Omniverse Earth-38

by choejhulkp9

The multiverse is a big, wide open space of possibilities. Think of them like snowflakes: they look similar but they're different enough. This earth is no different. A citizen of earth finds himself wielding the most powerful weapon in the universe. It stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid. Now he's got superpowers, he's no ordinary kid. He's...well, you get it.

10. Golden Age has beens

Will's senior year isn't off to the best of starts with everything going on and surprisingly his personal life and superhero life intertwine but it's not his fault. The DEO begin investigating odd occurrences across the country that are the acts of some dangerous supervillains eliminating people who are linked to a group known as the JSA. Turns out Courtney's stepdad Pat is involved with them, it's not just a one and done situation with them. Turns out that the group will continue to live on through legacies. And to top it off, Courtney ends up involved too. This year is going to be weirder then normal.

Omniverse Earth-38: Golden Age has beens

September 2008: National City, California

The moon shined down on National City in a surprisingly clear and quiet night. No clouds so there were plenty of stars visible in the sky with a gentle fall breeze washing over the city combined with the sea breeze from the bay. Since it was nighttime, most people in National City were either on their way home from work, going out to dinner, or engaging in nighttime activities both legal and illegal though there were many more cautious people who engaged in the illegal activities. The reason for that was because of the uptick in activity from the National City vigilante, Sentry. His heroic exploits, which started out as few and far between if ever had increased into a nightly occurrence in the past couple of days. Some people, including Catco's own CEO Cat Grant, suspected that Sentry's recent uptick in vigilante activities may be in response to a possible threat in the city and the National City Police were quick to latch onto that theory despite its lack of credibility. According to Cat Grant, anything she reported was credible enough. But nothing could be further from the truth as the reason for Sentry's uptick in nightly activities was more personal in nature.

Will, suited up in his Sentry armor, was perched up on the top of a shipment container crane, looking down at shipping warehouse on the water. An SUV pulled up to the warehouse and three masked men armed with assault rifles got out and moved into the warehouse with two moving a large crate, stolen from a Kord Industries shipment. Will switched his HUD to backscatter to scan the area and he saw the goons move inside but saw that he couldn't see the crate. It was made of some kind of alloy that was preventing his backscatter function from penetrating, so he had no idea what was inside, but clearly it was important. But the three goons weren't alone as the warehouse also happened to be a hive of activity for about 30 goons/thugs all of whom were arms with guns. Some were on guard duty while others were moving crates around from stacks of shipping containers into trucks. Those crates Will was able to see through and it was the usual drugs or illegal contraband. His HUD had scanned a few of their faces and Jarvis was quick to run some facial recognition where he got several hits in the National City Police Database. They were enforcers working for the Russian mob and the warehouse must be one of their operations so suffice to say that they were going to get a rude awakening.

They were the most recent targets in Will's reignited hero activities. For the past four days he's spent nights and some parts of the afternoon out in National City making some very bad days for all sorts of bad guys. Everyone from gangs and drug dealers to thieves and pickpockets were knocked out and strung up for the National City Police. The police didn't like him as the captain didn't like heroes or vigilantes since they worked outside the law, so they put out a warrant for his arrest but some of the city were won over. This was the most they've seen of Sentry ever so many were wondering what was going on, including Catco Media. Cat Grant was spinning some wild theories on why Sentry was suddenly active ranging from some kind of conspiracy with the city's criminal underworld to him trying to boost his image to match up with the big leagues like Superman and Batman. The truth was that Will had to spend his time doing something since he got suspended from school and he needed to vent his frustration someway so why not do it in a productive manner. There are some who would say that venting frustrations via violence isn't exactly healthy but then again, those people weren't heroes so oh well.

Now, Will wasn't a delinquent or someone who went out looking for trouble. That being said he did have a temper when provoked or someone messed with people he cared about and that is the reason he was suspended from school. Yolanda wasn't doing well at all after what happened with the leak. She was made the laughingstock of the school and her parents weren't happy. They were disappointed in her along with frustrated making her feel more alone than ever. Will and the others were there for her, which helped tremendously but the damage was done and Yolanda's reputation at school and at home was ruined. Suffice it to say that Will and the others did everything they could to help her but there was only so much they could do. There wasn't even any punitive measures taken against Henry because Principal Bowen said there was no evidence that he leaked the photos and Henry's father had pull with the school board and they weren't going to do a thing against their biggest donor. Henry was as much as of asshole as his dad quickly dating Cindy Burman and badmouthing Yolanda, calling her a slut and slut-shaming her. And it didn't help that his moronic followers on the football team did the same but that quickly stopped after a confrontation at lunch.

Flashback to a few days ago…

The school bell sounded off letting everyone know it was lunch time. Will, Ed, and Beth walked out of their history class, joining the traffic of students heading there when they saw some commotion up ahead. The commotion was the word slut spray painted on Yolanda's locker. Yolanda was in tears as she was being ridiculed while Beth and Karen were at her side. They already contacted a teacher who went to get the janitor, but some students were sticking around, watching and some even took out their phones.

"Don't you morons have anything better to do? Go to lunch." Will shouted and they all just looked at him. "What did I stutter?! LEAVE!"

His forceful shout scared everyone, and they scampered away. "Jackasses." Ed muttered as some members of the football team walked by.

"Hey, Yolanda? Got any new pics you want to share?" He mocked and his teammates laughed with him. Courtney consoled her and glared at the idiots.

"What's the matter, Whitmore? I wouldn't be opposed if you decided to send some pics too?" Another player said and that did it for Will.

"Ok. That's it." Will walked over, grabbed the player by the arm and slammed him into some lockers. He then slugged him in the stomach with a powerful punch before holding him up against the lockers with his forearm pressed against his neck. The other players would have come to his aid, but the glare Will gave made them cower back. "Would you like to rethink what you just said and say you're sorry?"

"Get the hell off—" He was cut off as Will forced his forearm up against the guy's neck and face, restricting his airways a bit and pushing his face into the locker so it hurt. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry. I'm verry sorry. I don't think before I speak sometimes."

"That ok?" Will asked and Courtney and the others nodded. "Good. Now, who spray painted Yolanda's locker?"

"I don't know." He uttered so Will put a little more pressure on his hold. "I swear I don't know!"

"Now, why don't I believe you?" Will remarked, channeling more of his vigilante persona which was awe inspiring as it was intimidating.

"I swear I don't know! It was probably Henry! He snuck out of class early to go see Cindy! They're at lunch right now!" He pleaded and Will took a moment to think it over before he let the guy go. The player fell to his knees and coughed up a bit before taking some deep breaths while Will just marched towards the cafeteria.

"Ok. This is gonna be good." Ed said as he, Beth, Courtney, Karen, and Yolanda chased after him.

Will walked into the lunchroom where he saw students waiting in line to get lunch or sitting at tables, eating and talking to one another. He ignored them and kept walking until he saw Henry sitting with some of his teammates along with Cindy and her little clique. He grabbed a chair and dragged it along the floor before parking it right next to Henry and sitting down next to him. Henry and the others looked at Will in confusion.

"Something I can help you with, Detmer? You're interrupting our lunch." Henry told him.

"There's something I want to ask you." Will said to him.

"What?" Henry wondered, just wanting him to leave.

"What kind of man are you? A stupid man? A bitter man? Or are you just…an insecure, spoiled rich boy hiding behind your daddy's money?" Will questioned. Henry glared at him, but Will's penetrative glare was more intense. There was palpable tension at the table as Cindy and her friends watched while Henry's friends were ready to back him up. "It wasn't a rhetorical question. I really want to know the kind of man who enjoys intimidating a woman half his size. A woman who he once cared for but don't answer because I think I know what kind of guy you are. I think you're nothing. So intimated by your dad, who is also an asshole from what I've seen, that in order to make yourself feel better and not like the miserable piece of shit you really are, tries to act tough and put a façade that people are fooled by. Football quarterback, dates the pretty girl, has a flashy car and a mob of other like-minded morons to make himself feel better. And if anything happens that breaks that façade, well then everyone would see the true petty, insecure little douchebag you really are. Also, one that's not very smart. Because if he was, he wouldn't have spray painted Yolanda's locker because now you're gonna know what it feels like when I hit you."

"Back off Detmer, you freak." Cindy told him off. "Yolanda got what was coming to her."

"It's ok, Cindy. He just doesn't know the truth about her." Henry told her before looking at Will. "Let me tell you the truth about Yolanda Montez. That little cocktease—[BAM]"

Henry didn't finish his sentence as Will decked him across the face with a right cross, knocking him out of his chair. Henry's teammates were quick to stand up after he got hit but Will shot up and kicked the lunch table, knocking it into some of them and staggering them while also throwing some of their lunch trays at them so they got hit with food. One of the players closest to him threw a punch but Will blocked it with his forearm and grabbed him by his letterman jacket. He pulled the back up over his head and threw his elbow into the side of his head three times before slamming his head into the lunch table. Another player tackled Will at the waist, but he set his feet, so he wasn't taken to the ground. He grabbed him by the side and kneed him twice in the face before throwing him to the ground. Henry got up but Will kicked a chair into him, knocking him back down. Another player attacked with a wild punch, but Will blocked it and hit him in the head with a lunch tray before landing a backfist that knocked him back. A player tried to kick Will in the stomach, but he caught his leg and kicked out his other foot, so he fell to the ground. One of the players picked up a chair and swung it at Will's head but he ducked and grabbed the guy's arm before throwing him over his shoulder to the ground and punching him across the face. Henry got up and charged Will but just got another punch to the face and hit the ground hard.

[Whistle blaring]

The PE teacher blew his whistle before he and the football coach came over and pulled Will aside. He didn't fight them as they escorted him out of the cafeteria to the principal's office while the other teachers kept students back while tending to the injured ones. They had their phones out and had taken photos or videos of the epic beatdown they just witnessed. Cindy Burman looked at Henry on the floor and was concerned but anyone who was paying any real attention, which they weren't, could tell it was fake. She thought he was an idiot and was kind of smirking at what happened. She never thought much about Will but seeing how he easily took on 6 guys from the football team impressed her. Ed, Yolanda, Beth, Courtney, and Karen had arrived in the cafeteria and witnessed the fight with them both in awe of Will's skill and scared of his brutality, but it was Henry so he kind of deserved it.

"Guys!" They heard and saw Vic walk over to them. "What happened?"

"You missed it?" Karen asked.

"Mr. Biss needed to see me after to talk about an assignment. What happened and why are my teammates on the ground?" Vic wondered.

"What happened is you just missed another epic showcase of how badass Will is. I told you guys he could fight even without his suit." Ed told them.

"Yeah, but fighting bad guys is a little different to this." Beth pointed out. "Will is gonna be lucky he doesn't get expelled."

Will Detmer had just taken on 6 members of the football team by himself, and they were the ones who needed help while he was without a scratch. It was like something out of a movie and the school would be talking about what happened for a long time.

An hour later, Will was sitting outside the principal's office in the hallway tending to his bruised hand with an icepack. With him was Diana, wearing civilian clothes which was a pair of nice shoes, jeans, a form-fitting long sleeve shirt with a matching jacket. Her long black hair tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing some glasses on her face to better hide her identity as Wonder Woman. She had just returned from a trip back to Themyscira when Max was informed of what happened. She helped him tend to his hand with the ice but then put on some treatment oil and began wrapping it in gauze, an old trick the Amazon's worked out for bruises. His training with the DEO taught him how to fight so he would be better at helping them deal with aliens and he could defend himself. He knew how to throw a punch properly, so he didn't injure himself or break his hand, but bruises were unavoidable. With more time and training he wouldn't have to worry about that but until then fighting with his bare fists would result in bruising. Max was in the principal's office speaking with Principal Bowen about what happened and Henry's dad, Henry King Sr. had been called in along with some of the other parents of the football players Will beat up. They were in the nurses office being treated. Some were making a fuss and milking their injuries, but the only serious injuries were some heavy bruising and cuts along with injured egos. Will may have been pissed off, but he wasn't a sociopath, so he wasn't going to break bones, especially of high school students unless it was life or death, and it wasn't. Just some asshats who needed to be taught lessons.

Diana wrapped Will's hand when she saw how deep in thought he was. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Just mentally preparing myself for what my dad's gonna say." Will answered.

"Well, if it's any consolation I think you acted very admirably, and your father knows that too." Diana told him. "Sure, he's upset but he knows you didn't do this out of spite. You were defending the honor of your friend."

"Unfortunately, the teachers or school won't see it that way." Will muttered, wincing a bit as Diana tightened the gauze. "Thanks."

The door to the principal's office opened and out walked Henry's dad along with the other parents all of whom were glaring at Will for what he did. Will didn't care and just rolled his eyes as they left. Max was the last one out of the office and he looked disappointed but not as bad as Will was expecting. "Am I expelled?" He asked.

"Thankfully, no. Some of the parents tried to push for it but Principal Bowen managed to talk them down. She said you weren't a delinquent and was aware that this was about what happened with Yolanda which I reminded them and Henry's dad about. Spray painting slut on her locker should also be looked into and one of the players on the team confessed to doing it. It wasn't Henry." Max told him.

"Huh, go figure." Will muttered. "So, if I'm not expelled, I'm guessing suspension?"

"Two-week suspension and when you get back to school you have detention for a month." Max said and Will leaned his head back. "Diana, can I talk to Will alone please?"

"Sure. I'll go wait outside by the car." Diana got up and left allowing Max to sit down next to his son.

"You can save the riot act dad. I know what you're gonna say. That I'm an idiot for doing something so stupid and acting hotheaded. That I shouldn't have attacked Henry and his friends and that you're ashamed of me and wish I never learned how to fight. That school was my normal life and that I shouldn't have done that." Will listed off.

"Pretty much but I'm not ashamed of you, Will. In your situation I would have probably done the same thing." Max admitted. "You get your temper from me but we're not hotheaded. We're just passionate and protective about the people we care about. In this case, it's your friends."

"Yolanda didn't deserve that." Will stated and Max comforted his son with shoulder pat.

"I know and believe me I get it. But confronting her ex and his friends in the cafeteria and then beating them up wasn't the smartest idea. I should say that you need to solve your problems without your fists like a normal teenager but…" Max grabbed Will's arm and moved his jacket up a bit to show the Omnitrix. "…this thing sort of robbed you of a normal life."

"Normal is overrated." Will said and Max put his arm down.

"Either way, starting a fight in the middle of your high school where you're supposed to be act normal wasn't smart even for the right reasons. You're lucky you're not expelled so in the future I expect you to think twice before doing something stupid like this again." Max warned him and Will nodded. "Having said that…I'm also proud of you for standing up for your friends."

"Thanks dad."

Max smiled at his son and patted him on the head.

"But don't think this means you're escaping a punishment. Even though you're suspended you need to keep your grades up and keep up on your assignments. And suffice to say that your training at the DEO…it's just gonna be brutal." Max pat him on the arm before getting up and walking away.

"Oh, crap." Will muttered as he grabbed his backpack and followed his dad. Suffice to say that later that night Will was a groaning, bruised, sweaty mess after a rather intense DEO training session. Director Henshaw was a little disappointed that Will started a fight at his high school but off the record, he applauded him defending his friend. Same with the other agents at the DEO. It helped deal with the pain but not by much.

End Flashback…

Will looked down at the warehouse and shipping containers with his HUD tracking all the movements of the Russian gang members. Jarvis plotted out the best course of actions for him to take and the color of his armor turned to a darker tint before he jumped down and made his move.

Four of the Russian gangsters were moving boxes of goods from a shipping container into a truck for distribution. One guy in the truck placed the boxes in while the other two brought them over from the shipping container. One guy brought over another box while the other went to get another one. "AHHH!" He shouted in fright as he was pulled into the container. His friends over by the truck heard the shout so they looked over and saw their friend was gone.

"Hey! Stice!" One of them called out but didn't get a response. He looked at the others who shrugged and some pulled out their pistols as they walked over to the container. "Stice?"

[CRACK-CRACK-CRACK]

The men looked up and saw the lightbulbs above them shatter one by one like something hit them. One of the men heard a metal clink and saw something fall to the ground so he picked it up and it was a small metal razor disc about the size of a quarter. He picked it up and looked it over when he saw one of his friends looking up. "What?"

He looked up and they saw Sentry hanging upside down above them. Before they could react, he dropped down and took them both out quickly, but the third guy ended up running. By now the other gangsters were made aware something was going on and were on alert. One of the gangsters saw something slip past some containers so he fired a burst from his H&K MP5 submachine gun and missed. He looked around and saw one of the guys running towards him and then dipped around a container only to get blindsided and taken out. The armed gangster fired a barrage from his submachine gun but didn't see anything, so he was on alert but slightly panicking as he looked around for whoever was around. He slowly walked through the rows and columns of shipping containers when he heard a thud from his right, so he fired a burst but hit nothing yet again. He then saw a dark blur move past some containers, so he fired another burst but didn't hit anything.

The gang member slowly backed away while looking frustrated as he yelled.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Here." A voice answered right behind him, sounding mere inches away.

"AH—" The beginning of the scream was all he could get out before Sentry grabbed the gangster from behind and put him in a chokehold until he passed out.

The rest of the Russian gangsters were near one of the trucks on alert after the gunfire and shouting so they grouped up for the number advantage and to protect their profit. Too bad for them it wasn't going to help them. They heard a whistling sound like something was flying through the air, but they were too late to act as a shield came out of nowhere and hit one of the men in the face, knocking him out. It ricocheted off him and hit four more guys before Sentry dropped down in the middle of the ground and caught it. He proceeded to take down the gangsters quickly and efficiently by bashing them with his shield, knocking them to the ground, and breaking the occasional bone or two. He may have been outnumbered and some of them had guns but that didn't help them as they were quickly disarmed and taken out. All in all, he took out 26 Russian Gangsters in a minute. Now he needed to deal with the three in the warehouse.

Said three gangsters were huddled together behind some cobbled together barricades of crates, a desk, and some chairs. They had assault rifles pointed at the main door but had visual access to the windows and other entry points and behind them was the container from Kord Industries. They had no idea what was going on or who was here after them but when they heard the gunfire, they got ready.

A small creak was heard from the floor so one of the gangsters slowly made his way over with his assault rifle ready when a pair of hands broke through and grabbed him by the legs. He was then dragged down the hole and the sound of heavy impacts was heard along with grunting. The other two gangsters opened fire down the hole in the hopes that they killed whoever was attacking him when a cable wrapped around one of their legs and dragged him up into the ceiling rafters. The remaining gangster fired blindly at the ceiling all over when his gun ran dry to so he hastily reloaded as fast as he could, stumbling backward when he bumped into something. He turned around to fire his gun, but Sentry caught the barrel and headbutted him. The gangster groaned in pain before falling back unconscious. The gangster dragged up to the rafters hit the ground a few feet away, knocked out as Sentry's remote drone hovered down and retracted its cable before reattaching itself onto his back.

Sentry's HUD scanned the warehouse and things seemed run of the mill including crates of stolen goods or drugs. The National City Police would have a field day with this and likely take all the credit, but one thing bothered him. The Kord Industries crate they were guarding was impervious to his backscatter so he couldn't see inside it. Kord was known for cutting edge technology and weapons so whatever it was must have been important. He walked over to see what was inside but that was a mistake as when he opened it, he saw a C4 brick with a timer counting down from ten seconds.

"SHIT!"

He grabbed the three gangsters he knocked out and ran to the exit as the timer counted down to zero. He bashed through the freight doors of the warehouse just as the bomb went off. The impact of the explosion sent him flying forward and he crashed to the ground, but his armor protected him. He was a little dazed from getting thrown forward, but he was fine and so were the gangsters he saved from being blown up. He pushed himself back up to his feet and looked at the burning warehouse. The Russians wouldn't have brought a bomb back to their own warehouse filled with goods that were important for their business, so this wasn't them.

[Clap—Clap—Clap]

Sentry turned around and saw someone walk into view from up on a shipping container stack. His HUD zoomed in, and Will had a quick moment of piss pants fear as he saw who it was and recognized him immediately. Combat boots matching a unique and distinctive black and orange colored combat battle armor. A pair of Desert Eagle pistols holstered at his thighs connected to a belt of other weapons. A bandolier of pouches across his chest, several shotgun shells strapped across the left shoulder pad, and two swords side by side strapped to his back. The most noticeable feature about the armor was its mask which was bisected down the middle with a line. The right side was black, and the left was orange and there was only one eyehole on the left side. This was the legendary assassin and mercenary Deathstroke. (1)

"Not bad. I've seen how you work, and I've got to say you've got some skill, but these men are one thing. Let's see how you do against a real opponent! Just you and me! Come on!"

Deathstroke took off running so Sentry fired some razor disks from his gauntlet. They missed as Deathstroke ran and jumped off a shipping container and did a 540 front flip up onto a higher one. Seeing where Deathstroke was going, Sentry fired his grappling hook to cut him off. The cable pulled him up into the air towards Deathstroke and he would have tackled him when he had to jump to another series of containers, but the assassin saw that coming. He jumped off a container and spun through the air, grabbing his collapsible bo staff and extended it out so with the spin he hit Sentry across the face and knocked him into a container. Sentry slid down and landed onto a container on his back, groaning and jostling a bit from the impact when Deathstroke jumped down to drive his bo staff into his face. Sentry moved his head at the last second, saving himself from the injury and quickly got back to his feet where he blocked Deathstroke's bo staff strikes using his forearms. He parried the staff to the side and then ducked under a kick before blocking a staff strike from the right only to get hit with a back kick to the face. Sentry was knocked into a container which ended up jostling the shipping container above it loose. Said container slid down forcing Deathstroke back as it fell to the side giving Sentry an opening, landing a jump spinning side kick that hit the assassin in the chest sending him off the container. Deathstroke fell to the ground but moved his bo staff in front of him. It got caught between the shipping container columns and he swung back up. Sentry walked over to check on Deathstroke and got kicked in the face, knocking him down onto a different shipping container.

He got back up as Deathstroke jumped down and the two looked at one another. "You have skill but not much. Looks like the game is over before it even begins."

"I'm not one to play games, Deathstroke."

"Oh, you know me. Good. That'll make this easier." Deathstroke slowly unsheathed one of the swords from his back. "I've heard a few things about you, Sentry. You're not inept but Sportsmaster and Tigress are rank amateurs compared to me. I'm in a different league."

"I know so who are you working for?" Sentry questioned. "I haven't gotten that big of a reputation that someone like you would come after me unless someone paid you. You're a mercenary so you wouldn't do something unless it had some incentive for you."

That was kind of a ball-faced lie on Will's part. He knew that Deathstroke was a mercenary, but the rest was just him talking out of his ass to sound intimidating.

"Clever and a correct assumption but I don't give out my employers." Deathstroke spun his sword about a bit for flourish before bracing the blade on his left arm and aiming it at Sentry. "Impress me more and maybe I'll let you know who wants you."

Sentry tightened his fists and assumed a fighting stance before making a quick adjustment with his armor.

"Prepare to be impressed then."

Three sharp arm fin spikes came out just like Batman used with his armor and Deathstroke was intrigued before he engaged. Deathstroke cut and slashed with his sword while Sentry blocked and parried the blade using his forearms with his armor and the spikes protecting him. Deathstroke shuffled forward and Sentry shuffled back, each matching the others footwork as one pressed the advantage while the other defended. Deathstroke cut, slashed, and thrust before moving into a spinning overhead slash that Sentry blocked. He caught the blade with his spikes and moved it to the side giving him the distance to elbow Deathstroke in the face and grab him by the shoulder. Deathstroke pushed his arm down and made a diagonal cut at his neck which was blocked before spinning around for a back thrust. Sentry blocked it and then quickly raised his arms up to block another overhead cut. He caught the blade between his forearm spikes and brought his arms apart, breaking the blade into pieces before spinning into an elbow at Deathstroke's head. It was blocked and Deathstroke cut with the broken sword which was more dagger length now. Sentry blocked it and jabbed him in the side and followed that up with a right hook that Deathstroke ducked. He leaned back to avoid the sword to the face and grabbed Deathstroke by the mask before slamming his head into a shipping container. Deathstroke broke free and headbutted him before pushing him back into an uncomfortable hold, his back bent back at a weird angle with the blade held at his throat. Sentry grunted and tried to get free when he saw an opening. He pushed off a shipping container and flipped over Deathstroke's arm before throwing him to the ground.

Deathstroke got back up only for Sentry to tag him on the chest with his grapple hook and pull him into a clothesline which flipped him onto his front. Deathstroke quickly got up and pulled out a pistol, but Sentry kicked it out of his hand before following the kick with a back kick. Deathstroke caught his leg and elbowed him in the thigh, ducking under a backfist and landing an uppercut. Sentry quickly recovered and kneed Deathstroke back for distance and then attacked with a flying punch that was blocked only for Sentry to then grapple with Deathstroke and put him in a double underhook clinch, placing his arms under Deathstroke's arms and grabbing his midsection. He kneed him in the sides twice before taking him to the ground with a fireman's carry throw. Deathstroke was quick to kick Sentry back and rolled back to his feet taking out his other Desert Eagle pistol as Sentry rolled back into a crouch and activated his shield.

Deathstroke fired his pistol, but the bullets were ineffective against the shield. When he fired his last bullet, Sentry leapt forward with a flying punch that hit Deathstroke in the face and knocked the pistol away. He then swung with his shield, but Deathstroke caught it and threw out a gut punch that was blocked. Deathstroke then punched Sentry in the face and grabbed the shield with both hands before flipping it around forcing Sentry to flip to the side and in the process lose grip of it. Sentry threw out a punch that Deathstroke blocked before he hit him with the shield and kicked him back. Sentry rolled back into a crouch and saw Deathstroke with his shield that he then threw to the side so he couldn't use it.

Sentry charged as Deathstroke pulled out a knife and the two traded blows. The two fighters were a flurry of punches, blocks, parries, knife stabs, cuts, and thrusts as Deathstroke pushed the offensive while Sentry played defense. Deathstroke was extremely fast and agile, punching and working with his knife at speeds that even the best trained fighters would have trouble keeping up with but with Will's armor giving him protection and allowing him to move faster than he normally would, he was able to keep up. He leaned back to avoid a knife cut and ducked to dodge a punch allowing him to land a right jab at Deathstroke's head at his ear. He then quickly followed that up with a jumping back kick that knocked Deathstroke back into a shipping container but didn't let up and charged with a flying knee that bashed the mercenary into the metal.

Deathstroke blocked a right jab and punched him in the face, but his follow up punch was caught, and he was thrown over his shoulder. He quickly got up and grabbed Sentry by the throat before headbutting him and taking him to the ground with a shoulder throw. Sentry quickly got up only to get a hook kick to the face that knocked him into a shipping container. Deathstroke pulled another knife and kicked Sentry against the container before trying to kill him with an overhead thrust. Sentry blocked with both arms, but Deathstroke kept pushing so he quickly dropped his head down at the last second and the knife embedded itself into the metal just an inch over his head. The two dragged along the shipping container as Deathstroke tried to push the knife down but Sentry slipped behind him, grabbed him from behind and slammed him down with a suplex before grabbing his arm and throwing him off the side.

Deathstroke fell to the ground as Sentry jumped down and landed in a crouch. He walked over to his shield and kicked it up onto his arm before walking over. Deathstroke pushed himself up and got onto one knee, taking a few deep breaths as he looked at him. "Who are you working for, Deathstroke?" Will asked, pulling his sword out from his belt and ready to keep fighting or go alien if he needed to.

Deathstroke chuckled as he cracked his neck a bit. "You were a good fight. If it was up to me then I'd be more than happy to keep going…only it's not. Still…not bad and a very informative fight. I won't go so easy on you next time."

Deathstroke pulled out a device from his belt. With a single press he shimmered with a white light and vanished. Will rushed forward but Deathstroke was gone without a trace. He looked around and had Jarvis check the area but nothing.

"That can't be good." Will deactivated his shield and sword and activated his flight wings, heading to the DEO Base to tell his dad and Director Henshaw.

Mystery Location

A shimmer of white light appeared in a hidden location and Deathstroke appeared. He stood up and cracked his neck before walking through the base he had just teleported into until he arrived in a large room that had a large round conference table where there was one occupant. Said occupant had his back turned to Deathstroke as he was looking at a monitor that had various blueprints, plans, and equations on them, but the distinctive electrical nodes grafted onto the man's head were a telltale sign of who he was.

"What did you think, Mr. Wilson? Was I right?"

"You were. He was a decent fighter. Color me intrigued, Mr. Devoe." Deathstroke replied as The Thinker turned around so the two were face to face. "I could have killed him then and there if you wanted."

"Patience, Mr. Wilson. Patience. I have no doubt about your skill, but this Sentry is a different matter then the Caped Crusader and requires more precision. Don't his let armor guise fool you into thinking he's just another vigilante. It is merely protection for his true identity and power." The Thinker then brought up images from CCTV cameras, satellites, and even cellphone recordings of the fight in Metropolis between Superman, Sentry, and Hawkwoman against Lobo. The stilled images were of the various aliens that Sentry had transformed into and of the green hourglass symbol they all shared and how it matched the buckle on Sentry's belt and the device on his wrist. "He has me intrigued. A device like that is quite powerful. I imagine if you truly were trying to kill him, he would have used it."

Deathstroke's mask hid his face, but his body language indicated that the idea intrigued him. "That would be a fight worth doing for free…but if you still want my services then it will cost you. I told you before I'm not much of a joiner." Deathstroke told him.

"Your fee has already been wired to the bank account of your choosing for your next assignment. There are some people that need to be freed from prison. With your new teleporter it shouldn't take you that long." Thinker told him.

"It'll be done." Deathstroke walked away to refit and get on with his assignment. After he left someone else walked into the room but upon his arrival a very cold breeze came with it and the ground began to ice over.

"Are you and your compatriots ready, Mr. Mahkent?" Thinker asked, turning to his new arrival. A regular looking man wearing boots, black pants, a white t-shirt with a jacket over it but the real interesting part was that his body was blue and cracked like ice, just as cold as well. This was Jordan Mahkent also known as the supervillain Icicle. (2)

"Ready to begin. Gambler is getting the pieces into place and Dragon King is working on schedule, but we have a problem. Starman and Hourman are on Dragon King's trail and they're getting too close. We need to deal with them now before they group up with the rest of the JSA." Icicle told him and The Thinker nodded, pressing a button and one of the screens changed to show a map of the continental US. There were five spots around the country highlighted and marked with coordinates.

"Consider it a bonus for our continued partnership and the success of our endeavor. It took a moment, but I managed to find their locations. Happy hunting, Mr. Mahkent." The Thinker said to him, and Icicle smirked. He and his friends would have some fun.

Line Break xxxxx

DEO Desert Base

Will was sitting in a chair in the ops center in his regular clothes. One of the DEO medics was tending to him, but he wasn't really that hurt. His armor had protected him so all he had were some minor bruises if anything. "I told you, I'm fine." He waved the medic away.

"You're certifiable is what you are." Max told him as he and Director Henshaw walked over. "What the hell were you thinking going up against Deathstroke alone?"

Max smacked him upside the head. "Ow! It's not like I chose to do it. He was waiting for me and the sensors in my suit never picked him up." Will told him.

"Well, Deathstroke is a master assassin and soldier who has given Batman a run for his money. Your armor is cutting edge, but Deathstroke is another thing." Director Henshaw pointed out as he looked up at the main monitor. It was playing the fight Will had against Deathstroke which his HUD had recorded. "Still, Deathstroke is considered one of the most dangerous assassins in the world and an incredible fighter. The fact that you were able to survive speaks volume."

"Only he wasn't there to kill me. Jarvis, skip to the end." Will ordered.

"Certainly, sir." Jarvis forwarded the footage to the end of the fight so they could see Deathstroke in a crouch as Will stood over him.

"You were a good fight. If it was up to me then I'd be more than happy to keep going…only it's not. Still…not bad and a very informative fight. I won't go so easy on you next time." They then saw Deathstroke pull out a device from his belt. With a single press he shimmered with a white light and vanished.

"Someone sent Deathstroke after you." Max said and Will nodded. "But why?"

"You heard him. For information. Whoever sent him after me wanted to test me somehow." Will told him as Director Henshaw looked at the footage.

"Jarvis rewind two seconds." Director Henshaw said, and Jarvis rewound the footage until he saw what he wanted. "There. Enlarge and analyze."

Jarvis isolated the device Deathstroke was holding and brought up the scans it had taken and recorded from Will's armor. Whatever Deathstroke had was cutting edge, incredibly powerful, and compact.

"What is it?" Max questioned.

"It appears to be a device containing a powerful miniaturized energy source capable of creating a contained quantum state field on the user thereby creating a Quantum Entanglement bridge from one location to another predetermined destination." Jarvis explained, bringing up all the relevant science on the device.

"Ok, I know I'm getting A's in my science classes, but could you dumb it down a bit, Jarvis. You know for Director Henshaw." Will quipped earning funny looks from both Henshaw and his dad which he just replied with a smirk and shrug.

"In layman's terms, Deathstroke vanished and escaped using a handheld teleporter." Jarvis stated.

"Alien?" Henshaw questioned.

"From what I was able to gather and scan it seems unlikely. The components I was able to identify are incredibly advanced but human in origin. No alien technology in the design of the device." Jarvis answered.

"Maybe Deathstroke stole it from a company like Lexcorp or Wayne Enterprises. Cutting edge technology or a proto-type." Max suggested.

"It's possible but the design of this teleporter is leagues ahead of anything being developed even by the government. And I haven't heard of any whispers about any company coming close to designing a teleporter, least of all that can fit in your hand." Henshaw countered.

"Devoe." They heard and looked at Will who had a serious look on his face. "Devoe could make one."

"You think Devoe sent Deathstroke after you? Why?" Max wondered.

"Because I ruined his plan months ago. The DEO has his psych evaluation. The guy's a Grade-A narcissist and I stopped him, with your help of course, but that kind of indignity can't stand. He's probably been biding his time and planning some other kind of plan to come after me and prove that he's smarter than I am. Deathstroke's attack most likely was a test, someway Devoe could get some information on me. By now Devoe has to know that I can turn into aliens, so he wants more information. He's a mad genius and any kind of genius would want information." Will theorized.

"While I agree with you on some points, I don't think this was solely just to test you. My guts says that if that was the case Devoe would have made himself known in a way. Like you said he has a massive ego, so he'd make himself known like a message or something to taunt you. Devoe must have something else at play and even with him being a super genius where would he get the supplies to build a teleporter that powerful that we haven't been able to find him yet?" Henshaw pointed out. "Something else is going on here and Devoe is a part of it."

"Normally, I'd be thrilled at the idea of an archnemesis but not one who's a sociopathic super genius." Will muttered, determined this time to stop Devoe. "So, what's the plan Director Henshaw?"

"If Devoe is back then we need to play this smart and carefully. He's likely anticipated that we now know about him so subtly is out the window. And you're right in assuming that he likely knows more about you but if he knew who you really were then he would have attacked you at your home. You safeguarded your armor and our systems from digital interference so he can't get any information, but I'd be careful about where you transform and when." Henshaw warned him and Will nodded. "Still, working against a super genius isn't going to be easy. He's likely thought of up different scenarios about how we'd go after him."

"So, how do you outsmart a super genius?" Max wondered when there was a sudden flash of green light and they saw Grey Matter appear.

"By getting an even greater super genius." Grey Matter jumped up onto the console and began working on something.

"Clever. Grey Matter was how we stopped Devoe the first time so maybe he can do it again." Director Henshaw praised, glad to see Will thinking critically like that.

"What are you doing?" Max wondered.

"Other than working on the math to make my own kind of teleporter that we can use, I'm adjusting our scanners to detect the unique energy signature of that teleporter device Deathstroke has. Finding him could give us some answers as to Devoe's plan. And I'm also setting up the scanner to pick up similar energy signatures. There's a 67.5% chance that Devoe didn't just make one kind of device as based on our past encounters he likely has other people working for him so if we can track the energy signatures of other teleporters then we can use that to triangulate common points of interest that could lead to Devoe's location." Grey Matter moved around on the console, writing the algorithms and such for the plan.

"Question now is what Devoe has planned. He wouldn't do something like this just for revenge. He's got something up his sleeve, some reason for doing all this." Henshaw theorized.

"Something tells me if we don't figure that out soon then we may not like what happens. He nearly plunged National City into chaos with his last plan. I'd hate to see what he has planned for his return." Max said. "Work quick, Will. I hate to say it but you're our best bet on this one."

"Thanks. No pressure." Grey Matter said sarcastically.

The fixes and scans Grey Matter was implementing took a while, given his size and how fast he could work. Unfortunately for the DEO, that time gave Deathstroke the opportunity to do what he did best and on the orders of Devoe made some visits to some prisons.

Maximum Security Prison in Great Basin Desert, California

Larry Crock was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall of his maximum-security prison cell playing with some paper to make a paper football. He was bored out of his mind sitting in prison and just stewing in his own anger and wanting revenge against Sentry for beating him and putting him here. Restricted to the maximum-security wing with limited access to the outside and other things he was basically stuck in his cell for most of his time. He made the paper football and flicked it at the wall, pretending it was one of his titanium-tungsten baseballs and hitting it right at Sentry's head. He ripped another page out of a book to make another when a shimmering figure of white light appeared in his cell. He got up ready to fight when said figure held a sword at his neck which is when Crock saw it was Deathstroke.

"Got you right where I want you, Crock. Remember that." Deathstroke warned him.

"What do you want, Slade? Come here to kill me?" Crock asked him only for Deathstroke to sheath his sword on his back.

"Please. You're not worth my time and you're lucky my employer paid me to get you out." Deathstroke walked over and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let's go get your crazy wife, too."

"Hey, watch what you—" Crock didn't get a chance to finish as Deathstroke pressed the button on the teleporter and they vanished.

Elsewhere in the same prison but in the female maximum-security section, Larry Crock's wife and partner Tigress, Paula Nguyen Brooks was sitting cross-legged on her bed in her cell. She was meditating, which was one of the only things she could do other than exercise and train in her cell given that like her husband she had very restricted rights due to her being a high-risk prisoner. Like her husband, she was stewing in her defeat by Sentry that sent her to prison and while she wanted revenge she also was thinking of her daughter, Artemis. Their daughter was under the care of a family friend considering they were in jail, and she just hoped that she would get out soon to see her and make sure she was ok.

A shimmer of white light appeared in front of her before it was revealed to be Deathstroke and her husband who teleported in. "Hey, baby." Larry walked over and the two kissed. "Did you miss me?"

"Maybe but I won't tell you." Paula said, being playful.

"Ugh, can you two stop before I get sick. Let's go." Deathstroke told him as he grabbed both their shoulders and pressed the teleporter, vanishing. It wouldn't be until several hours later that the prison guards noticed both inmates were gone. Sportsmaster and Tigress were on the loose.

Blackgate Prison, Gotham City

Deep underground at Blackgate in a special prison cell made by Wayne Enterprises was Solomon Grundy. Trapped via a special paralysis serum that was pumped into his body preventing the walking zombie from getting up and moving. A shimmer of white light appeared and Deathstroke arrived in the cell. He looked at the giant zombie with minor intrigue but more annoyance.

"You're gonna be annoying. Not sure why Devoe wants you." Deathstroke unsheathed his sword and cut through the tubes pumping the serum into Grundy's body and the chains holding him up. The zombie dropped to the ground like a brick as he was in a dead-like state but a quick surge of electricity through his system would bring the zombie back to life so to speak. Deathstroke just grabbed the Zombie and used the teleporter to leave, bringing a giant hulking monster back to Devoe.

Elsewhere, Icicle and his friends were having some fun with some old rivals.

Connecticut

In a small one-bedroom house in suburban Connecticut lived Wesley Dobbs, a 60-year-old retired former police officer now set with a quiet life at home. No kids and no wife, just alone. Dobb's house was nothing special but inside was where things were weird. The place was cluttered with several coffee pots strewn around along with dozens of thermoses, coffee cups, and mugs. Also of note was a world war 2 era gas mask hung onto a coatrack with a trench coat and hat.

Dobbs was asleep on a chair in front of the TV, but the movement of his eyes indicated he was having an intense dream which he was. A rather prophetic one as he got glimpses of some of his friends being killed by people, some of whom he thought were dead. He shot up awake, quickly drinking the coffee next to him and walked over to his gas mask and trench coat. He put them on along with the hat and grabbed his special sleeping gas gun when the air around him suddenly got cold. Dobbs looked in a mirror and saw a thick sheen of ice come over it.

"You dreamt about us didn't you, Dobbs?" He heard and turned around to see the Icicle step forward in his ice form. "I think it's time for the Sandman to finally sleep for good."

Dobb's mask began to freeze over, and the lenses cracked as he raised his sleeping gas gun but before he could fire a shot Icicle sent an ice shard into his chest, killing him. Dobbs stumbled back into a chair and fell over to the ground. Icicle walked over as his very presence made the blood flowing from his chest freeze solid and a second later Dobbs took his last breath.

"One down, more to go." Icicle said as someone walked up behind him. Said person was a man wearing a black and dark silver suit with silver metal bracers on his hands and forearms. To finish his ensemble, he had a pair of goggles over his eyes. This was Adam Fells AKA Geomancer, a supervillain with the ability of Geokinesis, the ability to move and control the earth and tremors. "Geomancer, bring the building down and bury him."

"Gladly." Geomancer smirked as he punched the ground causing a small, controlled tremor that shook the house and caused it to collapse in on itself. Icicle pulled out a teleporter device like Deathstroke's so he and Geomancer teleported away just as the house came down and buried Dobbs along with any evidence of what could have happened. They had killed one of their old enemies, but he was just the first.

Later that night…

Hub City, Illinois

On the empty night streets of Hub City, a red and white 1956 Buick Roadmaster was driving as fast as it could in a hurry to get somewhere. Driving said Buick was Courtney's stepfather, Pat Dugan and he was in a hurry. He grabbed the radio receiver on his dashboard and set it to a certain frequency. "Starman come in, do you read me?! Sylvester are you there over?!"

"Stripsey?!"

"Copy that, I'm on my way, over!" Pat radioed back.

"No, Pat! Stay away! They were waiting for us! It's an ambush! Don't come here—AH!"

"Starman! Sylvester!" Pat called out but got nothing, so he floored it as fast as possible to the outskirts of Hub City to a cliff-side manor. That's where the JSA went after tracking down a lead on possible ISA movements about Dragon King but from what Starman said it was an ambush, so they made need help. He drove his car through the iron gate, smashing through it as he drove down the massive driveway to the manor where he saw flashes of light and flickers of green flames coming from inside. He parked the car outside when he heard some loud sounds that he couldn't really make out but clearly a battle was going on inside. He heard a loud boom and some kind of energy blast or shockwave erupted from inside and sent a man flying out of the mansion where he hit the ground nearby. Pat rushed over and saw a man wearing a red suit with a green jacket with a yellow shield on the stomach that read Fair Play. This was Terry Sloane AKA Mr. Terrific.

"Mr. Terrific!" Pat rushed over to his side to help but the man was coughing up blood with a large bleeding wound in his side.

"Run…Stripsey." He muttered before he closed his eyes and passed away.

Despite the warning, Pat continued on and burst through the front doors of the mansion where he saw it was a battlefield. Parts of the building were destroyed, furniture was wrecked, and green flames were burning down parts of the house. Pat took cover as white beams of energy zipped past him and parts of the ceiling were coming down. Pat looked around and saw Johnny Thunder lying dead on the ground with the Thunderbolt pen gripped in his hands, his neck being broken by someone strong and next to him was an elderly woman in a red suit with a tornado logo on the chest. Also next to them was a man in his 60s wearing a green, yellow and purple suit with a domino mask over his eyes and on his chest was a drawing of an old oil lantern but colored green and on his right middle finger was a ring that resembled the lantern on his chest.

Up on the second-floor balcony Tigress was engaged in a hand-to-hand fight against a blue suit and yellow cape/hood clad hero known as Hourman. He was called that because of the hourglass shaped buckle on his belt and the hourglass he wore around his neck. Tigress backflipped off the balcony with Hourman chasing after her. He slugged her in the stomach and then the face and was going to deliver another punch when he was blasted from behind by the Wizard. The white beam of energy from his wand lifted him up into the air as Hourman cried out in pain.

The nearby hallway exploded, and a shockwave knocked Pat to the ground as he saw someone fly past him and hit the wall. Said someone was wearing a blue mask and cape with red boots, brown shorts and a yellow top. It was Al Pratt, the Atom. Despite him being able to generate radioactive energy into a punch he was beaten and slumped to the ground dead. Pat then saw a brown cloaked figure roll to the ground near him.

"Dr. Mid-Nite!" Pat shouted.

"Stripsey, get out! Run!" Mid-Nite pleaded as a large shadow hand grabbed him and dragged him away to his death.

Out of the hole the Atom flew out of came Geomancer and a giant genetically engineered albino gorilla, the Ultra-Humanite who was carrying a giant mini-gun combined with a grenade launcher.

"You've gotten sloppy, Atom." Ultra-Humanite boasted, surprisingly speaking with a sort of British accent as The Wizard fired another energy blast that sent Hourman crashing to the ground with a hole in his chest.

"Hourman!" Pat shouted as Hourman looked at him.

"Run…" He muttered before slumping to the ground.

The Wizard and Geomancer then walked over to Pat to kill him. "Welcome to the show."

The Wizard raised his wand but then a beam of yellow energy blasted him and Geomancer away. The beam of energy came from the Cosmic staff belonging to Starman who swooped in and blasted Ultra-Humanite into a wall. Tigress and Sportsmaster then arrived and engaged him two on one, but Starman managed to hold his own.

"Starman." Pat called out and the hero saw him.

"I told you to wait in the car!" Starman shouted as he blasted Tigress away and bashed Sportsmaster to the side with his staff. "Pat!"

Starman walked over when he and the rubble around him was telekinetically lifted up into the air by a green cloak supervillain known as Brainwave. "Starman." Brainwave said telepathically.

"Brainwave!" Starman fired a continuous energy beam from his Cosmic staff that battled against the psychic shield Brainwave put up. Brainwave concentrated on his shield while Starman continuously blasted against it. Soon, the struggle got to be too much, and Brainwave was blasted back. Starman turned around when a flying shard of ice pierced him in the side and sent him crashing down. Pat rushed over to Starman's side and removed the ice shard, but he was bleeding a lot. "It was a trap…they were waiting for us…"

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Pat picked up Starman and the Cosmic Staff and made a run for the car. Icicle walked down the steps of the mansion, smiling at the massacre that had just happened and followed Pat as he carried Starman out of the building.

"Pat, just get out of here!" Starman pleaded.

"Not without you." Pat put him in the passenger seat when a freezing blast froze his feet to the ground. Icicle walked out of the mansion and down the steps with Sportsmaster, Tigress, Geomancer, Ultra-Humanite, and the Wizard.

"End of the line." Icicle raised his hand and charged a freezing blast when he felt something hit him on the chest. He looked down and saw a small disc on his shirt with a blinking red center. Before he could react, the disc exploded with the force of a Semtex hand grenade that sent him flying back and crashing into Sportsmaster and they tumbled to the ground. A shield then came down and hit Tigress in the face before ricocheting into Geomancer and the Wizard knocking them back. Ultra-Humanite raised his gun when he heard the roar of a jet engine close by and looked up to see a large spinning metal sphere fly right at him and nail him like a wrecking ball, sending him crashing back into the mansion. Said sphere bounced off Ultra-Humanite and it unfurled into a large pair of flight wings connected to a suit of armor. Pat watched as Sentry backflipped through the air and landed on the ground, kicking his shield back up into his hand in the process.

Will turned around and was in disbelief to see Pat Dugan, Courtney's stepfather here of all places. He was just following the trail of the teleporter signatures Deathstroke used and found a large cluster here in Hub City. He was expecting supervillains but not his girlfriend's stepfather. Luckily his helmet hid his expression as he quickly refocused on the task at hand and used his shield to bash the ice, freeing Pat.

"Get out of here!" He told him and Pat nodded, getting into the car and driving away.

Sentry heard a shuffle from behind and quickly raised his shield, blocking an energy blast from the Wizard's wand which ended up reflecting back right at him and blasting him into the mansion. Tigress got up but before she could react Sentry took her out with a flying knee that sent her crashing through the mansion's door. Sentry flipped forward and grabbed Geomancer by the chest before throwing him inside. Tigress got back up and pulled out her crossbow, shooting a flurry of bolts at Sentry who rolled forward into the mansion and blocked with his shield. He moved into a butterfly twist and threw his shield causing it to ricochet all over the room before heading straight at Tigress. She ducked just in time, but Will wanted her to do that and took her to the ground with a double-leg takedown before rolling forward and throwing her into the air where the shield bounced back and hit her in the chest sending her to the ground. Will did a kip-up and caught his shield, quickly turning to block a baseball bat coming at him from the side. Sportsmaster attacked with a rage-filled flurry of baseball strikes but Sentry blocked them all. The last strike he blocked and parried to the ground before landing a spinning elbow to the side of his head and kicking out his legs, so he fell to the ground. Sportsmaster quickly pushed himself up on all fours, but Sentry rolled over his back, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground.

Sportsmaster tried to get up, but Sentry shield bashed him in the face and placed it against his neck to keep him pinned down. "Why are you here, Sportsmaster?! What is Devoe planning?!"

"Ugh—wouldn't you…like to know…" Sportsmaster muttered out, straining against the shield being pressed against his throat.

"This is the second time I beat, you Sportsmaster." Sentry activated his sword and stabbed it near his head. "Start talking or this second time is gonna hurt far worse than the first."

Before Will could make good on his promise his HUD alerted him to danger. He turned to his left and was hit by a stream of shadows that swarmed him like rogue wave. He rolled on the ground and looked up to see the shadows coalesce and form a man wearing a nice suit with a black top hat, a cane and pair of black sunglasses. Will recognized him from the DEO files. It was the Shade, a supervillain with control over shadows.

"You are far away from National City, Sentry. It was a mistake to come here." Shade remarked when Will heard a loud rumble and roar. The wall behind him exploded and something wrapped around him in a vice grip so tight and strong he couldn't break free. He nudged his head up and saw it was Solomon Grundy. Tigress and Sportsmaster got up and flanked Shade followed by Geomancer, Wizard and Ultra-Humanite. Icicle then walked over and formed a giant shard of ice in his hand.

"Don't worry. It'll be your last. Grundy, kill him." Icicle ordered and Grundy began squeezing.

"Looks like this is over, Sentry. Can't say I'm disappointed." Sportsmaster remarked with glee as he saw Grundy squeezing the life out of the man who put him in jail. Sentry struggled as Grundy's grip tightened. "What was your plan? Come here by yourself and take us all on?"

"Yeah…But…" Sentry managed to maneuver his left arm over to his right hand and activated the Omnitrix. "…I've…[grunts]…got some tricks…up my sleeve…"

He activated the dial and pressed it down creating a bright flash of green light that temporarily blinded the villains. They then heard a loud grunt and their vision returned in time to see Solomon Grundy getting pummeled by a large red-skinned four-armed monster. Four Arms punched Grundy in the stomach several times before pulling him down for a vicious headbutt and then taking him for a quick spin before sending him flying towards the villains. Geomancer, Tigress, and Sportsmaster were unfortunately the landing pad for Grundy's fall and before the Wizard could fire a magic blast Four Arms did a thunderclap with the shockwave sending him flying back. Ultra-Humanite raised his gun and fired but Four Arms charged through it, the bullets and grenades bouncing off his dense skin and then sent him flying back with a powerful punch.

Shade and Icicle attacked, sending shadow blasts and freezing beams respectively at Four Arms who just touched the dial and a bright flash of green light the four-armed monster was replaced with one that was made of lava rock and fire. Heatblast unleashed two continuous streams of fire from his hands battling against the shadows and ice and beating them back. Shade and Icicle struggled and put more effort into their attacks so Heatblast increased the pressure and heat, igniting the ground underneath his feet and surrounding area so much so that it was getting uncomfortable. Shade and Icicle were two of the strongest members of the ISA but against this fire monster they were having trouble to the point where they decided that regrouping was the better idea.

"Ultra-Humanite! Get us out of here!" Icicle shouted and the giant gorilla pulled out a portable teleporter, larger compared to the version Deathstroke had.

"NO!" Heatblast spun to the side to avoid Shade's and Icicle's attacks and threw a fireball to prevent them from escaping but was too late as Humanite pressed the button. White light shimmered around each member of the ISA, and they were gone in the blink of an eye with his fireball burning a hole through a wall. "Shit!"

Heatblast touched the Omnitrix dial and reverted back to human form. That's when he heard a groan from behind, so he turned and saw a man wearing a blue suit with a yellow hood and cape with a hour glass necklace around his neck. He had a hole in his chest with blood dripping down his mouth but miraculously he was still consciousness. "Oh god…" Will rushed over and tried to help him but the guy had a hole in his chest. It was a miracle he wasn't dead yet. "Hang on. Help is on the way."

"Don't…too late…" the man managed to find the strength to reach up and remove the hourglass from his neck. "The others…ISA…you need…to…[cough] to…stop them…"

"I will."

"JSA…Find…the…others…" He coughed up blood before putting the hourglass in Will's hand. "…Tell Rick…I'm sorry."

The man wheezed in pain and drew his last breath before his hand slumped to the ground and his head fell back. Will checked for a pulse but there wasn't one, so he reached down and closed his eyes.

"Will, you there? Will come in." Henshaw radioed to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here." Will radioed back as he looked down at the man who had just died and then around, fully taking in his surroundings. What he thought was just a wrecked mansion was in fact a battlefield with many dead people around, similar in age to the man that just died in front of him. Clearly there was something else going on here and he just stumbled onto it. "Director Henshaw…whatever we thought this was about…I think it just got a lot more complicated."

Back with Pat and Starman, they had driven miles from the mansion using the Star Rocket Racer, but Starman's condition got worse. "Hang on, Starman! We got to get you to a hospital."

"No…it's over." Starman coughed up blood and passed out, so Pat pulled over to the side of the road and pulled him out of the car. "Dragon King…he knew we were coming. It was a trap…Icicle…he's up to something…he's got more people working with him…[Groans]"

Pat put pressure on the wound, but Starman had lost too much blood and there was too much internal organ damage. Even with a hospital he wouldn't make it. "Sylvester, just hang on…"

"It's over…Pat." Starman coughed up more blood and held up the Cosmic Staff. "Find the others…Jay…Ted…Kent…They're still out there…they haven't been found yet. You need to find them…"

"I will. I promise." Pat swore as Starman handed him the Cosmic Staff.

"Dragon King…must be stopped. Continue…the legacy…" Starman coughed up more blood before looking at Pat and smiling. "You…you were the best sidekick…a hero could ask for…"

Starman gave him one last smile before his hand let go of the staff, his eyes closed, and his head slumped back. Starman passed on and the Cosmic Staff stopped glowing like it signified its user was gone and wouldn't activate until a new user was found. Pat closed his eyes in solemn remembrance and held his dear friend close when he heard the sound of jet engines. He looked up and saw Sentry land in front of him along with what looked like a military VTOL jet. Pat was apprehensive about what was going on, so he grabbed ahold of the Cosmic Staff to protect it.

"We're not here to hurt you, Mr. Dugan. We want to help. I want to help." Sentry then held up Hourman's hourglass. "I believe whatever you and your friends were involved in is much greater then you understand and we're here to help. I'm here to help. You can trust me. You have my word."

"Why should I believe you?" Pat asked, glancing over at his car and figuring out the best way out of the situation should things go wrong.

Sentry took a moment to think it over before looking at the cockpit of the jet and gave it a nod. The Jet began to power down and the lights turned off as Sentry's helmet retracted down revealing Will. "Because you know me, Mr. Dugan. At least…half of me." Will said to him.

"Will?" Pat learned to expect a lot of unexpected things in his line of work but seeing his stepdaughters boyfriend as National City's vigilante was not one of them. He heard some footsteps and soon saw Will's father Max join him at his side, wearing similar military garb to that of an air force pilot. "Max?"

"Hey, Pat." Max greeted him.

"I know, Mr. Dugan. We have a lot to talk about…" Will walked over and handed him the hourglass. "…but I'm here to help. And I think we could be dealing with the same thing."

Line Break xxxxx

Next morning…

Hub City, Illinois

The DEO had cordoned off a mile-wide perimeter around the mansion to keep any press or intruders away from the crime scene. It was called a crime scene as the DEO had to assume the role of FBI Agents to ensure no one got suspicious about what was going on. They couldn't risk word reaching anyone of what really happened, especially the ISA. Will was still there working with the DEO but most of the work was tending to the bodies of the deceased. A total of eight bodies, one woman and seven men all of whom were killed in the ensuing fight against an odd collection of supervillains and wanted criminals. The DEO had no idea what the hell was going on and neither did Will. When he arrived, he was expecting to find Deathstroke but instead was met by those supervillains before they escaped via a larger teleporter device modeled after the one Deathstroke used. Something bigger was at play and they had no idea until Pat Dugan managed to clear up some details.

Will knelt down and looked at the eight bodies of the JSA who were put into coroner bags. The DEO medics declared them all dead-on sight, so their bodies were bagged to be returned to their families and loved ones and if they didn't have loved ones, they'd be taken to a mortuary to be given funeral rites and buried. Some had family members to be returned to though the question of a cover story was still being worked out. The rest of the DEO were going over the mansion with a fine-toothed comb to look for any evidence other than the remnants of the fight that had been had but so far nothing.

"Mr. Detmer?" Director Henshaw walked in after dealing with some agents outside. "Anything?"

"No. Jarvis has been working the DEO satellites non-stop and even patched into Wayne Tech and Lexcorp Satellites but nothing. I'm not picking up any traces of where Icicle and the others teleported off to." Will pressed a button on his forearm and projected a holographic map of the world. "Scans are coming up empty to track them down. Jarvis thinks wherever they teleported off to has shielding that is preventing us from tracking locating their base. Good news is if they use the teleporters again, we can track where they go."

"That's better than nothing because what we have right now is just more questions than answers." Henshaw stated. "What does the Thinker get for targeting these people?"

"I don't know. It's not like him and I checked his record and history and he's got no interaction with them. This is something else and while we can't find them, we at least have a better understanding of what's going on thanks to the only eye-witness here." Will told him.

"The civilian? Patrick Dugan was able to give us some intel?" Henshaw questioned and Will nodded.

"Enough to give us a better idea of what actually happened. The people here weren't just costumed crime fighters. Apparently, these were eight of the semi-active members of the Justice Society of America." Will told him.

"That's not a name I expected to hear about anymore." Henshaw remarked.

"I know, right. I mean, I only know about them because I'm a superhero obsessed fanboy before I joined the DEO, but I doubt anyone else does anymore. I found plenty of old articles and stuff written about them thirty years ago and even some mentions back during the 50s. Way before Batman, Superman, or Green Lantern were active. Turns out that while most retired, the others just sort of laid low for when they were needed again. Guess they didn't get the picture that there's a new generation of heroes around." Will pointed out.

"I'm more surprised some of them were willing to keep fighting. Some of them must have been in their 70s." Henshaw said.

"78 for one of the oldest ones. Alan Scott." Will showed him some info on the man. "Former head of a broadcast company that he sold years ago but otherwise known as Green Lantern but different compared to the one now in Coast City. On top of that we have Dr. Charles McNider AKA Dr. Mid-Nite, Johnny Thunder, Mr. Terrific AKA Terry Sloane, Al Pratt AKA The Atom, Abigail Hunkel AKA Red Tornado, Rex Tyler AKA Hourman and Sylvester Pemberton AKA Starman. I learned from Pat that the reason they came here was because they got a lead on tracking down someone from their old JSA days. Dr. Shiro Ito. They call him Dragon King."

Henshaw looked at the image and started to get nervous. "Now his name I'm aware of. Japanese scientist who committed horrendous experiments on POWs during World War 2 and was said to be executed in 1947 but he survived. Whatever experiments he was doing he had done them to himself, changing his body and slowing his ageing. Officially he's been labeled as deceased, but I never believed that." Henshaw stated.

"Neither did they as they were geared up to stop him, but they ran into a trap." Will then showed him the images of the nine supervillains he faced. "Guess those earlier teleporter signals at the prisons make sense. Deathstroke broke Sporstmaster, Tigress, and Solomon Grundy out of jail and they joined up with some oldies. Brainwave, Icicle, Shade, Geomancer, Ultra-Humanite, and the Wizard. Working with Dragon King and the Thinker if our hunch is right. A new Injustice Society as Pat said."

"But why? There has to be something more to this that we're not seeing unless this was just a trap to deal with eight heroes the Injustice society has dealt with in the past." Henshaw pointed out.

"Make that nine." They heard and saw Max walk over to them, having returned from dropping off Pat back in National City. "Just got word from the field team in Connecticut. No prison breaks or missing inmates but a Wesley Dobbs was killed after his house collapsed on him. I checked with Pat and Dobbs was a member of the JSA known as the Sandman."

"How did he die?" Henshaw questioned.

"Police are still working that out as the house seemed to have collapsed on him. They're calling it an accident but something weakened its structural integrity enough that it collapsed without any signs of clear decay or structural damage. And there was remnants of ice at the scene." Max answered.

"Icicle and Geomancer." Will suggested and since he knew most about them his guess was likely right. "But why go after him first? The teleporter signature we tracked in Connecticut happened earlier in the night."

"According to Pat, Sandman's ability was prophetic dreams that allowed him to see visions of the future. Could be he was targeted so he couldn't warn the others." Max suggested.

"That makes some sense. Did Mr. Dugan give you names on the other members of the JSA not active?" Henshaw asked and Max nodded, taking out a notepad.

"Yeah. Not many left. There are four remaining members of the JSA and three are still alive. Dr. Fate, The Flash, and Wildcat. Pat wasn't exactly open to telling me who they were but considering the situation he agreed that we needed to get them to safety. Dr. Fate is one Kent Nelson living in upstate New York. The Flash is Jay Garrick living with his wife Joan in Keystone City and Wildcat is Theodore Grant residing in Gotham City." Max listed off and the last one caught Will by surprise.

"Wait, you don't mean Ted Wildcat Grant? The world-famous Heavyweight champion, also known as the Gotham City Southpaw? The boxer famously charged with fixing fights where they stripped him of his title until he won it back in a match against Hernandez Ironhand Castillo?" Will asked in disbelief. "You used to show me his old fights all the time?"

"I know. I had a hard time believing it too when Pat told me. But he's the real deal and runs a gym in Gotham City." Pat told him.

"What about the fourth member?" Henshaw wondered.

"Black Siren also known as Dinah Drake. Her and Wildcat were a known duo, but she passed away ten years ago in a car accident." Max explained.

"All right. So, we've got three more JSA members still alive. If the ISA set a trap for most of them then they'd want to clean up loose ends and deal with the rest, retired or not. They're in danger." Will told them.

"I agree but I can't just send in DEO squads to bring them in on the hunch we're right. We'd cause too much panic and lose our anonymity. We're a secret organization and while I understand you two exposing your identities to Mr. Dugan to get us information on what was going on, this is a different matter." Henshaw told them.

"He's right. We're already risking too much, and we still have no idea what's going on." Max pointed out. "Still, we've got to do something. Warn them, if at least anything."

"Who's to say they believe us? I mean, most people nowadays haven't heard of the JSA, and these guys are former heroes so they're not gonna trust us just because we need them too. I wouldn't." Will added when he got an idea. "But maybe they'll believe one of their own?"

"No, I don't want to bring Mr. Dugan anymore into this. The DEO's secrecy has been risked enough as it is with your high school friends." Henshaw stated.

"So, we don't tell him. Let me handle this." Will suggested. "Mr. Dugan already knows that my Dad and I work for the government, but we never said which agency and we keep it that way. I've been helping in National City, and I did save his life from the ISA, so he knows I'm not a villain. And if he comes along then he can get them to trust me. They're old heroes so I think they can be trusted with my identity and they're more likely to believe me something is going on with Pat there."

Henshaw didn't like it, but he wasn't left with many options. If the three remaining members were possible targets, then they couldn't leave them out to die. "All right, but where exactly can we keep them safe?"

"Already got an idea. The old DEO outpost in National City, the non-descript four-floor building with the old clocktower. The DEO never uses it anymore, but they own the lease, the place is isolated, and it can keep them safe and unaware of the DEO while we figure this out." Will said when he noticed the odd looks, he was getting. He came up with that idea very quickly. "I've been thinking of using that place as a garage for my car. I can't exactly use a regular garage to do maintenance on it and Director Henshaw doesn't want me to bring it to the desert base anymore."

"The DEO isn't a vehicle garage." Henshaw reminded him and Will shrugged. "But it's a solid plan. Are you sure you can trust Mr. Dugan, Will? Take all your personal feelings out of it, are you sure about this?"

"It's not like we have much of a choice, sir. If we want to figure out what Devoe is involved with and how it fits with the ISA and going after the JSA, then we need to go on some blind faith here." Will stated. "If all else fails, I'll use my Martian form and wipe their memories, but we've got to try."

"All right. Work quickly." Henshaw told him before going to talk to the rest of his men to get an update on the situation.

"Be careful, Will. The ISA could be thinking the same thing you are." Max warned him.

"Guess I'm on a clock." Will remarked as he walked out of the mansion and over to a nearby DEO VTOL Jet. He wasn't sure what got his heart racing more? The nervousness of dealing with a group of supervillains and whatever Devoe had planned or having to talk to his girlfriend's stepfather about his double life.

Honestly it was a coin toss.

National City, California

Pat Dugan was working at Dugan's Auto-repair yard like it was any other day of the week because he had to act like it. An unfortunate consequence of his double-life was that he had to keep up appearances as no one could know what had just happened. How he witnessed the JSA get extinguished by the new ISA in a trap and wiped them out and how he lost his best friend, Sylvester. He would love nothing more than to grieve but he couldn't. Barbara, Courtney, and Mike had no idea what was going on. They just thought he went to visit some old friends and returned last night. If he broke down crying or was in a funk, he would have to explain it and he couldn't very well do that. One of the unfortunate parts about leading a double-life and now it got even more complicated with the fact that Sentry, the National City vigilante who saved him last night was his stepdaughter's boyfriend. That was something that they needed to talk about.

"Hey, Pat!" Hearing his name had Pat pick his head up from the engine he was working on. "You got a visitor."

Pat looked over and saw Will in his regular clothes standing over in the repair yard with his Chevrolet Camaro parked nearby. "Yeah, I got it. Finish the engine for me, would you?" Pat asked and the mechanic nodded as he grabbed a rag to wipe his hands and walked over to Will. "Will, shouldn't you be in school?"

"I'm still on suspension for a week. Sorry to bother you at work, Mr. Dugan but time is kind of a factor here and it's the only place we can talk without anyone eavesdropping." Will said to him.

"I'm guessing you came here to discuss your unique double-life that you lead. Not exactly sure how I feel about that." Pat stated.

"Well, something tells me that you've kept your double-life a secret for a reason." Will countered and Pat had to concede that. "Look, we can talk about that on the way but right now I need your help and need you to come with me."

"Why?"

"We looked into the names of the other members of the JSA you said weren't there. Don't worry, we handled the bodies of the deceased members and they're being sent back to their families or loved ones, but Wesley Dobbs was killed before the JSA were ambushed at the mansion." Will said and Pat was saddened to hear that.

"They got the Sandman. Was he attacked first?" Pat wondered and Will nodded. "Makes sense. Wesley would have tried to warn the others."

"The ISA set a trap for the JSA at the mansion to take them out, but they didn't get all of them. They're likely going to target the rest next, so we need to get them someplace safe. I have someplace they can stay in National City, but it'll go a lot faster if they can talk to someone they trust." Will told him. "We need to hurry because the ISA could be after them as we speak."

"Right, ok but how are we gonna get there? I don't exactly know where they all are, and it'll take hours with an airplane flight." Pat pointed out.

"Depends on the airplane. We vigilantes have our special toys, and the bright side is no passport. Come on. We managed to track Jay Garrick to Keystone city." Will said as they got in his car.

"All right." Pat got into the passenger seat while Will got in the driver's side and started the car. "Still, it's not exactly a few minutes away giving us time to talk about the elephant in the room."

"This is gonna be a long day." Will muttered as he hit the accelerator and peeled out of the repair yard to the empty DEO outpost in the city. A DEO VTOL was parked on the roof in stealth mode. Will may be a great flyer in his armor, but he didn't have a pilot's license, granted he was thinking of getting one in the future. Guess he inherited his love for flying from his dad who was in the Air Force. Thankfully, Jarvis could fly the jet so Will didn't have to worry about it. He could instead be interrogated by his girlfriend's stepfather for the duration of the car ride and flight.

Oh joy.

Line Break xxxxx

Keystone City

Residing in a small personal lab nicknamed Mercury Labs was scientist Jay Garrick and his wife Joan. The husband-and-wife duo were scientific heavyweights doing notable work in the field of bio-mechanics. Helped that they had experience dealing with biology in a way that no one else did. The reason for that was because Jay Garrick wasn't just a scientist who started his own laboratory but rather the Golden Age superhero known as the Flash, the Crimson Comet of Keystone City. The Flash was one of the most powerful members of the JSA, but he retired about the same time as the other members went into semi-retirement. The 65-year-old former hero was now just a scientist working with his wife Joan, a notable doctor in the field of bio-organic studies and bio-mechanics. While Jay may have been retired from being a hero, he and his wife were still trying to help the world but now in other ways. (3)

The duo were in their lab working on a project and since they were waiting on results, Jay tried to contact Rex or Sylvester after getting a message from them yesterday. He and Joan were out at a conference and didn't return until this morning, so Jay tried to call them back but got nothing.

"Still nothing?" Joan asked and Jay shook his head no.

"I'm getting worried. Seeing Wesley on the news and now no one is answering…something's wrong. I can feel it." Jay told her. "Maybe I should have answered Sylvester's call earlier and joined them."

"Jay…" Joan walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. Jay reached up and grabbed her hand. "…you can't blame yourself for that. We don't know what's going on. It could be nothing."

"In my experience, when I've got a bad feeling like this it's usually never nothing." Jay quipped when their TV showed breaking news of an attack in downtown Keystone city.

"This just in, we are bringing you live footage of a rampage occurring in downtown Keystone city. Now earlier eyewitness reports were confused at best but now we have first-hand confirmation that the Rival has returned to Keystone City!" The news reporter said as the cameraman tried to capture footage of a fast-moving red lightning blur causing chaos and destruction in downtown Keystone city. Jay watched intently as he instantly recognized the red lightning blur but if he needed any confirmation as to who it was, said blur stopped in the middle of the street for all to see. He was wearing a black suit with red striations and marks like lava with a matching mask and cowl and what looked like a disfigured lightning bolt on his chest. It was the Flash's archnemesis, the Rival. (4)

"COME OUT FLASH!" The Rival shouted before throwing a red lightning bolt at a car and blowing it up.

Joan saw the determined look on Jay's face as he got up and walked over to a bookcase. He pulled out a book which was actually a hidden switch and the bookcase moved to the side to reveal his Flash Suit. Red boots, blue pants, a red-colored long-sleeve top made of a special kind of fabric that can withstand accelerated speeds and friction, and a silver kettle helmet with gold wings. The one thing that stood out about the suit other than no mask was the gold lightning bolt on the chest of the red top. "Joan…I have to go." Jay told her.

"Be careful, Jay. However, Clariss came back…you know how dangerous he is and you're…a bit rusty." Joan wore her worry on her sleeves, and it was palpable. "Just…just come back to me."

"I promise." Jay gave her a quick kiss before walking over to his suit. His eyes sparked with yellow lighting as he quickly suited up and raced out of his lab and into the city. The old veteran, spending the past 15 years out of the suit was back in action and while he was a bit rusty, he still had it. Jay smiled as he felt the familiar rush of the Speed Force flow through his body for the first time in years.

The Flash sped through the city until he arrived in the downtown area where the Rival was waiting for him. The Flash was vibrating his face to obscure it from view so no one, including Clariss, could see him. "It's about time you showed up, Flash. I was starting to get worried you had died. You don't get to die unless it's by my hand." The Rival told him acting like this was just a game.

"How are you here, Clariss? I took your speed from you. It's supposed to be impossible for you to get it back." Flash told him, vibrating his voice to disguise it.

"You had your friends and I have mine. Helped me get back what's mine and even gave me a little boost! RAHHH!" The Rival roared like a lion as his red lightning flickered with more intensity then the Flash had ever seen before. "It's time for you and the people of this city to learn that I HAVE NO RIVAL!"

The Rival took off at a blindly fast speed and surprised the Flash, landing a shoulder tackle that sent him tumbling across the ground until the hero got to his feet and took off running with his villain giving chase. The Flash was running at fast speeds, but the Rival was just as fast but slowly edging on being faster. Whatever he did and whoever helped him to get his speed back also gave him a boost. While he may be faster, the Flash knew Keystone city better and used that knowledge to keep the Rival at bay and even get the upper hand on him, so they were pretty much even. The two speedsters battled all across the city at super speed, causing shockwaves as their speeds eclipsed the speed of sound and kept getting faster.

The red lightning of the Rival got more erratic and unbeknownst to the Flash, he was leading him into a trap where others were waiting for him only he wouldn't get the chance. A fast-moving blur came from the side and snatched the Rival, absconding with him and sending him flying away into the distance. The Flash was confused when he was absconded, same as the Rival and suddenly arrived on the rooftop of a building.

"Sorry about that." The Flash turned around and saw a man in a cape and a green and silver suit with an hourglass symbol on his chest hover to the ground. "But I needed to get you to safety so we can get out of here and find the others."

"We?" The Flash was confused but still on alert.

"Sorry about this Flash…" He heard and turned around to see Stripsey standing on the roof. "…but he's right. It's important."

"Stripsey, what's going on?" Jay asked him.

"The ISA. Hourman was right. He led the others in a mission to get Dragon King, but it was an ambush. They didn't make it." Pat told him and Jay had to take a moment.

"No…I should have been there." Jay said when he saw a flash of green light and Sentry appeared on the roof.

"Don't blame yourself for that. If you were there, then you would be dead too." Pat told him.

"He's right. Pat barely managed to make it out before I got there to help him. The ISA took out the Justice Society at the ambush spot but also took out Wesley Dobbs." Sentry informed him.

"We came here in case they came after you and we're right so that means they could be going after Ted and Kent as well. Come with us and we can get you to safety where the ISA can't find you. We can regroup and figure out our next move then." Pat told him.

"What about Joan? I can't leave her here." Jay stated.

"Then she can come too but we need to leave now and get the others before the ISA do." Sentry told them and Jay nodded. After picking up Joan at Mercury Labs, they got onto the DEO VTOL and headed to Gotham City to pick up Ted Grant and then Upstate New York to pick up Kent Nelson. Before they left, a note was left behind that the Rival eventually found. It read—First strike, you missed the Flash.

Several hours later…

Gotham City

Residing in Gotham City was Wildcat's gym, the boxing gym owned by Ted Grant, former Heavyweight champion. The place was a regular boxing gym where anyone could learn to box and protect themselves. The place was locked up with the closed sign put up so it was empty but that didn't deter three people from sneaking in. It was Sportsmaster, Tigress, and the Wizard but when they entered the gym, they saw no one around. They looked around but their target wasn't here which was odd since their information said he would be at this location. The only thing of note was a small card left in the middle of one of the boxing rings. Sportsmaster walked over and picked it up. It read—Second Strike. Wildcat lives on. One more try.

Sportsmaster growled in annoyance as he crumpled up the note and used the teleporter to get them out of there. He hoped the others had more success with Kent.

Upstate New York

Kent Nelson, a grey-haired man in his late 60s who carried himself with an aura of a gentlemen and scholar sat on a park bench, feeding the birds as a sort of leisure activity. There was nothing noticeable about the man if anyone gave him a second glance but if they knew who he really was then they'd be more cautious. Kent Nelson was the host and chosen wielder of the Helmet of Nabu, an ancient relic of magic and when he put it on, he became Doctor Fate, Earth's Mightiest Sorcerer and a Lord of Order, charged with the protection of the universe and maintaining balance. (5)

A blast of shadows, beams of ice, and seismic shockwaves tore through the park towards the bench Kent was sitting at and caused a small explosion but when the dust and debris settled, Kent stood there like nothing was wrong. Shade, Geomancer, and Icicle walked forward and saw Kent smiling at them.

"Nice try fellas but too little too late." Kent snapped his fingers and his figure faded away, revealing he was an illusion and in his place was a note Icicle picked it up and read the words. It read—Fate is gone. Three Strikes and you're out. Our turn.

Icicle froze the note and shattered it in his palm in anger. The three remaining members of the JSA clearly had help and if he had to guess it was Sentry. That vigilante was becoming a nuisance.

Mystery location

The ISA gathered around a large circular conference table to discuss their progress and all three teams reported the same bad news. Their targets got away. Most of the JSA was dead but the Flash, Wildcat, and Dr. Fate were still out there. But more importantly they had help in getting away.

"If our plan has any chance of succeeding then it would require that the three remaining JSA members be eliminated. They may be old but can still pose a threat to our plan if they have a chance to mobilize with the heroes of this current generation." Ultra-Humanite postulated and he was right. So far, they've managed to fly under the radar of the current heroes like Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern but Sentry was clearly onto them. If he gathered the other heroes, then their plans could be discovered before they had a chance to neutralize them.

"Helps if Sentry was buried six fix under the ground. What's the matter, Wilson? Getting slow in your old age?" Sportsmaster remarked as Deathstroke just leaned against the far wall.

"Last I checked you and your wife barely held your own against him twice. And I wasn't paid to kill him." Deathstroke stated.

"Well, that could be rearranged. Sentry is becoming a nuisance. His work so far has hindered our progress. If he gathers other heroes, then our plans could very well be discovered." The Shade said and everyone agreed.

"Would have gone quicker if the Thinker wasn't so content on playing these games with him." The Rival sneered in annoyance and pain. His chest still hurt from getting hit by whatever saved the Flash and he was pissed that he lost his chance at vengeance. "You're a super genius, Devoe who is supposed to see five steps ahead of him at all times. Are you finally stuck or are you gonna say this is all part of your master plan?"

"Rest assured, Mr. Clariss, what I promised all of you will come to fruition. This is not a battle, but a war and the heroes have played their hand now in retaliation to our move." Devoe said from his chair, but he wasn't looking at the others. Instead, he was peering down at a chessboard. Red pieces against green pieces with the green symbolizing Sentry. Devoe had most some pieces around like everything was a part of some large chess game the two were playing and to him it was. The ISA, their plan, while beneficial to him, was secondary as this was a battle of great minds with an army of pawns for the two masters. Sentry had his little group of heroes and Devoe had his. "Rook takes pawn. Your move, Sentry."

National City

It was night time in Central City and Will was exhausted. An entire day of running around and saving the three remaining members of the JSA before the ISA could find them. He was glad things worked out as they got to them before the ISA could. Though with Devoe apart of the group he had to wonder if it was made easier by his own mad design. So, Will took some extra precautions and ensured that the old outpost they were using was secure. Using Grey Matter, he ensured that no one could find them or track them down.

This was going to be the temporary home for Jay Garrick and his wife, Joan, Kent Nelson, and Ted Grant. The former heavyweight champion of the world was a man in his 60s but didn't look a day over 35. Will was partial to think good DNA and plenty of exercise, but Kent told him that Ted was gifted with a buff curtesy of a nine lives spell during a fight against an old magical foe the two dealt with. The spell helped keep his body in peak physical condition but also lessened the effect aging had on him so he may be in his 60s, but the man was still in his prime. He was an expert fighter, a champion boxer at his peak physical condition making him stronger and superbly agile. Will had a bit of a freakout when he saw him and even got his autograph for his dad. (6)

Will finished setting up the power and defensive system after using XLR8 to get them food and supplies. "Sorry it's not much but this place will keep you safe until we can track down the ISA." Will told them.

"Don't worry about it, Kid. I've stayed in places a lot worse than this." Ted assured him.

"We really do appreciate you doing this for us, Will." Joan told him.

"Really, we do. We'd be in a worse trouble if it wasn't for you coming for us." Jay added.

"Well, thank Mr. Dugan for coming along. He's the one who got you to trust me." Will said and Pat smiled.

"Don't worry. Like he said it's only temporary. And the ISA can't find you guys here so we can begin planning our next move." Pat told them.

"And what is our next move? Any sign of the ISA or this Thinker?" Kent Nelson questioned.

"No. They're in the wind. Once they found out they couldn't get you guys, they went underground. I haven't been able to track them down since." Will answered.

"What I don't get, is why now? Why come after us now after all these years?" Ted wondered.

"Clearly the ISA is up to something. Something big if they've got Devoe working for them. Going after you wasn't just for vengeance. Pat told me that Hourman was on the trail of Dragon King so that must have something to do with it." Will suggested.

"The question is how do we stop them? Not to downplay how good you've done so far, kid but it's only five of us." Jay stated and he included Pat in that as well.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm a people person. I've got some friends who can help us. We're not the JSA but we might be able to pick up where they left off." Will said, referring to Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkwoman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman. He was cut from his thought when he felt his cellphone buzzing so he checked and saw it was Courtney. "But we can worry about that tomorrow. Let's get some rest tonight. It's been a long day."

"Isn't that the truth." Ted quipped as he and the others went to the bed rooms while Pat exited the building to head home.

"Courtney, hey. Sorry I haven't been available today. It's been kind of crazy." Will told her.

"Will, I need to see you right now. Come to the park on Adam's street."

"Courtney, are you ok? You sound kind of stressed." He said to her.

"I'm fine. Will come now." She told him before hanging up.

"Great. And here I was thinking I was going to be able to get some sleep tonight." Will muttered as he got into his car and drove to the park. It was dark so there was barely anyone on the road. He parked his car on the side of the road by the park and walked around. "Courtney! I'm here! Where are you?!"

"Up here!" He heard and looked up to see Courtney swinging through the air on something. He wasn't sure what it was as all he saw was a glowing yellow light but Courtney flew to the ground so he could get a better view and it was some kind of staff. She threw it forward and it flipped around before stopping in the air by itself. She ran forward and jumped onto the staff, hooking her legs around it like a pole and it lifted her high into the air. "Woohoo!"

The staff then lowered her to the ground, and she spun the staff with a little flourish. "Cool, right?" She said in disbelief. Will wasn't sure what the staff was until it finally clicked in his head. It was the same staff that Starman used and Pat took when he tried to get him to safety. Pat held onto it to keep it safe and now Courtney had it and it was apparently working for her. "Will, isn't this cool?"

While it was indeed cool, all Will could think of how this just added onto the buffet of complications that was his past two days. Dealing with Devoe returning, the ISA, the JSA, Courtney's stepdad being a sidekick to a member, saving and protecting the last three surviving members and now this. His girlfriend was chosen by the weapon of one of the members. Will summed up what he was feeling all in one phrase.

"Son of a bitch."

End of chapter 10

1). Deathstroke from Batman Arkham Origins.

2). Icicle from Stargirl season 1.

3). Jay and Joan Garrick played by John Wesley Shipp and Michelle Harrison

4). The Rival from the Flash Season 3.

5). Kent Nelson from the Black Adam movie. Say what you will about it, but he was pretty cool if under powered. I won't be making the same mistake. Face Claim is Pierce Brosnan.

6). Ted Grant AKA Wild Cat. Face Claim is Dave Bautista. I think he'd be a good Ted Grant. A powerful fighter but also someone who could be a good mentor and teacher to others.

I hope you guys liked the chapter. We've got a lot set up for the Stargirl/JSA/ISA arc of the story. Things are picking up with the villains working on something that the heroes have no idea about. The JSA are gone with only three surviving members left but they're not alone and won't have to fight the ISA by themselves. Like Will said he's got some friends who can help and it won't be much longer before new legacies pick up the mantle to fight. Things are gonna get intense.

Next chapter, Will's worlds collide as Courtney gets involved with the ISA and the JSA after accidently discovering of the Cosmic Staff. It's time for her origin story. And right after, Will doesn't get a reprieve as Viglax has arrived on earth with an army in search of the Omnitrix and its wielder. And he won't rest until he finds it. It'll be Will's toughest fight to date against an archnemesis who will be intrinsically linked to him forever. To beat back an alien invasion, its time to call in some favors and bring a team together. Move over Justice Society. Time for the Justice League. Until next time. Enjoy!

For Will's confrontation with Deathstroke, it starts off with the Batman Begins docks fight scene, then moves into the fight scene from the Batman Arkham Origins trailer between Batman and Deathstroke but without Deadshot and moves into the highway fight scene between Captain America and the Winter Soldier from Captain America and the Winter Soldier.

Stargirl is a partial inspiration for the story and I'm using elements obviously with the cast of characters but the plots from the show will be adjusted for this earth. Some things are obvious like they're not in Blue Valley and there are more friends with Will and Courtney, but some will stay the same. One change is with the JSA as unlike in Stargirl they weren't all killed ten years before the story starts but rather, they just sort of went silent with some of the older members retiring like Jay Garrick and Kent Nelson. Another change is with the ISA as I expanded their team roster, added in the Ultra-Humanite earlier and he's taking more inspiration from the version used in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Another change is Shade, being more a villain then an anti-hero. And another big change is my including of Jay Garrick as the Flash. That is one big change as I'm making it so that the Jay Garrick our Earth-1 heroes meet is going to be not from Earth-3 but Earth-38 which will intrinsically link the two earths more then in the Arrowverse. When the Season 2 canon starts, it'll be adjusted accordingly but just so you all know now, Jay Garrick will be from Earth-38, not Earth-3. And with Jay Garrick, Kent Nelson, and Ted Grant, the three along with Pat are the old guard who will still fight but will also mentor and train the legacies of the new generation. Wildcat and Dr. Fate, like in the Justice League Cartoon and Black Adam for the latter, act as the older members of the team and instruct the younger ones.

Along with the ISA there will be some changes and additions to the new JSA which will soon merge into the league. We've got some other legacy characters who will arrive to help Will and the others against the ISA. Some things have changed like the roster of the Old JSA members. It doesn't include Hawkman and Hawkgirl as on this earth they aren't the reincarnated metahumans, but the Thanagarian aliens like in the Justice League cartoon. The old JSA members are Starman, Hourman, Dr. Mid-nite, The Atom, Johnny Thunder, Mr. Terrific, Sandman, Green Lantern, Red Tornado, Wildcat, Dr. Fate, Black Siren, and the Flash.

And FYI for the bit about Wildcat having the Nine Lives blessing, it's from the comics. It's how he's stayed fit and healthy enough to work with the Justice League despite his age and has even brought him back to life a few times.

Updates for May: What if Superman was updated today.

Updates for June: For June we'll have a chapter for Spectacular Spider-man, The Perfect One and the Crimson Speedster.

Again, thanks to War Sage, Masamune X23, JhotoLoraxius, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime and all the other people who PM me with ideas for my stories. Thank you, guys. They help a lot. Also, make sure to check my Deviantart every now and then for new pics I'll put up. I've made cover photos for just about all my stories but I'll have more pics made so check them out.

William Benjamin Detmer

Moniker: Sentry

Appearance: Robbie Amell for Teenage Will.

Birthday, September 8th, 1990. Age 18 Highschool Senior

Personality: Kind, caring, quick-witted and smart. Able to adapt to situations very easily. Prone to quips to distract or enrage his enemies. A pragmatist and realist. Cares deeply about his friends and family. When triggered, can be aggressive and unhinged to a point. Ready to face reality and do the hard thing to protect the innocent. A superhero/supervillain fanboy.

Skills: Training in various human hand-to-hand martial arts including boxing, MMA, Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Escrima, Muay Thai and Marine Corp CQC. Training in Amazonian martial arts and sword fighting. Understanding in alien culture, technology, and biology. Quick thinking.

Casual outfit: Sneakers or boots, blue or black jeans, blue T-shirt with his father's dark blue air force jacket with Ten insignia. Hour-glass belt buckle holding Proto-Tech Armor.

Jarvis: Natural Language User Interface system and program designed by Grey Matter to assist Will and the DEO in all matters. Inspired and designed after the Jarvis program from Marvel.

Proto-box: Grey Matter and Upgrade designed tablet/phone capable of analyzing and scanning all environment with sub-sonic frequencies. And decrypting or hacking any computer system on the planet with holographic display.

Proto-Tech Armor and helmet: Colored black, blue, silver, and green. Form fitting and comprised of a highly adaptive nanites made up of Promethium and Nth Metal. Nth metal properties amplify Promethium metal's durability to provide a near invulnerable metal while providing a semi-symbiotic bond to the wearer including increasing healing regeneration, providing magic negation, and survivability in harsh conditions. The armor is self-repairing and capable of protecting the user from major explosive and physical damage. Controlled via mental command and housed in belt buckle, the armor responds to his thoughts/commands and able to shift and adjust its structure to the wearer's need including offensive and defensive measures. Built-in safety features designed to protect wearer from any physical or mental harm including attempted removal. DNA lock provides security against theft. Synaptic muscle control enhances user's natural talents by a factor of ten. Resembles full body armor suit with skull mask, protective chrome lenses, and hood for concealment. Belt contains ammo boxes for suit's projectiles. (Disguised voice sounds like Prometheus from Arrow during first 9 episodes)

Notable armaments:Round Promethium/Nth metal shield, grapple cable, jet boots, flight wings with jet pack, retractable four-blade boomerang throwing star, forearm launcher able to fire bullets, darts, and disks of varying lethality, knife, sword, remote drone.

Omnitrix: Watch-like device that allows the wielder to alter their DNA at will and transform into different alien species. Able to scan and analyze new alien species, able to repair genetic damage and protect user from negative effects, with built-in defense systems. Built-in AI, GPS, map, communicator, and universal translator.

Unlocked aliens: Diamondhead, Four Arms, Ghostfreak, Grey Matter, Heatblast, Ripjaws, Stinkfly, Upgrade, Wildmutt, XLR8, Manhunter, Buzzshock, Cannonbolt, Ultraman, Ajak, Warhawk, Wildvine.

Will's Car: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS with supercharger. Dark Blue with black stipes and outfitted with a Khoros-5 indestructible engine block for increased horsepower and speed. Lightly coated Promethium metal frame for increased structural integrity. Bullet-proof glass and tires, titanium-alloy plating panels, enhanced insulation with new security and anti-theft system.

Face claims for extras:

Family:

Maxwell Tennyson Detmer: Stephen Lang

Maria Moira Detmer (Deceased): Susanna Thompson

Friends:

Courtney Whitmore: Brec Bassinger

Yolanda Montez: Yvette Monreal

Beth Chapel: Anjelika Washington

Victor Stone: Khary Payton

Eduardo Dorado Jr.: Christian Lee Navarro

Karen Beecher: Keke Palmer

Allies:

Pat Dugan: Luke Wilson

Batman/Bruce Wayne: Anson Mount

Robin/Tim Drake: Jay Lycurgo

Batgirl/Barbara Gordon: Leslie Grace

Commissioner Gordon: J.K. Simmons

Alfred: Michael Caine

Wonder Woman/Diana Prince: Bridget Regan

Hawkwoman/Shayera Hol: Stana Katic

Superman/Clark Kent: Tyler Hoechlin

Green Lantern/Hal Jordon: Chris Pine

Aquaman/Arthur Curry: Jason Momoa

The Flash/Jay Garrick: John Wesley Shipp

Wildcat/Ted Grant: Dave Bautista

Dr. Fate/Kent Nelson: Pierce Brosnan

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10, Supergirl or any above-mentioned properties. All rights belong to their respective owners.