as I said, a powerful user of Chaos Magic, the power of endless possibilities. He was once an adversary to the Fatal Compass, causing chaos and general mayhem throughout the world for several decades. With the Fatal Compass gone, he can finally execute his master plan. He wishes to rewrite reality to eliminate the current world order."

"So, with unchecked, as you call, endless power, your benefactor just wants to get rid of SHIELD and the LMI? Seems somewhat shortsighted, is it not? To what end?" Sinestro pondered.

"Oh, my salmon-skinned friend, he has so much more planned than that. In destroying the systems in which the world maintains order, it leaves us in a position to lead the world ourselves. And under our power, we will provide the people of the world exactly what they want," Loxxi answered with a smirk.

"And what would that be?" Minerva interjected to ask.

"I don't know. That's the beauty of it all. My benefactor alongside his magical affinity can read people's minds. So, he can figure out one's deepest desire, and then bring it to fruition. What he aims to do is perform that on a worldwide scale. Mr. Winwu, tell the rest of the team about what I've commissioned you to design," Loxxi asked gesturing towards the Toymandarin.

Toymandarin nodded and pulled out a set of blueprints, rolling them out to show the table, "Thank you Luthorson, these little sketches have been in the works for the past few months that the two of us have been in contact with your handy little raven. What the benefactor wants to create is a large room to amplify his psychic powers. While he is powerful, that power is difficult to fully utilize. We call this wonderful creation Cerebro."

"And with Cerebro providing access to the desires of all people in the world, our benefactor shall bring them into existence," Luthorson re-interjected, "It will be total chaos at first, but with us at the helm, we will turn the new world into a paradise. The people of the world will see how much the old world held them back from being happy. They will see how much the LMI had once kept the world stagnant. They will then see us, the ones who unlocked their true potential, and revere us as their true heroes! We will be their beloved benevolent Gods!" Glory and praise were what Loxxi dreamed of the most. He was going to rewrite reality just to get it. His brother was the God of Tomorrow, he desperately wanted to be the God of Today.

"So, we're going to change the world by giving everyone what they want, somewhat vague, and disastrous premise," Wesley said adjusting his glasses again, "But allow me an inquiry, why do you need me? Sure, you needed Toymandarin to design this contraption, Sonic Manta for the hideout, and then Silver Cheetah, Ms. Gigantic, and Beta Ray Zero for protection, I suppose, but why me? What do I bring to the table?"

Loxxi chuckled, "Oh, dear Nygma, you are one of the most important parts of this plan, all of you are very important for this to work! But your greatest asset is your tactical mind. As brilliant as I am, my mind is far too linear. Yours is far more intricate than normal humans," he answered as he conjured an image of a line, only to twist it into a question mark. "I am fully aware that warping reality to change the lives of every single person would create an absolutely paradoxical menagerie of fractured universes. It'll be an endless jigsaw puzzle to make sure that this sort of dream world doesn't instantly destroy itself. The only way to create self-sustaining chaos is to bring order to it. It's paradoxical, I know, but I know it can be done by someone with the proper logistical fenagling. Solving that riddle will be your job. You think you can do that?"

Nygma beamed at the proposition. For years, he had worked under Wilson Bane to manage the behind-the-scenes operations that went into the Kingpain's criminal empire. The schemes Bane's empire were able to pull off without being caught required thinking not just five steps ahead, but five steps to the left, right, backwards, and even straight up. He would even leave behind clues for the Blind Bat to look for just to make it "fair". He was the true brains behind everything that transpired in Goth's Kitchen, but he always remained in the shadow of his behemoth of an employer. Now, he could finally use his mind to its fullest potential and show the world just how smart he really was. "I believe I can, sir. Until then, I shall provide you with any further resources needed leading up to that."

"Excuse me, I hate to be a spoilsport, but there is one more concern with this whole ordeal," Yon-Sinestro interrupted. "The question of power. All magic is derived from the energies first harnessed by the Guardians, even the Lords of Order and Chaos follow the same principles when they branched off. If we are to achieve a level of reality altering impact, we require a sufficient power supply for your benefactor."

Sinestro's concerns were indeed valid. Previously, I had described the Green Mystic Coven as allies to the Fatal Compass. What I had neglected to elaborate on was that the Coven and the Lords of Order and Chaos all started out as a single group, led by the Ancient Guardians of the Universe since the dawn of time. Over the eons, the Guardians and their nigh infinite wisdom split off into several branches to find different ways to manipulate matter and energy. This is what led to the more science-based Kree Lantern Corps, and the various schools of magic including the Coven and two classes of Lords. They all carry dominion over a large portion of the universe, and all follow different rules for how their powers work and what they can do, but all rely on the same basic concepts.

Consider it like different forms of alcohol based on their base crop and distillation method. The Corps are beer, simple and quite limited in effects, but consistent. The Coven is wine, more refined than the latter, but of a similar potency. Then the Lords of Order and Chaos are bourbon and scotch, much stronger, but more volatile in its effects. Then there's whatever was going on with the Asgardians before they all got blown up, which was completely unrelated to how the other ones did things, but somehow achieved a similar, but far more simple, brutish, result. Consider Asgardian "magic" the bootlegged moonshine of magic.

"Well if need be, we could always put the Thundercat on a treadmill. I have designs in mind," Toymandarin suggested, referring to Silver Cheetah. He began rubbing his hands together sinisterly as he formulated the possibilities in his head.

Minerva shot the boy a glare as she popped her claws at him threateningly. "Don't even try it, kid."

"Don't worry, Minnie. We won't be requiring your services in that avenue," Loxxi assured, "My benefactor is already priming a magic battery to use. It will take some time though, which gives us our window to get the rest of the resources for construction."

Kamala had waited quietly as she absorbed the information. She thought Loxxi's cause was worth following and, despite her previous hangups, wanted to help, "Alright, what's our first move?"

Loxxi smiled at the eager size-shifter, "I'm glad you asked, it will take place tomorrow. The move is infiltrating Ryker's Asylum. With the breakout from Belle Raft, the League will be intent on guarding the other prisons to prevent repetition of your little outburst. Knowing the Bat, he'll do it himself without aide from the rest of the League. Our specific target for release is the Purple Joker."

A flurry of gasps echoed throughout the room. Manta was the first to speak up about the reveal, "Are you mad, Luthorson?! That plum-skinned psycho is impossible to work with! I ain't letting that guy on my ship. One whiff of that bastard, and you're all wearing maid outfits while walking off a bleeding cliff!" He protested as he slammed his cannon arm against the table.

"Relax, Ulysses," Wesley chimed in, "My old associate, Doctor Crane, developed a vaccine of sorts to the clown's pheromones. I'll make sure all of you are inoculated before he arrives. In exchange for his assistance, we'll be orchestrating his escape as well," he explained as he pulled a vial of green liquid from his suit jacket, swirling it around.

Kamala seemed uncomfortable at the prospect of working with Joker. "Why do we even need him? Knowing what he can do gives me the hives," she asked with a shudder. The Purple Joker was notorious for his use of mind-controlled concubines to aide in his crimes.

"I gotta go with the kid on this. He's a pretty disgusting piece of shit," Minerva responded in agreement.

"Yes, I'm aware. We all know how much of a vile pile of excrement he is," Loxxi acquiesced. "But this whole ordeal is going to be very confusing and frightening for billions of people at once. If this is going to work, we need a mental anesthetic of sorts to make people more easily accept the nature of their new existence. He's more of a tool than an actual member of the Legion," he explained dismissively.

The Cheetah seemed to understand his purpose and was willing to set aside her reservations for the sake of the mission. "Alright, juice me up and I'll get going. I run in, break open a bunch of cells, run out? Seems like an easy job," Minerva said lackadaisically.

"Oh, we won't be sending you, dear Minnie. You'd attract far too much attention for this," Loxxi explained. "If we send someone too powerful, he'll be forced to call in for advanced backup. Send in someone on his level, and his pride will force him to defeat them himself. Manage expectations; another very important rule of business," he added with a sly grin. "We have another person for the job who knows the ins and outs of the Asylum much better, and exactly the right people to break out and cause far more chaos." The person in question was also much more expendable in case things went wrong. "Nygma, please let her in."

The Inquisitor pulled out a cellphone and sent a brief text message. Just then, the doors of the Manta's base opened again, and walked in a woman dressed like a harlequin. She wore a black and white skintight outfit with pink accents. Diamonds decorated the ensemble. Two pink J's embroidered on the back of a black leather jacket, inverses of each other. She looked like she was peeled straight off from a playing card. As the right-hand woman to the Purple Joker, it seemed fitting.

A tacky harlequin hood hung behind her head, revealing messily dyed pink hair. Her face was covered in white pancake makeup with a black domino mask over her eyes. Her weapon of choice was a large wooden mallet with a diamond pattern, slung over her shoulders. A woman who was once a brilliant criminal psychologist was twisted by the mind control of the violet violent maniac into the perfect servant to carry out his every whim, including those most unsavory. This unfortunate victim of the Clown Puppeteer of Crime was Joan Quinzel, Alias: The Jeweled Jester.

"Glad you could join us, Ms. Quinzel. You've been told your mission and your payment; can you fulfill your duties as described?"

The Jeweled Jester gave a vapid laugh as she approached the table, the Purple Joker always loved her laugh. He liked his thralls in a constant state of giddiness. She lifted her hammer and slammed it down on the table in front of where the Inquisitor sat. Nygma flinched, much to her delight. "Oh, you know it Mister E!" she answered with artificial glee. Her eyes were empty and soulless despite her expression. "Just get me back to my Grape Jello Puddin', and you won't even have to pay me for it," she said in a phony Boston accent.

Loxxi was pleased at Quinzel's response. She and the Joker were quite the wild cards, but they'd be a suitable distraction for the League while they enacted the rest of their plan. "Thank you, Ms. Quinzel. Your help shall be instrumental in bringing power to the world's…"

New Masters