The Si-Fan, working within Intergang's presence within the city, built the dimensional bacon to Master Terrific's precise specifications once Moriarty gave him the vibrational pulse to emit. It was the type of pulse one used to employ to communicate across parallel universes. But now there was only the New Universe. So why build a homing beacon?

Moriarty was on a flight from Indonesia, of which the Vanishing Isles were an independent part of the chain. She had to return to London to deal with Intergang directly. Fu Manchu's Si-Fan would keep tabs on the situation developing in Superior City. Thus answering Master Terrific's burning question.

At the beacon's location within a deserted dockside warehouse, a portal between space-time opened. Two exhausted figures emerged before the portal collapsed. Both were of Chinese descent and had dyed their hair green. Both wore body armor and brandished assault rifles and backup pistols. Both were identical genetic females but one of their pair was transitioning into a transgender male. Jenny Everywhere and Johnny Everywhere, it seemed, had survived the Crisis of the Multiverse.

Every reality except the Prime Universe had contained a Jenny Everywhere. The Prime Universe was the only universe to contain a Jenny Elsewhere. Jenny Anywhere was a survivor from a parallel Earth that had been lost and blamed Jenny Elsewhere for her Jenny Everywhere's death. It was irrational but grief transformed people. Now it seemed to be even more misplaced.

"Where are we?" Johnny asked Jenny, "This doesn't feel like the Multiverse."

"Someone built a beacon so we could find it," Jenny pointed out, "Let's check out our surroundings outside."

They aimed their rifles and quietly worked their way outside. What they beheld astonished them both. Jenny was the first to speak, "It's Earth but not any Earth I've visited before."

"Why can't I feel home?" Johnny inquired with a measure of panic.

"Because it doesn't exist anymore," a pink haired version of Jenny approached from behind them. She'd also portalled in in response to the beacon but Jenny Elsewhere was a stranger to both Jenny and Johnny Everywhere.

"Who are you and where are?" Jenny kept her rifle trained on the potential threat.

Jenny Elsewhere began a brief history of the Crisis and the Rebirth resulting in a single Universe, "You have nowhere else to go."

"No wonder we couldn't find our way back," Johnny told Jenny, "But who built the beacon?"

"That's a damn fine question," Jenny Elsewhere told them.

"You!" a rainbow haired Chinese woman aimed her weapon at Jenny Elsewhere.

"Here we go," Jenny Elsewhere muttered before telling Jenny Anywhere, "Take a look around."

Jenny Anywhere's eyes went wide as she recognized the Everywheres, "Jenny! Johnny! You're alive!"

"Do I know you?" Jenny Everywhere asked.

"I do," Johnny assured her, "On her Earth she was your biggest fan girl. She partially shares our powers."

Jenny Anywhere was hurt by the fact Jenny Everywhere didn't recognize her at all. Jenny Elsewhere took the opportunity to ask, "Will you stop trying to kill me now? I told you I didn't kill her. Any of her."

"So who did build that beacon?" Johnny Everywhere asked again, "Without it we never would have found this universe."

"I only told one person how to build one," Jenny Elsewhere shared, "But I doubt she'd spare the resources to actually build one unless she were to gain from it somehow."

"Where are we?" Jenny Everywhere asked, "No Earth that was had a city like this."

"Earth Prime did and since it was the last to go, Glorith shaved one second of time from it. That's what she used to model Rebirth," Jenny Elsewhere finished explaining, "The Vanishing Isles have four cities like this one."

"The what?" Johnny asked.

"Another Earth Prime thing," Jenny Elsewhere told him.

"So why bring us all together?" Jenny Anywhere asked, "Not that I'm not relieved to see you two alive."

"The first intelligent question you've asked yourself since Rebirth happened," Jenny Elsewhere snarked.

"But the beacon would draw all Jennies together," Jenny Everywhere admitted, "So why?"

"Better question is: why in Superior City?" Jenny Elsewhere corrected her.

"They think highly of themselves, don't they?" Johnny Everywhere managed to laugh.

"They don't welcome people like us," Jenny Elsewhere tried to explain, "They pay protection money to the Injustice Society to keep gen actives out."

"Those geezers?" Jenny Everywhere snorted.

"This is a different Injustice Society then you're obviously used to," Jenny Anywhere warned her, "This one is young and powerful."

"Can you portal?" Jenny Elsewhere asked.

"Not without a few more hours of rest," Jenny Everywhere answered, "Can't you portal us?"

"Neither of us can portal a Jenny," Jenny Elsewhere also indicated Jenny Anywhere, "We have to avoid the police in this town. I know somewhere where we can stash our weapons and change clothes to get out and grab a bite and something to drink. We just have to try and blend in until we get there."

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Jenny Everywhere asked.

"None at all," Jenny Elsewhere confirmed it.

"We need to," Johnny Everywhere told Jenny Everywhere. Jenny was hesitant to heed his advice. But he'd been born a Jenny and he'd never steered her wrong since the Crisis began and they attempted to portal somewhere where the Anti Monitor couldn't reach them. They'd been trapped between Realms until the beacon showed them the way to this New Universe they would have to call home.

Jennies Elsewhere and Anywhere were completely separate individuals from the multitude of Jenny Everywheres there had been. She found it hard to believe she was the last one left. At least Johnny seemed to have a good opinion of this Jenny Anywhere. But Jenny Elsewhere had a dangerous edge to her. One that could lead to open disaster. But she and Johnny were strangers on this New Earth and they needed time and space to acclimate. But Jenny Everywhere wasn't used to taking orders from anyone beyond the Monitor.

She and Johnny had served as agents for him during the Crisis. It was he that implored them to make a portal jump to the post Crisis universe. Of course, he'd expected to stop the Anti Monitor from destroying the Prime Universe. For all his prescience, he'd never foreseen a need for a New Universe. But then, he'd never expected the Paragons to be betrayed from within.


As they walked through increasingly busy streets as thee offices emptied, they simply brazened their way through the crowds as though they belonged there. Jenny Elsewhere assured them this approach allayed the fears of the average pedestrian and driver. They quickly arrived, without incident, at a closed down, but still occupied, bed and breakfast operating within Superior City's Astoria District where the beacon had been built.

"We were told to expect you with friends," the elderly man/half owner of the empty apartment building stated as he greeted Jenny Elsewhere.

"It's good to see you too," Jenny Elsewhere quipped.

"Emma has dinner cooking. You know the drill, pick your own place and meet us in the super's apartment for food," the man, whose name turned out to be Chuck, told them, "All the rooms are still unlocked."

"The first floor is operational rooms," Jenny Elsewhere told them, "Clothes, guns, cash. Everything we'll need. And of course there's Chuck and Emma."

"Who's providing all of this?" Jenny Everywhere asked.

"It's better you don't know," Jenny Anywhere warned her.

"Intergang," Jenny Elsewhere bluntly answered, "I do favors for them and they reciprocate."

"Intergang?" Johnny Everywhere was appalled.

"I told you," Jenny Anywhere muttered.

"They're the only help we have in this city," Jenny Elsewhere snapped, "So suck it up."

That quieted the discontent for the time being, "Now, I'm going to find out how Chuck knew we were coming. I suggest everyone pick a room on the second floor."

"I hate her already," Jenny Everywhere decided.

"I thought I did when I thought she'd killed you both," Jenny Anywhere gushed, "I'm so glad you're alive."

"Look, I don't know you. So stop fawning over me," Jenny Everywhere demanded as she stormed off for the elevator to take her to the second floor.

"She hates me. Did they all hate me?" Jenny Anywhere was crushed.

"She doesn't know you. But cut her some slack, okay?" Johnny Everywhere suggested.

"Okay," Jenny Anywhere agreed but secretly she now knew her idol couldn't stand her.

"Okay Chuck, how did you know we'd be here?" Jenny Elsewhere asked him in his apartment.

"Them Si-Fan fellas that the Manchurian allied Intergang with against the Triad-Yakuza Alliance dropped by and said to expct you and three others," Chuck told her, "If the Manchurian vouches for them, that's good enough for me."

Jenny knew she was in no position to argue with Intergang's Indo-China Regional Director but only Moriarty had known to build a beacon of that type to summon the Everywheres from oblivion as well as gather Anywhere and herself included. If the Si-Fan were involved in whatever they'd been brought together to deal with also involved the Immortal Dr. Fu Manchu it seemed. And if Jenny had one rule with Moriarty it was that she wouldn't involve herself in Legion of Doom business.

So far, Moriarty's advisory capacity with the Legion had benefited Intergang. But Jenny couldn't see the play here. Especially since this particular Jenny Everywhere was a moralizing twat. The Everywheres had gotten their hands dirty enough killing the Anti Monitor's potential recruits across the Multiverse. Jenny had known the Monitor never believed Final Crisis and Zero Hour would occur even though they were the probable outcome of the Anti Monitor's conflict with the Paragons of Good and Evil. Fortunately for him, the Monitor had already been assassinated by Harbinger before they went down.

Jenny had gotten Jenny Anywhere to safety to another Realm of Existence where Glorith, the Heckler, and Dr. Manhattan awaited the Multiverse's final end. Anywhere blamed Jenny for not rescuing the Everywheres and wouldn't listen to the fact that two of them were still out there somewhere. Jenny entered the New Universe and went to work for Intergang. Jenny Anywhere eventually followed but to kill Jenny.

Fortunately Jenny and the Everywheres could portal through space and time. Jenny Anywhere could portal through space or time. So despite some close calls and near misses, Anywhere had never completely caught up with Jenny until now. Proving her claims that the Everywheres were still alive were true. But Jenny could see how Anywhere was hurt by her idol's utter rejection of her despite Johnny's putting in a good word.

Dozens of Jenny Everywheres had been annoyed by Jenny Anywhere's fangirlishness. None of them had ever brusquely dismissed her as though she didn't matter before. Anywhere had more in common with Jenny Elsewhere than she'd care to admit. They were both one of a kind in an entire multiverse of doppelgangers. Even now, thanks to Glorith's sloppiness there were lingering doppelgangers. But Anywhere and Elsewhere had been the original one of a kinds. Even now, Johnny Everywhere was Jenny Everywhere's transgender doppelganger.

Jenny mentally marked the occupied rooms and who was in them before she chose her own apartment to strip off her body armor and lay down her weapons. She went door knocking, "Group meeting on the first floor in ten minutes."

Everyone was there on time and sans tactical gear. Jenny explained what was about to happen, "This apartment is the clothes rack. You'll find everything is cyberpunk so you'll blend in with the locals. We're getting dressed then grabbing a bite at a nearby dance club. They serve food and booze. The noise will guarantee privacy. We'll plan step two there. Emma cooked up IDs so you're now officially residents of the New Earth."

"So that was 'dinner'?" Jenny Everywhere complained.

"This is better than food," Jenny Elsewhere argued, "I'll draw a thousand dollars from petty cash so we can afford a good time for however long we end up having to stay."

"And how will you repay this 'kindness'?" Jenny Everywhere inquired sharply.

"By doing the same thing you and Johnny did for the Monitor but for a boss from this Earth," Jenny answered evenly, "You need time to learn the rules of this Earth since it's the only one. I'll buy you that time and opportunity. After you learn the rules and have an idea of how to make a life here, you can go your own way. No charge for the accommodations or anything else," Jenny Elsewhere explained.

"I've heard that before," Jenny Everywhere snorted.

"Just get dressed and let me worry about the details. The club is in walking distance so we won't have to worry about taxis or Ubers," Jenny Elsewhere told them, "Now, there's clothes in every size so get busy."

"She's right. We don't have a choice," Johnny told Jenny Everywhere.

"Men's room is the guest bedroom. Women's clothes are found in the master. I'll pick up the cash and the IDs and then get dressed," Jenny Elsewhere explained, "Then we begin New Earth 101."

"Great," Jenny Everywhere muttered.


"You're late," Deathstroke, in full combat regalia, told Horus as Aton Tomaz in his Black Marvel form landed on the rooftop beside him.

"Black Adam's spies intercepted your summons. He and my sister forbade me from coming," Horus spoke of his brother-in-law and Isis, the royal couple of Kahndaq, "Black Marvels do not sleep. So it took me some time, and a manufactured crisis in Egypt, to get away."

Horus was a minor member of the Royal Family, which included his Black Marvel-born nephew, Osiris. But Horus was a fully fledged member of the Shadow Cabinet which directed and operated Stormwatch. Horus wasn't the only member with dual loyalties. I-Ching also belonged to the Shadow Seven, the ruling body over the League of Shadows. The sitting Ra's al Ghul was the final authority, but the Shadow Seven handled the League of Shadows' daily responsibilities.

"We've an unexpected development. Cinder was detained by the local police for questioning by the FBI regarding an INTERPOL warrant," Deathstroke explained, "We need to extract her. Quietly, so as to not tip the Injustice Society off to our presence quite yet."

"You're getting soft, Slade," Horus accused.

"The Titans have four gen actives, including you and me," Deathstroke lectured him, "The Injustice Society is one of the largest meta-human collectives. We need a certain amount of surprise to catch them unawares. The Deep Web Collective will launch a strike against SCPD headquarters on my signal. That will disable the building's surveillance. But we'll still need to push our way out of the central police station in Superior City. They'll only have local radio communications. The Collective will bring down the cell services within the city. So we'll be dealing with the cops within transmitter range. Keep casualties to a minimum. Vandal Savage wants them to fire the Injusticers and adopt Knightfall's program. A body count will only cause them to double down on the Injusticers. Is that understood?"

"I hear and obey," Horus sounded bored already.

"Be sure that you do," Deathstroke advised him.


Det. Lt. Ed Shear wasn't called out to many active investigations these days. As the head of the Department's Major Crimes Division, he assigned cases but also consulted on the thornier ones like this. They were in a wealthy neighborhood in a city known for tech moguls. The victim happened to be an architect. One of the city's better known ones. He'd completed projects across the world. He'd brought attention to his firm to rival that of competitors in NYC and Los Angeles.

The Department's two best CSIs were on the case. Kimberly Richardson and Britt Davidson had worked nasty scenes before but it was they that had called Shear in. When he got the vic's home office, he saw why.

"Jesus Christ! They eviscerated him," Shear complained. Sure enough, the victim was staked out across his drafting table, scissors impaled through his hands into the table. His abdomen had been sliced open and his intestines slowly reeled out, "He was alive for this?"

"Just died about twenty minutes before the first officers were on the scene," Davidson told him.

"Why'd they come in?" Shear asked.

"Anonymous tip came in saying the vic would be murdered. Dispatch said she sounded like a cop. She knew all the response codes to call in," Richardson told Shear.

"She might be watching too many episodes of Forty-eight Hours," Shear hated that show.

"The drafting printer was accessed and the company server queried for a select set of blueprints around the time of death," Davidson warned him, "They were looking for the drafts of Injusticer HQ."

"Fat lot of good it did them," Shear grunted, "The company servers were wiped clean by the Injusticers' own cybersecurity people. The only paper draft of the blueprints are held in secure storage at the Hall of Records."

The radio sounded off an all cars alert for the Hall of Records. Shear scrambled for his car, "Stay on this!

"I can't imagine this guy withholding information," Richardson said to Davidson, "He'd fold before they'd ever stake him out."

"Oh, he told them everything. They just enjoyed going medieval on his ass," Davidson replied.

Shear arrived to find the doors to the Hall of Records blown open. The security detail was dead and the steel secure storage doors blown off their hinges. Shear knew it was too late to wonder what the perps had been after. He already had a dead vic that told him what would be found missing. He called the Commissioner so she could apprise the Injustice Society.


Deep Web got the call he'd waited for. Cowboy and Wrangler's probe had proven Cowgirl's usual oversights existed within the primary firewall. But the secondary was someone else's work. They were good. Damn clever, in fact. But not good enough. Wrangler took a second shot at the Injusticers themselves while Deep Web, Matrix, Blue Matrix, Anonymous, and Eco Terror splintered the police's capabilities and then shredded them.

"You're a go," he told Deathstroke over a satellite phone.

"Let's do this," Deathstroke led Horus in a charge into the SCPD's central headquarters where their interview rooms and central holding lay. Like so many others that day, the officers within didn't stand a chance. Deathstroke kept the line officers engaged while Horus broke into one interrogation room after another to find a bored and irritated Carla Monetti.

"Took you long enough," she burned away her handcuffs, "You have my gear?"

Horus tossed the duffel bag at her plasma form's feet and she twirled her finger, "Well turn around. I'm naked now. And I just bought that outfit."

While she became human again and dressed, Horus dealt with arriving cops, "Slade wants a zero body count."

"Damn," Cinder complained.

"Tell me about it," Horus commiserated.

They exited the detention area reserved for questioning suspects to find cops scattered about moaning or crying out in pain. Horus was amused, "What happened to zero body count?"

"They'll live even if they don't want to right now," Deathstroke said matter-of-factly, "How did they treat you?"

"Like a prisoner in a cage," Cinder growled, "How do you think?"

"We'll have company arriving as we exit. Vent your frustrations at the arriving cops. But I want them left alive," Deathstroke told her.

"Fine," Cinder grated.

They exited to find nearby squad cars pulling up to surround the SUV Deathstroke had left with the engine running in front of th building, "Horus, clear a path."

He simply tossed squad cars aside while Cinder streamed plasma at them. She reverted to human to board the SUV as Horus flew away and Deathstroke drove off. Cinder glanced over at Slade, "It took long enough."

"The kid was late," he explained, "The others should have what else we came for."

"Good. I hate this city already," Cinder admitted.


"This is the squalor the League of Assassins has provided me?" Iron Knife was outraged.

"It's better than a tent," Wantanabe had been a member of Iron Knife's militia when he carved the Iron Country out of other Central African nations. Of course, he wasn't a survivor of the very first militia Iron Knife had led. There was only one left. And as soon as Iron Knife's assassins could pry Father M'Buttu away from Azrael, Sister Lilhy, and their Order of St. Batman, he'd be dead as well. No one else that had known Iron Knife by any name other than his chosen alias had been executed.

"Barely," Iron Knife grunted agreement.

"The local news is broadcasting an assault on police headquarters, an attack on the Hall of Records, and the murder and torture of an architect," Wantanabe told him.

"Deathstroke has been busy," Iron Knife chuckled, "Are we ready to do our part?"

"We have the address for city hall and our drivers await," Wantanabe promised him, "The Knives only await your order."

"Then the order is given," Iron Knife hefted the shaft with a large knife's blade the size of an airplane propeller affixed to it, "It's time we had ourselves a good time."


Commissioner Torres herself drove out to the artificial island headquarters of the Injustice Society. She hated these visits because they involved meta-human threats to her city. Deathstroke hadn't made a secret of his arrival. He and his presumed forces had announced themselves with a stacking body count. Strangely, Deathstroke himself had merely wounded her officers rather than kill them. Torres could only assume it was to get her to cross the very bridge she drove upon now.

Goldilocks herself met Torres at the entrance, "Shear called me when services were restored. Is it true Deathstroke stormed headquarters?"

"Apparently we were holding one of his Titans on suspicion and an outstanding INTERPOL warrant," Torres told her, "The FBI just arrived to question her. More problematic was the service cuts to our communications. Add to that the torture and murder of the man that designed this building and the theft of the only copy of its plans."

"Cowgirl and Cyber Witch were off when the service attack began. They restored communication networks as swiftly as they could but they were reacting rather than getting ahead of the attack. Another one occurred hours ago but the firewalls held. Cowgirl warned us that it could be a probe from a hacker collective employed by a very sinister man."

"Whom you won't name or can't name?" Torres asked impatiently.

"Call it both at this point to protect you. He takes his privacy very seriously," Goldilocks told her, "We have identified the hackers if the FBI wants names to go with the handles."

"That's a start," Torres grunted.

"Deathstroke isn't here to threaten the city. Just us," Goldilocks assured her, "The plan is to terminate us so you'll be open to other arrangements."

"This about a protection racket?" Torres was even angrier now

"It goes deeper than that. This man wants the city to adopt Knightfall's licensing program," Goldilocks told her.

"The city already declined," Torres reminded her.

"Which is why your other options have to be removed," Goldilocks said flatly, "This man wants to license people's right to live. Knightfall is just the first step in that direction."

"Life was so much safer before mystery men and women began appearing," Torres complained.

"There have been people like us throughout history. This man helped them stay secret in exchange for working for him. The Justice Society was the first group to form that rejected him and his offers," Goldilocks finished her history lesson, "But he's always been out there."

"So you rejected him as well," Torres understood now, "After the city turned Knightfall down."

"Precisely," Goldilocks was glad she understood now.

"And for that you have to die," Torres understood men like this all too well.

"Deathstroke's raid was an invitation to look for him," Goldilocks told her, "So we'll accept his overture and find him."

"And when you do?" Torres had to wonder, "He makes his living killing anyone who he's paid to."

"Then we change his vocation," Goldilocks shrugged.


"The Commissioner just left," Vigilante called in to Deathstroke, "They appear to be mobilizing."

"Send Hitman and Natt the Hat in to eliminate their tech squad," Slade replied, "I need you and Ink to stage an ambush near the docks."

"When is Iron Knife going to provide our distraction?" Vigilante inquired.

"The news has him at City Hall right now," Deathstroke told her.

"We're on our way then," Vigilante promised.


The Knives formed a perimeter around City Hall's main entrance where they'd parked the armored limo and SUVs as barriers while Iron Knife went in after the Mayor and city councilmen and women. Wantanabe held his force from firing as the SCPD responded to calls for help from within City Hall. Sgt. Dwight Moretti calmed the nerves of the officers on thee scene until Lt. Melva Hawkes could arrive,

"What do we have, Sergeant?" Hawkes asked Moretti as soon as he reported to her on her arrival.

"Armed assailants have taken the main entrance and barricaded the emergency exits," Moretti reported, "We have a lone assailant searching office by office for city officials."

"Any IDs yet?" Hawkes asked.

"Ma'am, they aren't even speaking a language I'm familiar with," Moretti admitted, "I'd guess they're African based on how they dress but they have white women with them as well conversing in the same language."

"South African?" Hawkes ventured.

"As good a guess as any," Moretti admitted.

"Have they made any demands?" Hawks finally asked.

"Lieutenant, they haven't spoken English yet. I don't know if they can," Moretti told her, "But they're military of some kind."

"So they're the group Jones and Washington encountered at the airport," Hawkes deduced.

"They came prepared to stage a war," Moretti warned her, "Our spotters reported antitank missile launchers among their gear. And they're targeting our snipers."

"Shots fired inside?" Hawkes asked.

"A lone assailant carrying a spear shaft with a huge knife blade attached at the end. That's his only weapon. But he's systematically searching the building," Moretti told her, "Everyone inside is staying locked down because they have no safe exit."

"How were the exits barricaded if there's only a lone assailant?" Hawkes had to ask.

"Witnesses claim the assailant single-handedly pulled down structural supports to block the fire doors," Moretti told her.

"So we have a gen active on the scene?" Hawkes' attention became razor sharp.

"Seems to be according to phoned witness accounts," Moretti told her.

"Then we call it in to the Injustice Society," Hawkes decided, "They deal with the perp inside while we handle the gunmen outside."

"Think this related to Deathstroke storming the station?" Moretti inquired.

Hawkes snorted, "Of course it's connected. The questions are how and why."

"I don't think we have the time to find out," Moretti replied.

"Make the call to the Commissioner to dispatch Injusticers here and give me a bullhorn," Hawkes ordered, "It's time we talked to these bastards."


Deathstroke listened in on police band chatter and dispatches with some satisfaction. Iron Knife's distraction was drawing in every available SCPD unit to City Hall, relatively removed from the Titans. But Slade had also known Iron Knife would reveal his gen factor. So Injusticers would be rerouted to deal with him. That meant the Titans would have to clean up Iron Knife's leftovers.

Then again, the African warlord was undefeated by that continent's heroes. Perhaps he'd fare the same here in the United States. But the Injustice Society didn't fill its ranks with idealistic superheroes and vigilantes. Most of the Injusticers were killers at one point or another. The real reason why Vandal Savage felt the Light was threatened by their ongoing defiance. Savage would even swallow his enormous pride and welcome the Injustice Society as working partners if they'd just comply with the Light's ambitions.

Slade only knew Goldilocks by reputation but she didn't sound delusional any longer. Her standing within the Injustice Society and their role in Superior City attested to that truth. Something had snapped her back into reality. And in that reality, she had an agenda. Whether or not it favored the Light was an unknown variable. Knightfall saw it as a threat to her program so the rest of the Light did as well.

Lex Luthor had the most experience with Goldilocks when she'd been a member of the Legion of Doom. But she'd been a broken doll back then. That doll had suddenly matured into a functional adult human being. One that posed a threat to Deathstroke's own agenda. The Titans were the finest mercenaries he could collect together. But half of them were merely mortal. They had no gen factors and they were outnumbered by one of the best gen active teams in the world.

The Deep Web Collective was supposed to run interference. So why hadn't Slade seen any yet? They were just into the plan and it was already going to shit.


"What's the hold up?" Deep Web himself asked Cowboy. Cowboy was managing the internet connection through the dark web while Wrangler was strapped into virtual reality gear to navigate the world wide web.

"We've met some unexpected resistance," Cowboy drawled, "Cowgirl is getting help from an unknown player. They've reinforced the defenses around the infrastructure supporting Superior City. We're still trying to break through the new firewalls they erected."

"I thought you said she was good," Deep Web feared for his life if they failed the Light.

"She is. But Cowgirl is a talent that only comes around once in a lifetime," Cowboy wearily sighed.

"Then why is Wrangler here instead of her?" Deep Web demanded to know.

"Because she knew how good she was and wanted a bigger percentage of the profits. Fifty percent wasn't enough for her anymore," Cowboy bitterly complained, "Right now it's a race. While Wrangler punches a hole somewhere, Cowgirl shores it up and improves the defense."

"They will kill us if we fail," Deep Web reminded him.

"I know," Cowboy grated, "But unless someone distracts Cowgirl we'll never break through."

"I'm calling Deathstroke," Deep Web bitterly complained.


Slade listened to Deep Web's plight and signed off without a word. He signaled Pat Trayce, "Vigilante, I need your team to breach Injustice Society HQ and kill everyone within it."

"Copy that," Vigilante replied over the secure comm line, "We're moving then."

Her team cautiously assembled at the Injusticers' front door and rear entrance. Hitman and Natt the Hat went through fire exit while Vigilante and Ink proceeded through the main entrance. No alarms went off and no one intercepted them.

"Hitman, what's your status?" Vigilante inquired.

"No sign of anyone being here," Hitman replied.

"Comb the building," Vigilante ordered, "We'll go room to room if we have to."

"Copy that," Hitman replied as he and Natt the Hat moved further into the headquarters building.

"Pat, they aren't here," Ink warned her, "I can feel it in my bones."

"Then we continue our search just to be certain and then fall back to our secondary assigned posts," Vigilante instructed.


Beneath the headquarters, nestled inside the artificial island it sat upon, Cyber Witch monitored the Titans' movements even as she knew they'd never find the secret entrance to the Data Womb Goldilocks had constructed for her and Cowgirl. It wasn't on any plans. The Injusticers themselves had constructed it to Cowgirl's liking.

Cowgirl was in VR shoring up the firewalls Wrangler was attempting to break through. Each attack taught Cyber Witch and Cowgirl more about Wrangler's method of attacking so the defenses could be tailored against her. Goldilocks had wanted to leave a guard behind in case the entrance was found but Cyber Witch had denied her permission to do so. She'd defend Cowgirl while the other was immersed in the web. But if that moment came, it would because the interior defenses failed.

Cyber Witch had seen the Titans approach so she'd temporarily deactivated the defense grid. Like a cat toying with a mouse, Cyber Witch had allowed the Titans access to the headquarters building. Now they were deep inside of it and she reactivated the defense grid. Now that the Titans were trapped inside, they'd have to fight their way out in order to survive.

"Shit!" Hitman shouted, "The place just activated some kind of intruder defense system."

Vigilante had gathered the Titans in what appeared to be a communal briefing center when the defenses went active. Automatic fire gun pods lowered themselves from the ceiling and up from the floor. They opened fire at full auto, shredding everything in their line of sight with bullets.

Ink managed to deflect their fire with his shadow tattoos, "I can't do this forever."

"Return fire and retreat!" Vigilante called out.

But they found as they exited the briefing room that the corridors were also lined with active gun pods. Natt the Hat threw a grenade at several of them, disabling them, "They never intended to take prisoners."

"They are called the Injustice Society for a reason," Vigilante reminded everyone, "They're super villains running a protection racket."

"Well, the locals seem to love them," Hitman was a mild telepath and had caught stray thoughts of passersby while the Titans were setting up for the assassination attempt.

"Al Capone was considered a celebrity in his day too," Vigilante argued between bursts of gunfire.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Ink demanded.


Cyber Witch was disappointed when the Titans managed to escape with their lives. They'd destroyed almost two dozen gun pods. They'd had yet to encounter the micro missile batteries she'd held in reserve. Nor had she resorted to gas attacks. All in all it had been productive in repelling the intruders and she'd managed to tag everyone of them with a radioactive isotope that sensors placed all over the city could track.

She contacted Goldilocks, "I just repelled four of Deathstroke's Titans. I have trackers on them and will advise you of where they go next from here."

"Good work," Goldilocks said over comms, "How is our ongoing cyber warfare going?"

"Cowgirl is kicking ass and I'm narrowing down the point of origin. Then we'll have some fun with them," Cyber Witch replied.

"Keep on it," Goldilocks requested.

"Oh, we definitely copy that," Cyber Witch gloated.


Captain Watanabe and the Knives were still engaged in a standoff with the SCPD. Commissioner Torres was losing patience. Lt. Melva Fawkes and Det. Lt. Ed Shear were both on the scene directing their respective divisions. Fawkes was maneuvering the uniformed officers while Shear placed his detectives in key command posts. Iron Knife had taken the mayor and city council hostage but made no demands. He simply seemed to be killing time. At least he wasn't killing hostages. Those outside the room with Iron Knife were hunkered down because they had no exit but they weren't directly threatened.

Torres called it in to Goldilocks, "We have an apparent meta-human and a hostage situation."

"I'm well aware. I have people on the way," Goldilocks assured her, "They should be there any second now."

Armored SUVs delivered the General, Safari, Psycho Pirate , the Mist, and Virtuoso to the scene. The General approached Torres, "Get everyone back. We're here for the gunmen on the ground. We have other elements readying to take the gen active hostage taker."

"These are the Knives from the Iron Country," Safari informed the General, "If they are here, then Iron Knife is the meta."

"Are any of the Knives gen active?" the General asked.

"No, but they are among the world's highest paid mercenaries," Safari answered.

"Regina, you're up. Virtuoso, get ready to play," the General instructed.

Psycho Pirate placed the Medusa Mask on her face and it vanished allowing her to make seen facial expressions. She approached the vehicular barricade. The Knives tensed and aimed the weapons at her. Psycho Pirate adopted a look of shock and then horror. The Medusa Mask worked its magic and the Knives felt those very same emotions. To their credit, they didn't break and run. Instead they battled their fear. Captain Watanabe was ready to order them to shoot Psycho Pirate when Virtuoso began to play her violin.

The musical notes were visible to the naked eye and they danced around her before hurling themselves at the Knives. They impaled whatever they struck, including armored vehicles and human flesh. The Knives took necessary cover to pull the notes out of their bodies. Two were seriously wounded as the notes had impaled their chests.

"That's enough," the General ordered. Psycho Pirate and Virtuoso withdrew. Andy Nash used her powers as the Mist to transform into a dense fog that overlay the Knives.

"Prepare for an assault!" Captain Watanabe ordered. The General and Safari struck together. The General tossed aside armored vehicles while Safari leaped over them. Her electrically charged spears could kill with a touch. The General broke bones and tore arms out of their sockets. Captain Watanabe backed away, in genuine horror, not that produced by the medusa Mask.

"You'll never make me betray my leader," he vowed.

"I wasn't going to make you," Safari speared him and he was electrocuted to death.

"Now we go in," the General ordered. She broke down the barricaded doors and cleared the barricades, "Andy, clear the rooms."

The Mist floated by rooms declaring, "You're free to go so run!"

A hundred city employees vacated the building in a panicky stampede. The General had to shove some aside when a woman fell and was in danger off being trampled. The woman tried to express thanks but instead twisted away to run.

"Now for Phase Two," the General announced, "You two hold the first floor in case, somehow, Iron Knife gets passed us."

"You get to have all the fun," Psycho Pirate pouted. Virtuoso tested a few notes on her violin to make certain it was still tuned properly. She thought she'd seen some notes go astray when she aimed them. The General and Safari went on the hunt as the Mist floated into the council chambers.

"What devilry is this?" Iron Knife asked the mayor.

"You picked the wrong city to terrorize," the mayor replied.

Iron Knife swung his thickly bladed spear through the Mist's fog. It did him no good. Andy whispered to the hostages, "Now's your chance to escape."

By the time the Mist withdrew to cover the hostages' escape, Iron Knife dully realized how he'd been tricked. He chuckled, "Very good. Well played."

The General and Safari calmly strode in. The General advised, "I want you to surrender. My companion wants an excuse to kill you."

"You are the hunter they call 'Safari', no?" Iron Knife asked.

"I am," she answered.

"I can pay you more than ever dreamed off if you return with me to the Iron Country and hunt my enemies down," Iron Knife offered.

"Why should I hunt them when you're far more challenging prey?" Safari asked.

"Don't throw your life away," Iron Knife advised her.

"So what exactly is your power?" the General asked.

"I AM power!" Iron Knife swung his blade at them. Safari ducked under it while the General stepped back. Safari speared Iron Knife's chest and electrified its point. Iron Knife shrugged off the charge and the wound, taking hold of the spear and kicking Safari through the closest wall. The huntress was down.

"So you're strong and durable," the General noted, "That'll make it interesting."

"You think yourself a soldier?" Iron Knife scoffed at her fatigues.

"More than those broken dolls you had downstairs," the General replied, "I may not look monstrous but I've been augmented, the same as you."

"No one has been augmented quite like me," Iron Knife attacked her. She caught the shaft and held back the huge blade at one end. Iron Knife's skull painted face broke into a smile, "So, you are a challenge after all."

"You'll find I'm more than that," the General said between gritted teeth.

"And yet I've nearly pressed my blade against your pretty throat," Iron Knife boasted.

"I'm the distraction, numb nuts," the General managed a smile.

The windowsill and surrounding wall imploded inwards as Captain Thunder came to land, "Am I late?"

"Almost," the General had a reprieve as Iron Knife took stock of his newest foe. The room filled with fog as the Mist returned to obscure Iron Knife's vision. Despite the breeze coming through the gap in the outer wall, the Mist didn't move or blow away.

Captain Thunder was known to Iron Knife. One of the rarefied Chaos Avatars empowered by the Lords of Chaos the same way they did the Black Marvel Family and the Lords of Orders provided for the Shazam Family. Thunderlord was the other that had joined the Injustice Society alongside Captain Thunder. She was powerful. Even more powerful than the already impressive General. But she wasn't a Shazam or Black Adam.

Iron Knife swung the non-bladed side of his staff into Captain Thunder's head and knocked her off of her feet. Leaping through the hole she'd created, he landed on his feet on the street below and the SCPD opened fire. The bullets deflected off of Iron Knife's durable skin and he tossed aside police cars with swiped of his staff. Accomplishing the seemingly impossible, Iron Knife disappeared into Superior City's streets.

"Get me surveillance footage!" Commissioner Torres ordered her detectives, "I want him tracked and found."

"The system's offline," Fawkes reported.

"How the hell does that happen?" Torres asked.

"I don't know, but the Injusticers are waging a massive cyber war to keep our infrastructure up and running," Fawkes told her about the incoming reports, "Key systems are going up and down while it's underway."

"What else has been affected?" Torres grimly asked.

"Dispatch and 911 Emergency Services are unreliable right now," Fawkes continued her explanation.

"This isn't coincidental," Torres correctly surmised, "Use police band radio and alert everyone to an impending attack on the city. Deploy patrol cars broadcasting the message. And fan out who the attackers are and where they are before they strike."

"I'll get every uniform on it," Fawkes began gathering unit commanders and issuing orders.


"You've dammed up their attack route but they fried a lot of equipment at police headquarters before you did," Cyber Witch read off her screen to the immersed Cowgirl.

"Wrangler is getting outside help now," Cowgirl grated as the attacks in VR came twice as fast and from multiple vectors.

"Deep Web must've contacted the rest of the Collective and put them on the attack," Cyber Witch began helping as best she could from her end. The lines of codes came at her screen as fast as she could respond to them. The Collective had nine members whereas Cyber Witch and Cowgirl were alone in the defense of the city.

"Reroute all incoming internet traffic to Gnome, Alaska for as long as you can. I'm going on the attack," Cowgirl announced, "Let's see how they like it."


"Goddammit!" Deep Web snarled as his computer overheated from overdriving itself and the motherboard melted down. He tried contacting the other Collective members but found his burner phone deactivated and out of service minutes. He wondered how it been traced in the first place.

Entering the neighboring room where Cowboy and Wrangler were operating, Cowboy looked as frustrated as Deep Web felt, "That bitch redirected Wrangler's viral attacks back at us. My system is burning itself out."

Wrangler ripped her VR gear off and screamed, "I'm going to kill that futzing cunt!"

"We're done here," Deep Web told them, "They obviously traced to this location. The FBI and Homeland will be here in minutes. Grab your 'go' bags and get out."

Deep Web worried more about Vandal Savage's reaction to the news. The master of the Light didn't take the news of failure very well. Adding another dimension to the depth of the failure was that Deathstroke and his Titans were now devoid of any distractions. Or so he believed.

Vandal Savage had gauged Wrangler's ability to directly overtake Cowgirl's defenses and found it wanting. He'd known Deep Web would call in the Collective. But he estimated their combined chances against Cowgirl and Cyber Witch to be less than optimal. Cowboy had been a fool to reject Cowgirl's demands in order to continue their partnership. Wrangler was comparatively deficient.

Deep Web purchased a new burner phone using cash so Cowgirl couldn't trace the transaction and the carrier. His report was brief but succinct. Fortunately, Vandal Savage had expected such failure and derived at an alternate solution to keep the Injustice Society off balance in order to allow Deathstroke's Titans their opportunities to kill the Injusticers.

In a perfect universe, Savage would've called upon Nyssa Raatko and her Injustice League. But Nyssa was distracted by League of Assassins duties at her wife's command. Black Canary had adapted to being the Ra's al Ghul rather adeptly. Her former moral constraints adequately suppressed or eliminated entirely. Nyssa had chosen well when she won the challenge against Talia and handed the coveted position to Dinah Laurel Drake Lance instead of claiming it for herself.

Savage was well aware of the fact that their father's mind inhabited Talia's body after his own rejected the Lazarus Pit's continued treatments. Talia had been a broken woman after the death of her son. She hadn't even resisted the mind transference. Nyssa, however, couldn't forgive her father for essentially killing Talia so he could further his own prolonged life with a fresh vestibule the Lazarus Pit would work on. "Talia" had assumed control over the League of Shadows and its League of Assassins. But Nyssa challenged Talia for leadership and won. But, in an act of contrition, she spared her father's life because he inhabited her half-sister's body.

Knowing the Shadow Seven would never embrace her as the new Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa propped up Black Canary as the new leader of the Leagues. Still, the other five members of the Shadow Seven didn't fully embrace Dinah Lance as Ra's al Ghul until she led the attack and vanquished the Court of Owls. Dinah had personally killed Lincoln March, the Owlman of the Crime Syndicate and Patriarch of the Court of Owls. Owlman's own protege, Blackwing, was rejected as the new Owlman by the Matron, Helena Lincoln March. Instead, she chose an outsider to lead the Talons.

Blackwing swore revenge upon the crippled organization. Seeing Matron take over the Court of Owls and appointing a new Owlman, however inexperienced, Dinah proceeded to bring in Darkwing and restore him as a champion of the league of Assassins. Darkwing had taken it upon himself once again to eliminate the threat posed by Batman.

Darkwing and the Wrath each terrorized Gotham City in an effort to draw out the missing Batman. Who they received instead was Azrael. Like Blackwing, stymied by Nightwing's retirement from procuring his claim to victory. So too, the Wrath and Darkwing were thwarted by Batman's forced retirement. Insuring that Deathstroke ended up being the man that "killed" Batman despite Bruce Wayne's survival from the attack that pierced his heart.

Jaina Hudson and the White Rabbit gave up trying to persuade Bruce from capitalizing on his fame and fortune to establish dominance over governments and law enforcement. In the end, he even lost control of Wayne Enterprises to Derek Powers. Now they'd returned to Vandal Savage and the Light as their instruments of choice. It been the duo that recommended Savage's backup plan for drawing out and distracting the Injustice Society so that Deathstroke and the Titans could work freely.

Libra had reassembled the Secret Society of Super villains after their failed attempt to kill the Outlaws. Most were still on the mend but were willing to battle the Injusticers for a rich payoff and an escape from prison after they were beaten. Libra and Major Disaster had no illusions regarding their chances against the Injustice Society. But they would provide the openings for the Titans to kill the Injusticers.

The Titans would easily escape while the Secret Society would be apprehended. LuthorCorp, through one of its various shell companies, would hire the legal teams that would get the Secret Societors out of charges of murder. They'd merely face the misdemeanor charges of assault for attacking the Injusticers and another set of misdemeanor charges for violating city statutes forbidding non-authorized meta-human activity in the city. All of which Lena Luthor's lawyers could make disappear.

Vandal Savage checked his watch one last time. Libra and her minions should have been positioned by now. It was time to give them their authorization to proceed.


"Bloody hell," Goldilocks groaned as the Secret Society confronted the Injusticers on the street.

"Finally, some challengers," Rival gloated. The Secret Society boasted the membership of five speedsters. The most of any super team, criminal or otherwise.

"Well, I'm happy that you're happy," Shiv said snippishly. Cindy Burman was never happy fighting anyone besides Stargirl.

"Team Leader to Team Two, what's your status?" Goldilocks used her comms.

"Iron Knife managed to steal a police car and exit the city borders," the General unhappily reported.

"But you had Captain Thunder," Goldilocks was irked by the news.

"Who's too busy giving interviews to the press to chase him down," the General felt the same degree of irritation.

"Get her back with the main group and rejoin us. It seems we have the Secret Society to deal with," Goldilocks told her.

"Copy that. We're en route," the General promised.

"Let me see if I can reason with them," Goldilocks kept her hands up and plainly visible as she approached the Secret Society's position. She had no hopes of persuading them to stand down and depart the city peaceably but it bought her time for her team to reunite and reorganize.

"Of all the dumb futzing luck," Jenny Elsewhere bitterly complained as Libra met with Goldilocks outside the club they were attempting to enter.

"What's the problem?" Johnny Everywhere asked.

"Have you noticed the collection of people lining up to fight each other?" Jenny Anywhere asked.

"It's pretty obvious even to me, and I'm totally unfamiliar with anyone involved," Jenny Everywhere noted.

"Let's just say we want to far from here," Jenny Elsewhere warned them, "I'm bound to recognized and that will just confuse issue further."


The streets were emptying and Jenny Everywhere started into the club but Jenny Anywhere caught her arm, "Away as in anywhere else,"

"None of us can portal yet," Johnny Everywhere complained.

"I can probably manage a short distance portal back to the safe house. We just have to hope the fighting doesn't spread there," Jenny Elsewhere told them, "Get ready."

A portal did appear. The living room was on the other side. Jenny Elsewhere was visibly strained.

"Just don't stand there! Move!" she yelled at them. When they'd cleared the portal, Jenny Elsewhere collapsed on the side as it closed. Jenny Anywhere tried to rouse her.

"She isn't waking up!" she was distraught.

"Get her to her room," Jenny Everywhere told her, "Give me a hand. Johnny, find the occupants and get them to get us medical help. They'll know who to call."

As they hefted Jenny Elsewhere up, Jenny Everywhere made the obvious observation, "You're awfully concerned about someone you came here to kill."

"Only because I thought she killed every copy of you," Jenny Anywhere admitted.

"That was the Anti Monitor. I never saw this Jenny before today. I don't think she can portal through universes. She'd certainly never seen me before," Jenny Everywhere told her, "She was the only Jenny in this 'Prime Universe' you mentioned earlier. I think the rest of us surprised the hell out of her."

"She always ran rather than fight me," Jenny Anywhere said glumly, "I think she just didn't want to kill another Jenny if she could avoid it."

"Does she kill people?" Jenny Everywhere worried.

"All the time," Jenny Anywhere said grimly, "Like she said, she joined Intergang is their leading enforcer. But she's playing some kind of long game with them. She has a plan that uses them. I kept screwing it up for her."

"Maybe she'll get you a job after all," Jenny Everywhere sighed as they managed to lay Jenny Elsewhere on her bed, "Depending on the plan, Johnny and I might play along."

"You really think so?" Jenny Anywhere perked up.

"Who knows? The universe got very weird on us," Jenny Everywhere complained, "I don't know anything about anything anymore."

"Your Earth really didn't have superheroes or super villains?" Jenny Anywhere was astounded.

"We had Intergang and a few other international crime syndicates. That was enough for me. Johnny's world was similar. Though he had a Jenny Anywhere it seems," Jenny Everywhere explained as the sounds of the first explosions riipped through the night air, "That sounds bad."

"It'll get worse," Jenny Anywhere warned her, "It always does when these type of groups meet up."

"So...one group is villains and the other groups is heroes?" Jenny Everywhere asked.

"Actually, both groups are considered villains. The Injustice Society somehow convinced city leaders to deputize them to fight off costumed folks. The Secret Society of Super Villains is here for whatever idiotic reason they're here for," Jenny Anywhere explained, "The local news will be a festival of wartime reporting tonight."

"You make it all sound so commonplace," Jenny Everywhere noted.

"Because on this New Earth, it is. Heroes and villains battle all the time across the world," Jenny Anywhere sighed, "They've even started a meta-human arms race as the United Nations and every government on Earth is looking to bring on their own team of enforcers. LuthorCorp even has an entire division called the Everyman Project where they test and identify whether or not people have a gen factor. If they do, they can pay to have it activated. If they can't pay and still want it activated, LuthorCorp hires them out to various nations in exchange for a commission and monthly fees. Most of the people activated end up being super villains."

"And no one is regulating this 'LuthorCorp's' efforts?" Jenny Everywhere was aghast.

"LuthorCorp is big enough to be a law unto itself. The CEO that made LuthorCorp a household name as LexCorp was Lex Luthor. He was Secretary-General of the UN. Before that he was impeached as US President. What everyone ignored was that he's also the founder and head of the Legion of Doom. A seriously powerful super villain collective unlike any other. The closest thing they have to rivals are the Injustice League and the Injustice Society. But now the Injustice Society and the newer Injustice Gang are working for cities. So, it's all very confusing."

"But you mentioned there are hero groups as well," Jenny Everywhere reminded her.

"The biggest is the Justice League Unlimited. Two of their groups are internationally chartered by the United Nations. The Justice League International is the big threat group and the Justice League Global Guardians are localized threat responders. The Justice League also has Dark Justice which deals with sorcery and the Justice League Outsiders which deals with domestic threats. The Justice Society of America dates back to before World War 2 and is still going. They're also deputized by Homeland Security here in the United States. They have a training program called Young Justice which trains up teen superheroes and graduates them for membership in the Justice League or Justice Society. Everyone else is pretty much just a local concern or operatives for Homeland Security or one of its agencies," Jenny Anywhere described the situation, "That doesn't count the two big guns outside the US. The New People's Heroes operate out of Moscow and the Justice League China is run out of Beijing."

"Can you two discuss geo-politics and the gen active scene in another room?" Jenny Elsewhere groaned.

""You're alive!" Jenny Anywhere hugged Jenny Elsewhere rather fiercely.

"I might not survive your suddenly liking me," Jenny Elsewhere weakly protested.

"We'll take it to another room," Jenny Everywhere promised, "Your two caretakers here have summoned medical assistance. Can we bring you anything?"

"Since we're not going out drinking, see if you can scrounge some coffee for me," Jenny Elsewhere requested, "We'll need to be able to leave the city of things escalate too far."

"Why?" Jenny Anywhere asked.

"Because Superior City is a surveillance police state," Jenny Elsewhere managed to explain, "They have us, me, on camera using a gen factor and we're undocumented with the police. The Superior City Police Department will be looking for us now. And we all stand out."

"I'll warn Johnny. He'll also want to get in on our talk," Jenny Everywhere left the room.

"So...we're good now?" Jenny Elsewhere asked Jenny Anywhere.

"I just thought you'd killed Jenny. I wanted you dead for that," Jenny Anywhere sheepishly said.

"Yeah, I got that," Jenny Elsewhere sighed, "Look, I was the only Jenny in the Prime Universe but I knew about the rest of you. I couldn't portal through dimensional barriers like the Everywheres or even you when you don't screw it up. But there aren't any dimensional barriers now. But there are Twenty-Seven Realms of Existence to worry about. But that's for later. Let's just say the Multiverse was one of them. Now it's a single Universe and it's been noticed. The Evil Queen has been served up notice to stay away but there are other looming threats out there among the Realms. Realms that want into ours."

"This is your long game that you're playing with Intergang," Jenny Anywhere realized.

"Intergang and everyone else," Jenny Elsewhere told her, "There people from other Realms here in Superior City. People that make it a target. But they also have a powerful set of allies protecting it. But they only show up when they feel like it's necessary. So they might not show up for this tonight. But I know someone who can. I need you to call someone. And you're gonna give me a ration of shit when I tell you the name. But she's real and she's back in this Realm. Most kid's storybooks are based on facts most people believe are fiction. The Evil Queen is proof enough of that."

"Who is it?" Jenny Anywhere was eager to please.

Jenny Elsewhere told her and Jenny Anywhere scoffed, "You're right. I don't believe you."

"Look, two members of the Injustice Society come from other Realms. Alice the Mad Hatter is from Wonderland and Tinker Bell is from Neverland. Both are Realms occupied by the Evil Queen's forces."

"You're making this up," Jenny Anywhere couldn't deny Jenny Elsewhere's conviction though.

"You saw the mess the Evil Queen's forces made of New York City. She's very dangerously real. But she isn't a threat anymore. But she has rivals vying for power over the Realms even she's unaware of. Just make the phone call and tell her I told you to. She's needed here. And tell her Maimie won't like it," Jenny Elsewhere demanded.

"That's it?" Jenny Anywhere asked, "Just that she's needed and Maimie won't like it? Shouldn't I tell her where I'm at first?"

"You won't need to. She has ways of knowing that kind of thing," Jenny Elsewhere told her, "Just make the call. The number is in my phone. And bring me that coffee. When Dorothy gets here, all hell will have broken loose. We need to be able to run as far from Superior City as we can get. With the Everywheres spatially oblivious and your portals are crap we're stuck until I can portal us somewhere. I'm done for for at least a couple of days after this. So we'll have to drive out of town at least. There are cars available from Intergang. We'll just take one and leave as soon as I can walk again."

"I don't understand," Jenny Anywhere complained.

"I don't need you to," Jenny Elsewhere snapped at her, "I need you to follow instructions to the last word. I'll get us out of this but I need your help to do it."

"Okay, I'll make the call and the coffee. Just try and relax and get your strength back," Jenny Anywhere told her.

"We don't have time for that," Jenny Elsewhere said darkly as Jenny Anywhere took Jenny Elsewhere's phone and left the room, "We don't have time for anything anymore."


Wrangler bolted from her VR chair, stripping off her goggles as she did so. But the myriad of connection to her just cascaded the raw voltage into her. Deep Web and Cowboy, alerted by the inititial attack on Wrangler, vacated their seats and got behind a couch before the power supplies within the network mainframes and personal terminals exploded. As the smoke cleared, Cowboy went to check on Wrangler's vitals while Deep Web hurled the vilest expletives at Cowgirl and Cyber Witch.

"This site's compromised,' Cowboy drawled, "Wrangler was electrocuted and caught in the blast. I used CPR to get get her heart restarted but the Light is gonna have to provide new facilities and medical treatment."

"You never told me she was that good," Deep Web accused Cowboy, "I could have had the entire Collective focused on just Superior City."

"I never knew," Cowboy admitted, "She was always holding back it seems. An' this new partner of hers, Cyber Witch, is no slouch when comes to our breed of hacking."

"Vandal Savage will expect us to get up and running again in a few hours," Deep Web fretted.

"Wrangler is no shape. There may even be permanent neurological damage, if you even cared to know," Cowboy was on the defensive.

"Savage will run everything out of his legitimate front, Oracle Corp. They have hospital facilities on site," Deep Web relented to blatantly obvious that they were dead in the water, "You two were our best shot at getting passed the defenses erected around Superior City."

"Meaning you already knew how tough they were," Cowboy's anger was sparked.

"Under the Clockmaker, they were well above average. But then Cowgirl and Cyber Witch took them to a new level. We've never gotten as far into their infrastructure before," Deep Web was dialing the SOS code to the closest Oracle site, "We haven't faced a challenge like this since we went head to head against Oracle herself and the Network."

"I thought they were myths," Cowboy confessed.

"That's what they want you to believe. The all-present, ever watchful Network as the digital boogeyman. But Savage named his front after Oracle after she infiltrated his corporation. He was so impressed with her work, he refiled the corporation under her name," Deep Web explained, "We're always evading them. But we can't penetrate their secure domains."

"But they penetrate yours," Cowboy realized.

"Which is why the Collective isn't centralized and every member is always on the move as soon as Oracle or another Networker locates them," Deep Web explained, "They never mounted an attack, though. Your Cowgirl is pretty damn ferocious."

"You pissed her off," Cowboy told him, "Gal's gotta helluva temper."

"Duly noted. Help me set the charges while the medevac team arrives," Deep Web told him, "We have to arson this location to the FBI can't trace it back to any of us."

"If it's a pattern, they'll know it was us," Cowboy warned him.

"But it's pattern they can't predict yet," Deep Web managed a cynical chuckle.


The VP in charge of the Oracle Corp location in Hong Kong, was facing scrutiny from the government after Beijing's recent wave of demanded security laws. Foreign businesses were to be more closely monitored in their international transactions as well their local transactions. The Communist government extolled a fifty percent informal tax upon internal transactions. Which in the cheap labor market within China, still meant cost cutting for the major players. But Oracle Corp had attracted unwanted visibility coming from external sectors closer to the government than Vandal Savage's proximity.

Deep Web's truck trailer arson had garnered the attention of the security services both within and without Hong Kong. The Justice League China had been dispatched to oversee the investigative and enforcement side of things. Unlike the Great Ten, which had enjoyed some autonomy under August General in Iron, the Justice League China was politically run and motivated. The government's current goal was to nationalize Oracle Corp's Chinese holdings.

Oracle Corp's ties to the Triad-Yakuza Alliance guaranteed that the criminal elements dominating Hong Kong hadn't betrayed the Light. But the Si-Fan competed with Intergang for mainland dominance. The Mandarin ran Intergang's Chinese and Indian operations. Fah Lo Suee ran her father's criminal empire. The Immortal Dr. Fu Manchu felt slighted by his lack of invitation to join the Light after all these centuries. So Savage, rather than respond with costly force, extended an olive branch to Fu and Fah. It was easier to buy off Fu and Fah with membership than attempt to cultivate similar ties with the new Chinese President, Xi Xingping. And the Si-Fan's dominance in alchemy occluded even that of I-Ching and the Black Dragon Society.


"You've always respected our territorial claim over Superior City before," Goldilocks reminded Libra, "Why throw that away?"

"I'm being well paid and with a literal 'get out of jail' card," Libra chuckled, "American justice is so easy to manipulate if you have the right backers."

"They won't jail you, Libra. You, they'll deport back to Ukraine," Goldilocks advised her.

"It'll never go that far," Libra chuckled again, "You might as well warn your people. We are going to duel this out. There's no telling the losses you'll suffer in the process though we'll ultimately lose. For all the 'Injustice' in your name, you're bound by legal codes now. You have to take us alive."

"Since when?" Goldilocks asked.

"This truce is over," Libra advised her, "If we meet again, I will kill you."

Goldilocks' braids came to life and one wrapped around Libra's throat while another grasped her right wrist while a third took hold of the Cosmic Transmogrifier and pulled it from Libra's grasp, "Then I guess the fight has begun."

"Get them!" Major Disaster yelled from the Secret Society's line. The Injusticers were already on the move to attack. Despite the numbers being in the Secret Society's favor as they spread across several city blocks, the Injusticers were hardcore veterans by now. Even the newest members were experienced and better quality fighters. But even the best fighter could get overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers.

Police Chief Torres was infuriated because Captain Watanabe's corpse and the Knives had produced diplomatic credentials, forcing Torres to contact the State Department. The legalities were all tangled up. The Iron Country wasn't recognized as a legitimate state by the United States government. However, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China were pushing a measure through the United Nations General Assembly to recognize it as such. A host of "outlaw" nations were behind the effort as well. Vital trading partners from across the globe recognized the Iron Country and were applying pressures to the United States government to do the same.

President Olivia McKay refused to bow to the pressure but had the US delegation to the UN abstain from the voting regarding recognition of the Iron Country. The administration maintained its moral high ground by branding the Iron Country a "rogue nation" and a "state sponsor of international terrorism" but would neither impede nor endorse the official recognition of Iron Knife's conquests.

Which put Iron Knife's diplomatic credentials in doubt. But the Deputy Secretary of State determined that they should be recognized and that Watanabe's body and the Knives should be released but escorted to the airfield they'd arrived from to be flown out of the country. Torres was then ordered to abandon pursuit of Iron Knife himself, but she could attempt to recover the stolen property, ie. the police cruiser he'd absconded with.

Meanwhile, Torres had an outbreak of meta-human violence about to occur in the Astoria District. She dispatched Lt. Fawkes to oversee evacuating civilians from the streets of the club district. Sgt. Moretti was assisting her command with Officer Guittierez running point. Officers Edwards, Blake, Jones, Johnson, Menendez, Osmont, Jones, Washington, Hearst, Walker, Doohan, Walker, Wang, MacNeil and Doohan had all been pulled from looking for Iron Knife to the evacuation and containment efforts. Det Lt. Shear and Detectives Wilcox and Johnson were still looking for Iron Knife and the police cruiser. It seemed the African tyrant knew that the car was lowjacked and had disabled its GPS locator.

Meanwhile, Fawkes was reporting in that Goldilocks had provoked the brewing clash by detaining the Secret Society's co-chair and had turned her over to police custody. An event the rest of the Secret Society hadn't taken well and they went on the offensive. As Goldilocks had recommended as they arrested Libra, they separated her from the Cosmic Transmogrifier and transported them in separate squad cars. Goldilocks had then returned to the ensuing battle.


Sprocket Man was the first member of the Secret Society to engage Shiv. His gimmick was a tricked out bicycle that included missile launchers and jet boosters. But Cindy Burman made short work of him with her Serpent Staff. After knocking him off of the bike, she activated it and it wound around him like a snake and its cobra head danced in front of his helmeted face threatening to bite his neck and inject its load of poison.

Spark-Man, Sparkler, and Steel Fist approached on foot. Spark-Man wore stun gloves instead of using a stun gun or taser. Sparkler's refractive clothing shot off sparks of lights. Steel Fist was a disillusioned Tibetan monk who'd had his right hand cut of by the Chinese military. It had been replaced with a steel cast prosthesis fist. Of the three, only Sparkler had a distance projecting ability. Spark-Man needed to place his palms on someone to stun them and Steel Fist needed ot connect a punch.

Shiv endured the pain of the blades erupting out of her skin. Now she possessed defensive and offensive blades. Blades with which she'd killed her mother and had thought she'd killed her infamous war criminal father, the Dragon King. Sparkler did his best to keep her attention on him while Spark-Man and Steel Fist made their approach. But Shiv was too well trained even as a teenager to allow her to lose focus on all of her opponents.

Spark-Man nearly lost a hand as he reached to touch her. He backed away as she intended but he surprised her in that he didn't lose bladder control and he stayed in the fight despite the obvious perils. Steel Fist was far more disciplined. Sparks erupted as her blades met his metal fist. Sparkler intensified his light show as Spark-Man angled for a blindside attack. But he got Shiv's backspin kick to his jaw in reply.

With Spark-Man temporarily out of the fight and Sprocket Man subdued, that left Shiv concentrated on Steel Fist while Sparkler ineffectively tried garnering her attention. Spark-Man managed to use his stun gloves to short circuit Shiv's robotic Serpent Staff and it reverted to its default staff configuration. Sprocket Man was badly shaken though.

Shiv found Steel Fist was well trained in the Tibetan martial arts and kung fu. Shiv herself was trained in karate and aikido. So they evenly matched despite their individual enhancements. Sprocket Man was effectively out of the fight. Her Serpent Staff had wrecked his bicycle so he couldn't ride it. But he might conceivably still fire his mini-missiles at her. So she kept a wary eye on him as he cursed as he inspected his bike.

Sparkler was becoming a nuisance since his flashing sparks were ruining her night vision and she'd had to move clover to a lamppost in order to properly see Steel Fist. Putting the post at her back also kept Spark-Man from attacking from her rear as she dealt with the single greatest threat that she presently faced. The fact that Spark-Man had disabled her Serpent Staff annoyed her to no end.

Cindy realized that Sprocket Man was attempting to aim his missile launchers at her. He apparently didn't realize, or simply didn't care, that his teammates were in his line of fire. Shiv was even less concerned with the nearby citizens sheltering in still open stores and restaurants. Sprocket Man fired his missile barrage and Shiv deftly avoided it as it blew up the facade and front entrance of a popular sea food establishment that had been a local favorite for decades. The raining debris and concussive wave washed over Spark-Man, Steel Fist, and Sparkler. Spark-Man turned on Sprocket Man and stunned his own compatriot. Shiv was personally pissed off because the restaurant had been a favorite of hers and now it would likely close owing to the costs of repairs. The civilian casualties and death toll didn't factor into her rage, as Steel Fist mistakenly assumed.

Shiv forced Steel Fist back toward Sparkler and retrieved her deactivated Serpent Staff. Now, armed with it and her internal blades, Shiv turned the tide of battle against Steel Fist and Spark-Man. Sparkler threw caution to the wind and tried to blind Shiv at close distance. He was knocked unconscious by her swinging body blow delivered through her twisting with the Serpent Staff. The light show ended and a second foe was downed.

Spark-Man and Steel Fist pressed on regardless. With her longer reach through her staff, Shiv managed to keep Spark-Man at bay while she threatened Steel Fist with her blades. The Tibetan former monk attempted to dull her blades extended from the back of her hands but they were composed of a rare alloy that only the Dragon King had mastered the art of smeltering. So they retained their edge even faced against his steel hand.

Shiv took a low blow from Steel Fist while she thrust the tip of her staff onto Spark-Man's forehead. Knocked off of her feet, Shiv rolled to avoid being hammered by Steel Fist's punch that cracked the pavement. While Spark-Man was still reeling, Shiv hand vaulted back to her feet and scooped up her staff to smash it into Steel Fist's face. While he staggered back, she completed a full body spin and swing to connect with his temple and drive him into unconsciousness.

Now, Shiv faced Spark-Man alone. She stared him down and snarled, "You futzed up my staff."

"You futzed up my friends," Spark-Man rejoindered.

"That wasn't even personal. This is. Imagine what I'll do to you," Shiv threatened. She noted that she'd made the mistake of giving him time to adjust the settings on his stun gloves. Shiv didn't know what that meant for her and she resented that. Stargirl beat her time and again with the Cosmic Staff because of its range and her damnable Cosmic Converter Belt also giving the ability to project stellar energy at a distance. All of Shiv's personal weaponry was close contact range.

Shiv rushed Spark-Man to close the distance and lower his reaction time. But he'd set his gloves for maximum discharge in one volley. As he ducked under Shiv's staff, he thrust his hands outwardly and volleyed his battery supply in a single discharge that connected with Shiv without his needing to touch her. The metal lacing her body conducted the electrical stream throughout her person and she screamed before passing out. Spark-Man was just grateful his desperate gamble had paid off. His gloves were spent until he could recharge them. He took Shiv's Serpent Staff from her to brain her with in case she awoke before his companions did.

The Secret Society was hired to subdue or wear down the Injusticers so that Deathstroke's Titans could finish them off permanently. So Spark-Man stood vigil while Steel Fist and Sparkler came to. Sprocket Man was struggling to move but Spark-Man didn't give a shit. The ass wipe deserved it for almost bombing his own teammates out of existence.

"What now?" Sparkler asked through his near concussion.

"Now we simply hold her," Steel Fist predicted.

"And we make certain the cops can't recover her before she's executed by the Titans," Spark-Man reminded them.

"She wrecked my bike!" Sprocket Man managed to stand up, "And you shot me with your gloves."

"Grow up, crybaby," Spark-Man snorted.

"Now is the time to work together," Steel Fist predicted, "The local police will be most interested in rescuing our target."

But the police were their last worry it would turn out.


Rival saw Speed McGee, Streak Carter, and Zebra-Man coming of course. The brown eyed, bleached blonde in the gray business suit and fedora was a mystery to him though. The three speedsters tried to corral Rival but he launched himself at Zebra-Man, who was the slowest of them. His reduced reaction time allowed Edward Clariss to overpower and overwhelm the outmatched Zebra-Man.

Speed McGee had achieved super speed through steroidal compounds that enabled him to move almost as fast as a Speed Force speedster. But the injections also heightened his aggression and clouded his judgment. So he threw himself at Rival, no holds barred, holding nothing back while Streak Carter slowed to join the other blonde.

Speed McGee was the husband of Dr. Tina McGee, the Director of STAR Labs. She'd served her husband divorce papers but he refused to acknowledge them. So, she was pursuing proceedings on grounds of abuse and abandonment. Since Speed McGee was a fugitive from justice, he couldn't rightly represent himself to contest the filings. His brute force tactics nearly overpowered Rival but Clariss had fought Jay Garrick, the original Flash, for decades before being lost in the Speed Force itself for several more decades. Rival cut through Speed McGee's frenetic thrashing and bludgeoned him with super speed blows until the man went down. That left Streak Carter and Dr. Mystery alone to face him.

The current Streak Carter was the sister of the first one. He'd died at the hands of his master, the Reverse Flash. Eobard Thawne had brought that Streak Carter back from the 29th Century with him to help winnow down the number of speedsters until Thawne could engineer a final confrontation between himself and Wally West. In the course of that conflict, Streak Carter's brother had been a casualty of his own ally. The Reverse Flash's mad ambition to be the only speedster left in existence costing him his own life.

Rival didn't know the history of the current Streak Carter than she'd taken her brother's name and had his powers. It seemed evident that she'd come back in time to avenge her brother's death. But the Reverse Flash was already dead when she arrived. It seemed her method of time travel was a unidirectional one since she hadn't returned to the future and instead assumed her brother's place in the Secret Society.

Dr. Mystery was exactly that to Rival. Unlike Goldilocks, Rival ignored the police reports regarding other super criminal teams. As long as they didn't bother him or come to Superior City and interfere with the Injustice Society's operations there or out of town, Edward Clariss could care less about them. But her presence struck a nerve with Rival. She seemed too confident of victory in the face of his easily dispatching Zebra-Man and Speed McGee. Now Streak Carter came at him.

Unlike the others, Streak Carter was imbued with nearly his own speed. Obviously a result of the Reverse Flash's experimentation in gaining super speed from the Speed Force. She was also trained in how to effectively use it in a fight. Rival found himself actually challenged. Only the Flashes and the Reverse Flash had given Rival so much trouble. Suddenly, Rival forgot why he was fighting Streak Carter or why he was anywhere at all.

Streak Carter took advantage of his fugue state and began delivering strategically placed blows to hamper Rival's ability to fight back. For what would have been seconds to a normal person was a lengthy period of Streak Carter beating Rival to a pulp. Even with his advanced healing, he succumbed to his wounds and collapsed. Streak Carter rejoined Dr. Mystery at the curb.

"Now what do we do with him?" she asked, "He heals quickly."

"He won't even remember who he is under my sway," Dr. Mystery tipped her fedora back a bit and smiled malevolently. Her psionic power blanked people's minds, "He won't even remember he has a super power while he's my thrall."

"I'll check on the others. They might prove useful in containing him should anything happen to you," Streak Carter told Dr. Mystery.

"Take your time. Rival isn't going anywhere," Dr. Mystery chuckled evilly.