This world was born out desperation, and out of righteousness. The actions of Doctor Fate and Klarion the Witch Boy were set to save their world from falling to Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips. Old hatchets were buried for the sake of a greater good. The actions of Magneto were to change his world in retribution for it wronging him and his kind. While that world was amalgamated with another before we could see its impacts, we can see bits and pieces of what Erik Lensherr had used the Infinity Gems to do throughout the Amalgam.
Professor X was never the brother of Magneto by blood. Perhaps their bond was like that in spirit, causing Magneto to make that change to his reality. Had Charles died as Erik gained his powers, no one could stand in his way to reshape the world to benefit mutantkind. In this world, the Fatal Compass and Khlarion X battled for decades to uphold the balance between Order and Chaos. But one does not fight an abstract concept. Khlarion would influence humanity to do nonsensical things with his telepathy, and then create inane scenarios for the world to work through by assistance of Chaos Magic, the power of random potential and erratic possibilities. All the while, the Fatal Compass served as a mystical janitor of sorts to clean up the messes his brother caused. This balance allowed for magic to be kept under wraps from the rest of the world, at least for a while.
One of the most impactful acts of the chaotic demon child was the influx of Metamutants into the world. They had always existed in some fashion throughout history, Wolfhawk and Stormbird were examples of such. But they were few and far between. That was at least until the early 90s, when Khlarion toyed with extradimensional forces to create a genetic bomb of sorts. Once it exploded, it awakened what he dubbed the "X-Gene", which gave around 5% of the world natural superhuman powers. Bear in mind, this is completely unrelated to the Inhuman Amazons doing the same thing to an even smaller percentage of the population.
Since then, most of the fights between Erik and Khlarion were over how the world reacted to their sudden influx of existence. Humans are not too keen on the acceptance of people different than them, particularly when they have the potential to level buildings. Not wanting to repeat history, both Khlarion and Erik were dedicated to protecting these new children of the atom. Though given their mystical positions, both acted completely opposite to the temperaments of their Mutant counterparts. The Fatal Compass was the one to work to maintain peaceful coexistence and keep humanity from eradicating them, while Khlarion X would warp various metamutants into those of even greater power to cause chaos to eventually try and reign supreme as the dominant species on Earth. Given where we are now, it can be easily assumed who was better at their job.
Over the 30 years since the "X-Bomb" went off, humanity was forced to accept that superpowered individuals were here, and they just had to deal with it. Stark Labs was formed in the pursuit of research on these new abilities. Government agencies such as SHIELD, the Super-Human Intelligence, Enforcement, and Legislation Directive, work to minimize damage caused by those with powers through specialized training or if necessary, containment. And laws were passed to allow for professional use of metamutant abilities and the protection of civil liberties. It was a far from perfect system, but it maintained order.
Order was established and things were peaceful, the worst the world had to deal with was the stray news headline talking about the Blind Bat. Then, Thunderman showed up. Now humanity knew the Norse Gods and aliens to an extent, were real. Sergeant Speed came back from the dead, a giant green monster empowered by several Gods of different pantheons showed up, and the son of the founder of Stark Labs was blown up and rebuilt as a cyborg. The world was becoming so much larger than Fate had initially hoped. All the while, he'd been raising three kids, one of them in far away from the other two.
Things continued to get even more chaotic under Erik's supervision. A series of explorers traversed an ancient Egyptian tomb, and upon activation of the Orb of Ra, gained elemental abilities and resummoned a powerful pharaoh. These explorers, called the Elemental Four, would then also find the king of some version of Atlantis, and revealed the kingdom's existence to the world. Then Wonder Crystal returned with the same time a new, different race of superpowered individuals showed up, the Inhuman Amazons. A human air force pilot by the name of Carol Jordan, thought missing, came back from space with a collection of advanced alien technology beyond human comprehension. And worst of all, a cosmic force of destruction known as Brainiactus nearly destroyed the Earth, only to be fought back by its own herald, the Silver Martian. Throughout all of this, the Lords of Order forbade the Fatal Compass to interfere. The 2010's had made things much more complicated, much to the Fatal Compass's chagrin, and to Khlarion X's sheer delight. None of that was even caused by the boy, all the demon child had to do was watch and let his brother piece an ever-chaotic world back together.
And then there came a day unlike any other. The half-brother of Thunderman, Lo-Tal, otherwise known to the world as Loxxi Luthorson had made his claim to conquer the earth. Amassing great resources as a powerful business magnate and arranging a deal with the deep-space tyrant Ghanoseid, Loxxi launched a full-scale invasion of earth with Ghansoseid's Paratauri. The Lords of Order had told Fate that this was the natural order of things, and forced him not to intervene with the consummation of the planet. He had to watch his home, his family, be destroyed all over again.
That was, until the emerging powers of this world assembled right before Fate's very eyes. Thunderman, Blind Bat, Wonder Crystal, Sergeant Speed, Black Orca, Green Marvel, and even the Silver Martian, inspired to fight for humanity by the Elemental Four, banded together to fight back against Loxxi's invasion, and they sent the alien drones packing back into the deep void of space. They fought for the safety of the world when he could not. Old friends from a bygone age had returned just when he needed them to. Eventually those first seven heroes would form a team to protect from otherworldly threats. To avenge the worlds that had fallen before by the threats they faced then. They would call themselves…
The Avengers of Justice
That name stuck for about a week, then the Silver Martian left to explore the universe, partially to get away from the Blind Bat. The Martian was a telepath, and he was adverse to handle the sheer darkness of thoughts radiating off the Bat. And after that, Victor Stark, the Cyberman, came on to take his place. Stark gave the team proper funding, provided a satellite headquarters, and the team was rebranded in honor of those which came before them. The Fatal Compass had come on as a mystical consultant to help guide the team in the right direction, and as far as the history reforged by necessity goes, the League of Marvelous Individuals was born.
I am the Phantom Watcher, the spirit of Justice bound to be but a witness to this unfolding universe. As your guide, I felt it necessary to inform you on how this universe corrected itself upon amalgamation. With that given context, we can now delve into the present, a day after the return of Loxxi Luthorson, and after the Emerald Witch's deal with the demon child, and we shall see how much the LMI has changed since the birth of the Amalgam.
Within the confines of the Watchtower, only two sat around the meeting table. Diana and Victor were at the tower, while Thor, the Bat, Billy, and Jessica were on a conference call over wireless communicators in their ears. With the ever-busy life of a superhero, one cannot always spend time around a table to discuss politics.
"So, are you back for real Jessica," Matt was the first to ask.
"Yeah, I'm doing some special training on the side to get back to full strength, but I think I'm okay to run missions," Jessica answered between sharp breaths, as she was currently training against Khlarion, sending eldritch emerald blasts against massive dark tentacles emerging from a portal created by the demon child.
"Good…hey you okay Jess? You sound outta breath," Billy chimed in concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Jessica answered taking a knee as she charged up her ring to create a construct of a monstrous figure not to dissimilar to Captain Gamma to hold back the hellish kraken, "I'm just in a middle of a workout. It's a lot of cardio. I gotta go, let me know if you need me, bye!" she said quickly hanging up on the call and returning to the training.
Matt's super hearing didn't exactly work over the phone, so he didn't know what was going on the other end, "Well, she seems in better spirits, and hopefully in better physical condition."
"Alright, we're done with her. Let's talk about the important stuff," Victor chimed in impatiently. He wanted to get straight to the subject of Loxxi.
"Yes, well Loxxi is indeed alive, he invaded my cavern and freed Beta Ray Zero," Thor answered full of regret.
"More than 6 months, hot damn! You owe me twenty bucks, Diana," Billy butted in excitedly over the phone.
"Wait, you placed a wager on my brother's life," Thor asked sounding offended.
"We all knew he'd come back, Thor. He fakes his death every few years. I humored Billy because I thought he would've come back sooner," Diana explained somewhat embarrassed.
"I thought it would've taken longer. I'll wire you the rest Banner. Please continue, Thor," Victor added before trying to course correct the meeting again.
Thunderman groaned in annoyance before continuing, "Well, Loxxi mentioned something about a benefactor, he needed to get rid of the Adth Metal because it was upsetting him. Loxxi was planning on forming a "league of his own". He wants the glory of the people by changing world, beating us at our own game so to speak."
"I'll keep a lookout for Nygma. Without his company, Loxxi will need someone to gather funding discretely," the Blind Bat responded.
Victor rolled his eye in response to the Bat's posturing. "Look Bats, I know the twig in the question mark covered suit is a major player where you're from, but I don't think a guy with as big an ego as Loxxi Luthorson is going to recruit the lawyer of a drugged-up crime boss just to run his money."
"Wesley Nygma is more than just a fundraiser," the Bat interjected, "He kept Bane's entire operation in the shadows for years. He's a brilliant tactician and knows how to manipulate the law to help anyone get away with anything. Every good crime syndicate needs a good lawyer, and he's the best there is."
Cyberman rolled his eye at the Blind Bat's posturing, "Fine, fine. I'll put him on the list of people to look out for. Any other costumed weirdos from Goth's Kitchen we should worry about? What about Jigsaw Face, Lightning Bug, what about that guy on the stilts with the puppet mob boss," Victor asked mockingly as he started entering a few names into the console attached to the table, causing holograms of the mugshots to appear above it. This was for Diana's benefit, as she was the only one who could see them right now.
The Blind Bat stewed in his annoyance for a moment before answering, "The Puppeteer and Don Pinocchio. But he's reformed now, and I keep the marionette in the Batacombs."
"Loxxi wanted to outdo us. He wanted to assemble a league to do our jobs better. But he talked a lot about wanting a family again," Thor explained further, "He wanted to make himself into someone worthy of my respect. Perhaps those he is bringing together have similar relationships with the rest of you."
"Well, he's had weirder plans. There was the frog thing," Billy mused with a stifled chuckle.
"We don't talk about the frog thing," Thor snapped.
"Speaking of animal transformation, he's probably got Minerva working for him. She can match Sarge's speed, Bat's agility, and Diana's strength. She's the perfect muscle if Loxxi wants to counter us. Not to mention she's Jessica's sister if we're really going down the family angle," Victor proposed clinically, as he pulled up an image of the Silver Cheetah to the table. As the name suggests, she had the appearance of an anthropomorphic cheetah with silver fur, clad in a green bodysuit with white lightning bolt detailing.
Diana stared up at the picture of Minerva Maximoff in quiet brooding. A wave of regret and guilt washed over her. She was Fate's eldest daughter, and for a time, a romantic partner of Diana. Minerva's superhuman speed was from a talisman given to her by her father, and she had served on the League for about a month as Miss Mercury. But unbeknownst to anyone, including Fate, within the talisman lay a curse that if the wearer was not of purity, they would become a bloodthirsty monster. Upon the consummation of the love between Diana and Minerva, she lost her humanity. Diana blamed herself, and the twisted mind of Minerva had done the same, and any attempt to save/cure her was in vain.
Diana snapped out of her haze with a tap on her shoulder from a metallic hand, "Hey Diana, you still in there," Stark asked with a concerned look.
"I'm fine, Victor. Thank you," Diana responded, putting on a reassuring smile. She found it therapeutic to smile regardless of her feelings, hoping eventually she'd start being happy again. It had about a 60% success rate, but over time that ratio has deteriorated.
Amidst her rumination, the rest of the League had been discussing other potential members Loxxi could add to his Legion. Names tossed around included Captain Winters and his Rogue Hydras, Attuma Nereus, Vandal Sabre, Circe the High Evolutionary, and the sinister Yon-Sinestro, among others. All were villains that were currently on the run, Blind Bat had proposed the theme of failure meant that he was assembling villains that the League had failed to permanently defeat or capture.
"That doesn't seem quite right," Thor disagreed. "Loxxi isn't so keen on working with so many big egos. He needs to be fully in charge. I have doubts that his mysterious benefactor even exists, maybe it's a red herring to throw us off course."
"Speaking of egos, Black Doom has been awfully quiet lately, what're the odds he's planning something," Victor proposed.
"If Doom was helping Loxxi, he would make himself known. He would probably even call his team the "Legion of Doom"," Blind Bat joked dryly.
"I doubt he's involved, the Four and I have him under control," Billy quickly shot down, he then continued to explain, "Ralph and I created a big force field around Khandatveria that even my magic can't break through. He'll take care of his people like the good little dictator he is, but otherwise he's essentially imprisoned."
Diana then came to a realization, "Imprisoned…maybe he's going for the people we've already beaten, breaking them out, and promising revenge on us if they join him. I mean, he went to the Cavern of Solitude to break out Beta Ray Zero, what's stopping him from going to all the other prisons and picking out hardened criminals like a child in a candy store?"
"Yeah, she's probably right! I feel like we're due for another breakout anyway. You can never hold these kinds of people for too long. Some are just born evil," Victor lamented.
"It's never that simple, crime is almost always a choice made of desperation. Redemption is always possible," the Bat asserted. Had they all been there in person, he may have shot Stark a glare.
Victor rolled his eye at the remark, "Sure, that's why all your little crazies are "locked up" in that sorry excuse for a hospital you call Ryker's Asylum. Even the worst of the worst, Kingpain, Dexter Zsasz, Purple Joke? Crime bosses, serial killers, mind-control rapists, do they all deserve redemption in your…well I can't say eyes, can't I? Sometimes you just have to cut the wire and let them fall."
Brief chatter turned to visceral arguing between the Blind Bat and Cyberman before Billy spoke up, "Guys, shut up!"
Billy's outburst managed to quiet the two, "We've been at this together for too long. We've all agreed we never kill unless we must. You've all taught me there's always another way. I've had my fair share of escaped bad guys, and my guys are a cut above the rest in terms of power. But I handle it the way I think is right. I'm not sure if there's good in everybody, but I'm willing to keep them around to look for it. I'll head back to the Cube of Eternity in the next few days to check on Leading Mind, General Sivana, anybody who could pose a threat by working with Luthorson. I suggest you all do the same." Banner spoke with authority despite his stature. He was committed to their cause, he didn't care for the team squabbling, he just saw a problem, and worked to figure out how to solve it.
"Good call Captain. Stark, we'll discuss this later. I'll assemble a team to guard Ryker's immediately. I'll guard the maximum-security wing myself," the Bat said with a degree of pride in his voice.
"Tell Tim I said "Hi" for me," Billy requested.
"I'll let Pupil know. I should go, I have other calls. Bye." And just like that, the Blind Bat was off the call.
Thor had been quiet during the less civil part of the meeting, but he agreed with the Bat's and Banner's sentiments. "I'll call the Sergeant after this and make sure he investigates the security at the Iron Vault. I'd do it myself, but I have work elsewhere."
"I'll check the Cube this weekend, I have a test to study for tonight. Diana, Vic, Don, I'll talk to you all later," Billy said before hanging up his communicator. He was currently in his college dorm, doing chemistry homework during the entirety of the meeting.
"I suppose that leaves the two of you to go to the One Eyed Wall's little hellscape. I wish you luck. Farewell friends." Thor said before hanging up his comm. He was in the office of a hospital doing paperwork in his Donald Kent visage. When he wasn't flying around, saving people in a cape, he was here in the hospital, saving people on the operating table in a lab coat as a surgeon.
Into his office came his elegant colleague, Dr. Lois Foster, "Hey, Smollberg, we got a heart transplant in the west wing already prepped for you. Ready to hog all the glory," she teased to Donald with a cheeky smile.
Donald stood from his desk an grabbed his cane, "Oh Lois, you truly know how to make a man's day, it's my favorite operation," he replied returning her level of snark. He removed his glasses and set them on his desk. And with that, he followed her to the operating room to begin surgery.