(-In Space Ten Minutes Later-)
There is nothing more beautiful than watching a magnificent sunrise while flying above the planet Earth. Unfortunately, no regular people will ever have the experience of witnessing its beauty unless they possess the ability to fly to outer space. And that's something very few people like Superman can do nowadays.
Fortunately, Superman is not the one that floats about in the open vacuum of space but rather someone else, someone new. This new individual is a young female with neck-length blonde hair, outfitted in a light blue uniform with red gloves, boots, and a cape. But what makes her outfit almost similar to Superman's is the S shield embedded in her chest, signifying who she is and where she is from.
And she happens to be just like him, a survivor of Krypton, its last daughter, Kara Zor-El. And given the chance, she would be known to this world as its new protector, Supergirl.
Letting out a soft grin, Kara happily enjoys the scenery while she opens her arms to take in the very Earth's yellow sunlight. It was a breathtaking moment for the female Kryptonian to see the planet from this perspective. It would help clear her mind and relax her body from any tensions she feels within her. She can't wait to one day see the world with her own eyes.
But for now, she has to return before anyone notices her departure.
Whoosh
With a simple thrust, Supergirl flies at a super-high speed that looks like she can travel around the world in one lap. But in reality, her destination is toward one continual area.
(-Kahndaq Same Time-)
Kara continues to traverse the world until she slows down her momentum as she reaches her destined location, Established between Egypt and Palestine in the Middle East known as Kahndaq. It is a country well-known due to its king's, Black Adam, involvement with Superman years ago until its recent withdrawal. But now, it is considered a sanctuary for those still loyal to Superman and his regime.
Flying across the Egyptian city, Supergirl heads toward an enormous capital, which is designated to be the stronghold of Kahndaq's king, as quickly as she can before anyone finds out of her absence. Making her inside to see the empty throne room, Kara lets out a sigh of relief as she believes herself to be in the clear.
"Did you enjoy your little sightseeing?"
The calm voice from behind startles Kara, causing her to yelp out before she panicky turns around. And it's to her relief to see who it was. "Oh, Derek, it's you…"
Derek Gray is a light blonde-haired man outfitted in his usual attire, which consists of a blue collared shirt underneath a doctor's lab coat. One of the few who managed to escape capture after the Regime's dismantlement. And most importantly, the one who discovered Kara's ship when it came to Earth before anyone else and brought her here.
"How did you know where I was?" the female Kryptonian asks. Seriously, she could've sworn no one was watching when she snuck out. So how did he know?
The blonde doctor smiles at the girl's reaction. "Believe me, Kara, you are not the first Kryptonian I have met who'd fly to the stars and back." He casually answers, referencing one memory of what he and Superman had as children.
Kara smiles in appreciation when Derek mentions her supposed baby cousin. When she first met him, Kara knew right away that Derek was someone she could come to fully trust in whatever she had regarding her imprisoned cousin or her powers.
When it came to Superman, Derek would tell the female Kryptonian everything heroic her cousin had done for the world. All the lives he's saved, all the people he would inspire, giving them hope. And it even inspired Kara to do the same as well.
But when it came to her powers, Derek would mainly correspond between her and his personal experience with Superman whenever she trains to control them. And witnessing how Kara utilizes them, Derek would compliment her on her surprising development and even confirm that she would one day surpass her cousin.
But their little chat would soon be halted when two familiar figures fly into the throne room. One would be Kahndaq's king himself, Black Adam, and the other would be the liberated disowned Queen of Themyscira, Wonder Woman. And both don't seem very pleased when they turn their gaze at the young Kryptonian.
"Kara, where were you?" Wonder Woman demanded.
"Just in the clouds..." Kara replies, trying to shrug it off. "Sightseeing."
Black Adam was not pleased by her response. "If someone saw you…"
"I can assure you, King Adam." Derek comes in to assure the Kahndaq King and to Supergirl's defense. "No one has seen Kara leave. She is perfectly safe and sound."
"Yeah, no one can see me while I am in space." Kara also says in her defense as well.
"That's not the issue, you two," Diana berates the two before turning to The blonde Kryptonian. "How many times have we told you? It's too dangerous outside Kahndaq!"
Hearing the same lecture coming at her again, Kara lets out a bored scoff. "I spent decades lost in space, stuck in hypersleep until Derek found my ship," she openly expresses her justification for sneaking out. "But now I'm cooped up here."
"They are just trying to protect you, Kara." Derek gently induces the young Kryptonian of the two Regime members' strict rules. "After all, the world's rapidly changing with new abnormalities we cannot yet comprehend."
Derek was not wrong about that, the world was changing. Thanks to her new ability of telescopic vision, Kara can agree as well when she was in space to see the surprising changes Earth is currently undergoing. But still, it would be better to see these developments up close rather than at a distance.
"I know…but it's just…"
Kara's voice slowly falters as she tries to find the right words before the former Amazon Princess intervenes again with a questionable appeal. "How can we make you feel more comfortable?"
From that question, Kara has the resolve to look at the trio with a look of firm determination. "Let me out." She voices her sentence with the same tone. "You all taught me what my powers can do. This world needs help. Earth's people are so divided. Always fighting…"
Though she had only been here for almost two years, and despite the planet's sudden development, Kara understood enough of how Earth was still in a crisis. With the deaths that arose from numerous terrorist attacks, not to mention the bat creature dubbed the Camazotz that almost devoured the world. The leaders were incapable of providing much aid to their people.
They were helpless to do anything, so much so that it reminded Kara of the day when she and those from Krypton felt when they suffered at the hands of their enemies. Especially one enemy who, based on what Diana described, took up arms against her cousin and beat him with an inch of his life before he carelessly caged him like some animal.
"That's the world without Kal-El." Wonder Woman manipulatively professes when she sees Kara's distress of the matter. She then proceeds to go further by clasping her hands on hers in the form of comfort. "Batman has eyes everywhere, and the main threat to us right now is Aaron. There's no telling how much stronger he's become in the past two years. They can't know about you before we're ready."
"I'm not afraid of any of those guys." Kara exasperatedly blurts out before letting out a grunt of frustration as she grips her hands. "I can bend steel with my bare hands!"
"So could your cousin." The Amazon remarks.
Kara then turns to the others with a frantic expression. "Well? Well, what good are these powers if I can't help Kal-El?"
"We will, Kara." Black Adam comes in to reassure her of her anguished state. "Just like you and I freed Diana from Themyscira."
"The time will come." Diana also comes to assure the female Kryptonian as well. "We'll save Kal-El. And Batman and Aaron will answer to us." Kara nods in acknowledgment before she turns over to Derek, who merely smiles and nods at her, which helps indicate his acknowledgment and support of this plan.
Seeing their sheer devotion to rescuing her cousin from prison helps better Kara's current mood to smile at them. They're with her to help reunite her with her only family member and bring about peace to the world.
However, there's one thing that worries the female Kryptonian. And it regards a certain Gardian, who's supposed to be around her cousin's age instead of hers. It's still a comprehensive surprise for Kara to realize that the son of King Soran of the now-destroyed planet, Gardia, managed to escape the destruction as well.
Like herself and her cousin Kal, Aaron is also a survivor living on a planet, lightyears away from his own to call this world his new home. And despite the sheer conflict between their people for the last decade or so, even to her traumatization, their planets, Krypton and Gardia, had finally made peace.
But it appears the peace didn't last long when her cousin and Soran's son arrived on Earth. What could've caused the peace to dissolve? Was it after when Joker destroyed Metropolis? Some harsh disagreements on how to handle criminals? It couldn't have been either of those things, could it? Kara was unsure. Wonder Woman and Black Adam wouldn't say much on the matter for some unknown reason.
But when she questioned Derek about it, all he could say was to go to those who'd caused the conflict to occur between Kal and Aaron. And those people were Kal and Aaron themselves, which means she'll have to question both of them when she gets the chance.
Speaking of Derek, the light blonde-haired doctor, who continues to have his usual trustful smile, goes unnoticed by the trio. And what they don't notice is that the mysterious man continues to hold something in his jacket pocket. And whatever's in it, it slightly glimmers out a purplish glow.
(-With Team Batman Five Minutes Later-)
Meanwhile, currently flying across the skies in an advanced stealth plane, the team continues their terminus route toward Gorilla City, located in the heart of Africa. There, they prepare themselves for the confrontation with Grodd and his Society and stop him from whatever plan he has to conquer the world. But first, they needed to be briefed by Bruce on their next objective.
"Our best chance to stop Grodd is a preemptive strike." Bruce continues briefing the blonde trio through the plane's communication link from the Batcave.
"Sounds more military than vigilante." The Emerald Archer quips to the billionaire of this part of the mission. "You try calling the Army?"
"There is no Army. Not yet." Bruce, unfortunately, as usual, doesn't bring the same gesture with this answer. "To break up the Regime, we had to start from the ground up."
That was the unfortunate truth of how heavily vulnerable they were to Global Security due to their troops joining Superman's regime. In agreement with their surrender, however, each regime soldier had to serve time behind bars before returning to duty, and recruiting newer soldiers would take an even longer process. And with Grodd already making moves now, Bruce had to form this team with haste.
Seeing the man on the screen is serious about their military situation, Ollie drops his joking personality. "So…what? Us three extradite Grodd from under his entire gorilla army?" Well, that's easier said than done. Because that's The Emerald Archer describes how little their chances are of success.
Fortunately, it looks like Bruce had already put that thought into consideration. "Grodd's their Alpha. Take him down and the others will submit." Bruce then gives them a warning. "But be wary of running into other members of his Society. They're more coordinated than we knew…"
Despite Bruce's warning, Black Canary was not unnerved at all. But rather the opposite instead. "Next stop, Gorilla City." She confidently declares while turning to her husband.
Ollie immediately got his wife's gesture of what he needed to do. "Better call the sitter. Tell her that Mommy and Daddy are coming home late." And with that, he gets up from his seat before heading to the back of the plane to make the phone call.
Seeing the married couple easily accept the risks of the mission, Bruce has a look of concern for them. "If this is more than you and Ollie are comfortable with, Dinah. I'll have Blue Beetle and Firestorm take over. Or maybe I can have Aaron take care of it." He says to the blonde woman, granting her a chance for her and Ollie to call it a day and let the new heroes finish the job for them.
But the blonde heroine shakes her head to decline the proposal. "No, we can do this." Dinah determinedly assures Bruce.
But despite her refusal, Bruce is still concerned for her. "You've been out of the fight for a while. You have a family…" and the last thing he wants to do is have their son, Connor Lance-Queen, be an orphan if something happens to his parents, just like himself.
"You're family too, Bruce," Dinah declares openly to the man. "I couldn't be there to finish the fight against Superman. I'm damn sure finishing this one."
Before this day, Dinah had always regretted that she didn't return a lot sooner to help Bruce defeat Superman when Kent Nelson saved her life. And everyone she ever knew and worked with was gone, leaving Eric, Bruce, and his youngest child, Henry, alone to struggle against the one Earth regime. It even pained the blonde-haired woman to even think about it.
But when she did return, it was already too late. Aaron Grant, a young alien warrior from another planet, managed to do the impossible. He defeated Superman and his proponents and liberated the world from his totalitarianism.
When Dinah first met the Gardian, she almost laughed when Aaron, at first, surprisingly believed her to be a ghost from the past. Luckily, She calmed him down when she provided him a firm hug as she did with Bruce, greatly surprising the young Gardian until he slowly hugged her back.
That's how Dinah knew that Aaron was far different from Superman. And she's still thankful for him doing what she couldn't, and that's finishing the fight against the Kryptonian bastard.
Though Black Canary appreciates Bruce's worry for her, there's no way in hell that she's going to abandon him this time in his hour of need, never again.
And with the next upcoming fight in Gorilla City, this is Dinah's way to repay them all.
(-Batcave Same Time-)
Finishing his briefing with the team, Bruce continues to watch over Brother Eye's numerous monitor screens above him. But only to conclude it when he picks up something approaching him from behind. He already knew what, or more precisely, who, when he turned his head to the right.
"Gotcha huh, Dad." The one who called the Billionaire man father was none other than Robin, or rather his fifth son, Henry Wayne.
"Would've if I hadn't recognized your footsteps two minutes ago," Bruce remarks as he's unsurprised by his son's sudden arrival at the Batcave.
And the elegance soon deflates away from the said son's expression. "At least I'm showing I've been getting better than last time." The twelve-year-old boy optimistically lets out.
"Yes, you are showing progress." The Billionaire father praises as he turns his chair around to meet Henry. "I'm glad you made it back here safe."
The boy smiled at hearing the solace in his father's voice. "Well, yeah, it was just a surveillance mission after all," Robin casually remarks.
That's why Bruce trusted him with the secret assignment he sent out of Gotham. And speaking of assignments, he needed to know what Henry learned. "I take it that Your mission went well?"
"Oh, right…" That's when the young boy quickly realizes why he was here in the first place. "You and Eric were right to check this out when you guys did. But I found something that might be worrisome."
"How worrisome?" Bruce questions his son.
This gives the twelve-year-old boy the go-ahead. "Well, for one, when I got there, I didn't encounter any mercenaries as I thought I would. They looked like employees from S.T.A.R Labs." He can see that his revelation got Bruce to have a heavy look. "And the weird part is, they looked like they were in a trance of some kind."
"Mind control…" Bruce seriously reveals, making Robin nod in agreement with a similar tone. That wasn't good at all. Employees from Eric's division were being controlled by unknown is worse. Eric is not going to be happy when he learns of this.
"And when I managed to snap them out of their trance, they couldn't recall anything that happened before or after their trance," Robin explains before reaching his utility belt. He hands his father a small storage device to plug into Brother Eye. "I managed to copy most of the data without the group noticing. But who they were sending it to remains a big mystery."
Bruce accepts his son's explanation as he has Brother Eye analyze the storage device. "We'll know more once we uncover what you found, Henry." He tells his son about their current current status. In the meantime, it'll be another game of waiting for the Billionaire to endure.
But Bruce's usual suspicion comes surfacing up to these recent developments. Robin spied on the group of S.T.A.R Lab scientists while his team went to confront Grodd's men from delivering Scarecrow's fear toxin, all at the same time. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Are they linked? And what data were the scientists sending? Or better, who were they sending it to?
Only time will tell once the team returns and the decryption of the data storage device finishes.
(-Metropolis Thirty Minutes Later-)
"This suit will be my death if I have to keep wearing it in the next hour…" Aaron annoyingly grumbles as he continues to tug on the collar suit.
Though J'onn's face remains neutral, he does take in the amusement at seeing the Gardian's discomfort as, along with Eric, continue mingling throughout the memorial stadium. But the brown-haired technopath doesn't hide his amusement as he continues his chuckle.
"It's not funny, Eric." Aaron irritatingly tells the Director of S.T.A.R Lab.
"My laughs say otherwise, jungle boy." The young techno genius quips with another chuckle, making the Gardian growl out before he reaches for one of the sleeves.
"Ok, You know what…"
Tear
Tear
The two heroes were slightly surprised by Aaron's sudden action of effortlessly tearing the sleeves off, giving the young Gardian king free momentum of his bare arms.
Aaron sighs in relief as he freely moves his arms around, flexing his muscles. "There, that's much better."
"Yeah, and tearing up a thousand-dollar suit was the price for freedom." Eric quips. "I hope you got the money to replace it before your mom finds out."
And all Aaron did was easily shrug off the money problem. It's a chump change for him.
After all, Aaron's living on a mountain, comprised of the material that makes up his Omni-blade, Osmosian alloy, along with the necessary resources produced constantly within it and around the world. Thanks to his people's advanced technology placed within the instrument called the seed, the Gardian king has access to these near-limitless amounts of resources.
With these at his disposal, Aaron Grant is on par with Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, and even Aquaman as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
"Trust me, I can afford it," Aaron says, unworried about the cost of his damaged suit. "And my mom will be okay with it, too."
Despite being a telepath, J'onn didn't need it here to see the worry on the Gardian's face when he mentioned his adoptive mother. And thus, he intervenes on Betty's behalf. "I'm sure she's fine, Aaron. Besides, Eric can use Brother Eye to keep an eye on her."
"Yeah, don't worry about it…" Eric comes in before utilizing his R.I.G's link to the spy satellite to update him on Betty's whereabouts. "She's still in Metropolis, nothing to worry about."
Aaron looks relief at knowing his mother is still in the city. Guess he was just a bit paranoid over nothing. But there is another issue he wants to know that Eric, J'onn, and Bruce are working on. "So, guys, how are things going with recreating Superman's Phantom Zone projector?"
The Martian and Technopath raise an eyebrow at the question regarding their current status of repairing the dimensional projector.
It started back during the intense conflict of the Camazotz terrorized Arizona. Thanks to inside information from an unlikely ally, they learn one of the secrets that Superman has kept hidden even from his inner regime allies.
That secret is the Teen Titans were trapped within the Phantom Zone. It turns out that Starfire, Red Robin, Wonder Girl, and Superboy were never in Metropolis when Joker destroyed it, except for BeastBoy and Kid Flash.
Despite the loss of their two friends, the Titans remained strong and immediately proceeded to confront Superman to stop him. But only for it to backfire on them when the Man of Steel effectively destroyed Superboy's heart, leaving him on the verge of death, had it not been for Superman's suggestion to trap them in the Phantom Zone to keep his clone alive.
Skipping to seven years, after learning this, Batman and his team immediately head toward Superman's Fortress of Solitude to free their Titan friends from their imprisonment. But only to be met with an unexpected encounter by the name Zod. This unexpected arrival led to an intense conflict between the two sides, with Aaron battling it out against the rogue Kryptonian until the abrupt appearance of the Camazotz bat creature ended it by devouring Zod before departing.
And it resulted in a devastating outcome. Because of the intervention from Zod, the Phantom Zone projector was unfortunately destroyed, forever leaving the Titans trapped in the pocket dimension.
"Rebuilding the projector is processing better than we expected," J'onn informs the young Gardian of the status. "It was rather fortunate that Eric had managed to scan and download the Projector's schematics before it was destroyed."
Eric nods in agreement. "Yeah, and with our new broader variety access of resources, thanks, by the way," He says to the Gardian with gratitude. "We should have Superman's dimensional prison up in no time."
"That's great!" Aaron proudly lets out.
"However…" The disguised Martian suddenly says in his stoic voice. "They're still another issue we have yet to consider."
"And what would that be exactly?"
"It's more like a who?" Eric's proficiency corrects before he elaborates his meaning to a confused Aaron. "Superboy…" Despite their ongoing efforts to rebuild the projector to free the Titans, the pocket Dimension is the only thing maintaining the literal heartless Superboy's life. Extracting him now would be fatal.
"Oh, him..." Of course, Despite hearing the outcome of the Kryptonian clone's fate, Aaron didn't seem to be concerned at all. And It didn't go unnoticed by the two heroes.
"Well, okay, why don't you tell us how you truly feel about our situation?" The Technopath Genius sarcastically quips on The Gardian's sudden behavior shift, who immediately recognizes his lack of empathy.
"Wha…no, I didn't mean…"
"We know, Aaron…" J'onn comes in, assuring the young Gardian of his attempts to justify his previous response. If anything, the Martian can understand it to a degree. But still. "Despite the blood relation between the two, Superboy is nothing like his donor."
"I seriously doubt it." The Gardian King uncertainly critiques.
Aaron wants to believe that, he truly does. But Superman's face displayed on the clone's own merely enrages the Gardian. And all he could think of was wanting to beat the living hell out of him. The confinement of the two Kryptonians was an easement to him.
"Why do you say that?" the Disguised Martian inquires.
"Because…" Aaron begins to say with a slight hint of anger in his voice. "That's just who Superman and his regime flunkies are, just a bunch of cold murderous dictators."
So, it was them that Aaron was referring to. It may have been the anger manipulating his way of thinking. And despite the truth said by their world savior, it didn't sit well with the two heroes because of how intense he was about it. It's like Aaron preferred them to be dead rather than imprisoned.
"They were not like this from the start, Aaron," J'onn says, trying to dissuade the black spiky-haired warrior's resentment toward the former heroes. "They were all coerced into the paths set by the Joker."
Aaron's scowl deepens. "Maybe so, but I'm sure the Joker didn't have anything to do with them conquering the world afterward, right?" He counters making the Martian go silent.
It was technically true. Though Joker was mainly responsible for the downfall of Superman and other heroes, the decision to overthrow everything else around them was their own choice. And they justify their actions as a necessary cause to save people. But in truth, it's to invoke their authority on them to think twice in questioning them again.
"It wasn't that simple, Aaron."
"What do you mean not that simple?" the said Gardian angrily retorts. "Don't tell me you guys are now worried about them."
"No, that's not it, dude." Eric comes in and answers. "But it's you we're now starting to worry about."
"Say, what?"
Seeing Aaron's confusion, J'onn tries to calmly literate. "We understand your vexation against Superman and the others. They've hurt you, hurt the people you hold dear to your heart." The Martian then gently places his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "But it doesn't mean you should fall to their level and cause them the same pain. Sometimes, you must see that there is good in people, even if they are on the wrong side."
Aaron doesn't say a word as he listens to the given speech. It was similar to his father in how he was trying to tell him about how there are consequences if he doesn't control his anger.
As much as he does take heed of their wisdom, Aaron doubts that there is good in those people, let alone consequences when fighting them. Because these self-proclaimed heroes aren't even trying to convince the Gardian of any of what his father and friend try to tell him.
There's no good in any of them. Not one in the bunch. And it probably would be a miracle if another did turn on them like Barry Allen did years ago.
But unfortunately, there isn't one that will leave Superman and his cause. So why bother?
(-Gorilla City Same Time-)
Meanwhile, Batman's confidential team successfully arrived at one of Africa's prominent civilizations in South America, Gorilla City. As its namesake, it's a City built by no human hands. But by the hands of highly intelligent Gorillas. How they developed such intelligence to create their society remains a mystery to everyone, even to Batman. But what he does know is that a gathering of the earth's most dangerous villains is supposed to take place there.
Sneaking into the city was easy for the team, considering that most parts of the area were vacant. It's most likely that its primate-like citizens have also attended the gathering by order of their King. So locating their whereabouts shouldn't be difficult either. And it wasn't on the count from the nearby loud chantings can be heard.
With each quiet step, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Harley Quinn followed the chanting noises to a place that appeared to be an enormous Trophy room due to the variety count of animals in the background. There, they conceal themselves behind a tree and proceed to watch the groups of Gorillas garbed in combat armor gathered together in front of a stage with a black-cross red flag with a gorilla skull in the center.
Batman's team continues to wait for something to happen. And for the next few seconds, something does begin. Another Gorilla walks up to the stage in an almost intimidating tone, but this one looks different from the rest of his kind.
First is his size and muscle build, which considerably look bigger. He has on a red-white armored attire. It consists of gauntlets, pauldrons, knee pads, a belt, and a rhinoceros-shaped helmet with its horn on the forehead area. With these attributes displayed to all, it made it easy for the blond trio to recognize him to be none other than Gorilla Grodd himself, King of Gorilla City, and founder supervillain Society.
Grodd successfully approaches his primate-like army as they patiently await their King's order. The team also awaits from afar to see what the Alpha Gorilla has up his sleeve.
"Gorilla City, our time has come." Grodd begins his address to his army as he walks across the stage. "In a few short hours, we break the yoke of oppression…Forever!"
The words of their King of destroying intimidation and coercion help facilitate the gorilla army as they slowly begin to chant in support. Seeing this, Grodd steps it up. "No more Regime. No more Justice League. Today, this new world welcomes its new masters…" Grodd stands behind the black-red flag before extending both his arms and powerfully exclaiming his final words. "THE SOCIETY!"
The chanting army soon becomes full of war cries in support. And it becomes even more stimulative when those part of Grodd's Society finally arrive on stage alongside their King.
From the first half, The Society is already familiar with adversaries, consisting of Scarecrow, Deadshot, Bane, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. The other half consists of two more familiar individuals, while the rest are not.
One is a humanoid woman with back-length savage-like auburn hair. Her entire body is composed of cheetah-like fur, her tribal outfit with leather straps to her legs, a bustier, and a red loincloth. She is known by some as Barbara Ann Minerva. But to all, she is well-known to be the huntress Cheetah.
The second familiar individual is Leonard 'Len' Snart, who goes by another well-known alias, Captain Cold. But instead of his usual attire, consisting of blue parka, pants, and white boots, the man seems to have upgraded to a new level. He now wears a surprisingly dark blue exoskeleton advanced armor with a white-blue accent, along with an upper custom tinted half-helmet. The most intriguing part of the man's armor is the gauntlets emitting an icy mist from the palms of his hands.
The final member is someone unfamiliar to the team. But they can tell this unruly brown-haired caucasian-skinned man has an exceptionally lean physique due to the lack of clothing on his upper body, Not to mention the numerous silverish tattoos of unique symbols ingrained in him.
With the entire Society assembled, Grodd proceeds to continue with his speech. "Today, we show the world that we are the superiors!" he arrogantly boasts to his gorilla army. "Today, we bring anyone who would dare to stand against us…to their knees!"
Those final powerful words said in Grodd's speech stimulate his Gorilla army to roar out as they raise their weapons in support of the cause.
"Low self-esteem?...Not that guy's problem." Green Arrow jokingly lets out as he and the other blondes continue to spy on the war meeting.
But his quip didn't help ease the look of concern forming in Harley. "That's a lot of more than a few Society members…it's all of them!"
Indeed it is. And there are likely to be more members yet to be revealed soon. They look like they're ready to go to war against the world, and that's not good. Right now, the world is too vulnerable to defend itself against Grodd and his Society.
The heroic trio has to end this incursion right before they have a chance to commence. "They're heading indoors, outta sight from the soldiers." Black Dinah notifies her teammates of the Society's departure. She turns to her blonde pig-tailed friend. "Harley, keep the Jet warm. When we signal, bail us out."
Harley winks at her fishnet-wearing friend in acknowledgment before departing back to ready the ship.
With Harley acting as their escape route, Black Canary and Green Arrow can now commence confronting Grodd and his Society.
(-With Black Canary and Green Arrow-)
The heroic couple sneakily walk past Grodd's gorilla army before entering another large trophy room. There, they conserve their presence by maintaining higher ground for better observation of their enemies. And even better to listen in on the conversation currently being discussed.
"Land it on a little thick, Grodd," Catwoman says in remarks to the speech made by the Society's leader. "You hire Superman's speech writer?"
"Soldiers must be properly motivated to sacrifice their lives, Catwoman." Grodd easily explains in response to the Cat-themed woman's critique.
"Hate is the perennial motivator." Bane comes in to acknowledge his leader's rationale.
The silver-tattooed man lets out an amused chuckle before openly voicing in. "Yeah, especially after how the 'Superheroes' had gone fucked their world over, a little eye for an eye feeling would only make it right for them."
"Precisely, Amir," Grodd says to the shirtless man now known as Amir in agreement. Despite the tattoo man being unknown to him, Grodd was assured by his contact of Amir's loyalty to the cause.
The newly armored-clad Captain Cold, along with the other Society members, remains biased in the conversation. "Better not turned that eye for an eye on us, Grodd, or this 'Society' is over."
"As long as we have a common agenda, Captain Cold, you have nothing to fear," Grodd assures, unfazed by the threat made by the leader of the Rogues.
"You mean as long we follow your orders." Cheetah corrects as she makes a threatening gesture with her claws. But once again, Grodd wasn't intimidated.
Soon enough, the conversation ceases when they turn to see Deadshot approach them. "Report Deadshot." Grodd orders.
"We're ready to move out." The red-black-clad man informs The Gorilla king of the preparation for their onslaught.
"Good dog. Now go tell the others." Grodd contemptibly enunciates much to Lawton's sheer anger at the remark. But due to his unfortunate predicament, he unwillingly heeds Grodd's command. Grodd then turns to his fellow Society members. "Amir, Cheetah, Cold, you're with the first wave."
The team members that Grodd ordered proceeded to leave. But not before the freeze-wielding member speaks up. "We already lost shipments at Slaughter Swamp." Captain Cold says, reminding Grodd of their setback. "Hope your silent partners can still deliver."
Catwoman remains silent as she watches her teammates ready to leave. But not before she notices Amir, the newly unknown member of their group, making a silent facial gesture to Grodd, who seems to understand it before approving it with a nod. An exciting grin soon plasters on the silver-tattooed man's face before he departs with the others.
With them gone, Catwoman can now have a private moment with the Gorilla King. "Maybe now it's time you spilled the identity of our 'silent partner.'" She voices in an attempt to persuade Grodd to reveal his unnamed supporter. "Since we're relying so much on him. Or her…"
"'He' will soon make his presence known," Grodd replies as he unrelentingly refuses to reveal his contact's identity. "But for now…"
"But first, a few words from the Brave and the Bold!" Green Arrow suddenly exclaims from above as he and Black Canary jump down from their concealment to confront the Society.
But just before the Society members could react, the blonde heroine makes the first move.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEECCCHHHH!!!"
The bird-themed woman unleashes her Canary Cry, and the powerful sonic blast propels its targets to the ground. "I'm the brave one, right?" Dinah quips out to her husband.
"I'm not bold enough to disagree." Oliver jests back as he readies his bow and arrow.
Getting back up from the ground, Grodd lets out a huff. "The saboteurs of Slaughter Swamp, I presume." He then turns to his two Society members, Bane and Catwoman. "Handle this." Grodd orders before he quickly leaves the area.
With the given orders, the two Societies quickly engage the two blonde heroes. Bane let out a sinister chuckle before activating his venom drugs, resulting in each muscle part expanding.
"How kind of Batman, sending his underlings." The drug-enhanced villain amusingly says to the heroic couple. "I will enjoy returning you to him…in the body bags."
"I call first dibs!" Catwoman smugly declares as she brings out her whip.
Seeing the two opponents in front of them, Ollie makes the notion to his wife. "I'll pin the luchador," he says, getting a quick nod from Dinah before he lures Bane away from the two animal-themed heroes and villains by firing an arrow at the drugged-up brute.
With the men out of the way, the women face each other as they begin to circle each other.
Dinah lets out a scowl as she continues to glare at Selina. "A traitor again, Selina?" she inquired before letting out a scoff. "I don't know why Bruce ever trusted you." Dinah honestly isn't surprised by this at all, not after learning of Selina's previous betrayal.
"I've got nine lives to spare, Dinah." The Cat-themed thief counter-retorts, unfazed by the said person's remark. "I'm only a traitor in most of them."
With a quick flick of her wrist, Catwoman unleashes a whip strike at her opponent. Black Canary quickly evades the whip strike before dashing toward the feline-themed thief to counter with a lunge kick, which Catwoman ducks under the swung kick. With a quick spin around, both women get in close to combat each other.
"Then I guess being a disappointed mother to her son is one of those lives too." Black Canary jabs out as she avoids a claw swipe to her face before swiftly countering with a punch.
Catwoman jumps back to avoid the counterpunch before a scowling expression forms at the mention of her son. "For your information, Henry already knows what kind of person I am."
Of course, Henry would know. It's something Dinah already anticipated when it regards Catwoman. And that is just disappointing to hear. And all the more reason for Black Canary to finish this fight.
Meanwhile, with Green Arrow, the emerald archer continues to lure Bane away from the two combatant females by shooting another arrow. But the drugged-enhanced brute effortlessly catches the incoming arrow before turning his glare at his emerald opponent.
"Your spine will break…" Bane begins to pronounce as he tightly grips the arrow. "Like this!" he finishes as he snaps the arrow in two like a twig.
But despite the threat, Green Arrow is more offended than intimated. "Now you've done it…" he jokingly begins to express, gripping his bow with both hands. "That was my favorite arrow."
Bane rushes in to smash Green Arrow to the ground. But only to fail when the Emerald Archer jumps out of the way before quickly countering by swinging his bow at Bane's head. Following it up, Green Arrow makes another direct swing at the abdomen, resulting in the drugged-enhanced villain on one knee.
With Bane distorted, Oliver takes advantage of this by climbing on top of Behemoth and readies one of his arrows to take out the source pack of venom. But only to be quickly dissuaded of that motion when Bane tries to reach for him, forcing the blonde Archer to jump off his position.
As he lands on the ground, Oliver suddenly feels a familiar presence behind him.
"So, How're doing honey?" Black Canary jokingly inquires as she doesn't lose sight of the approaching Catwoman.
Green Arrow slightly chuckles at his wife's banter while he watches Bane approach as well. "Oh, you know, same as you, I imagine, just swell."
Hearing her husband's casual remark, Dinah smirks. "Well, things are about to get more swell in about a second." And Oliver silently agrees with that said.
Despite the current situation, the heroic couple is ready to continue the fight ahead of them. They won't let Grodd's lackeys stand in their way. So they need to finish this fight quickly and move ahead to stop the monkey tyrant's plans for world domination.
Boom
The fight soon halts when an illuminating portal unexpectedly pops in out of nowhere, causing the four bewildered combatants to direct their attention toward it. Without warning, two energy beams come blasting out of the portal and directly hitting both Catwoman and Bane. The beams knock the two society members off their feet and send them crashing down to the ground, rendering them unconscious.
Dinah and Oliver continue to shield their faces from the ominous brightness of the portal as the energy beams cease their assault. And soon enough, something else seems to arise out of the portal as well.
"I come to you now as darkness falls…" a distorted voice pronounces with utmost authority as the portal slowly closes, providing the blonde duo enough vision to see their mysterious savior. And they are vastly surprised by who they see in front of them.
A man dawned in a blue bodysuit while wearing gold garments of gloves, chest armor, boots, belt, and cloak. But the most noticeable thing about this man was the gold helmet that covered his entire head except for the eye sockets, where it displayed two glowing white eyes.
To who stands before Dinah and Oliver is someone of great familiarity. They considered him an old friend by the name of Kent Nelson. But to the world, he is known as the sorcerer supreme Nabu, an agent of order itself, Dr. Fate.
"Dr. Fate!" Dinah exclaims as she and Ollie are still surprised to see the man come here, of all places. "What are you doing-"
"Dinah Lance. Oliver Queen." Dr. Fate suddenly addresses before any questions are said and continues. "In the past, I have shielded you from danger. But a grave crisis looms—and I do not know if I can stop it."
"You mean Grodd and company?" Ollie confusedly questions. "We've got that covered." Though the threat is serious, Arrow seriously doubts Grodd and his Society can't pose one that high.
Unfortunately, the agent of Order helps clarify the confusion. "Grodd is the pawn of a much greater master." He reveals to the pair. "A new order is coming. I have foreseen it." Fate then proceeds to reach out to them. "Leave with me now. While I can still save you."
A new order is coming? That didn't sit well with the two heroes when they heard that. It's as if Fate endorses this for some reason. And abandoning their friends to face this ominous threat alone is even worse, especially for Dinah.
The said person plans to reject the offer. "If that's the case, we're staying here. Batman and the others will need our help." Dinah already ran away once. And she was never gonna do that again.
The agent of order didn't seem to accept the rejection given to him. "Everyone and everything you know will die." He firmly foretells them before mystical energy forms around his hands. "I will shepherd you to safety. By force, if necessary…"
That statement confirms the duo of another battle about to commence. Despite the friendship with the man inside the helm, they've no choice but to fight back. But fortunately, Black Canary quickly makes the first move with her signature attack.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEECCCHHHH!!!"
The potent sonic blast manages to propel the golden helm sorcerer away, providing the hero couple some time to improvise a strategy.
"The good doctor's been wearing that helmet for too long." Dinah firmly expresses the situation. And again, as much as she doesn't want to fight a friend, especially one who saved her life from Superman, Dinah needs to help the man inside the helmet regain control.
Oliver agrees with her. "Well, then let's help him out of it." He jokingly implies as he reaches for his quiver for one of his special arrows before quickly side-glancing to his wife.
Dinah nods as she engulfs a super pill she carries for emergencies, physically enhancing herself before she alone confronts Dr.Fate, who quickly recovers from the surprise attack before floating over to the blonde heroine.
"You should not have returned to Batman." Dr. Fate addresses disappointingly. "You are not fated to fight his battles."
"Well, like a good friend once told me…fuck fate." The bird-themed heroine declares. With that, Dinah makes herself the center of attention by going straight toward Fate.
The sorcerer quickly conjures a blue energized circle with Ankh symbols in front of him before it unleashes an energy blast at the rapidly approaching blonde-haired woman. Dinah manages to move sideways to avoid the attack before continuing her charge while Dr. Fate proceeds to ready another magical energy blast.
"Hey, Buckethead!" Green Arrow calls out from behind Fate before firing his arrow at him, which hits his back in the process.
The arrow denotes high-tension wires, which instantly wrap Fate in place and leave him open for Black Canary to come in close contact with him in an attempt to remove the helmet from her friend's head.
But only to let out a painful shout when a sudden shock of magical energy engulfed her when her hands touched the helmet of her Ankh-themed opponent, thrusting the bird-themed heroine away to relieve herself from the pain. Dr. Fate quickly utilizes his teleportation ability to escape his confinement and reappear in front of Green Arrow.
"Uh-oh," The alarmed Emerald Archer lets out before he realizes that Fate is readying to attack him. With that actuality, Oliver makes himself scarce by attempting to avoid the incoming energy blast.
"You cannot confront the threat that'll arrive at this world." The agent of order states as he shoots out another magic energy blast against the emerald archer. "You will only be wasting your own lives against this foe. Your best chance of survival is to retreat."
"Uh, yeah, I would love to do that, but there's just one major problem…" Green Arrow begins with his usual witticism tone as he uses one of the animal statues to take cover from the blast while loading another arrow in his quiver. "You see, I only take orders from her." Green Arrow quickly leaps out from his hiding place and fires a superficial arrow at Fate.
The Agent of Order exclaims as he quickly lifts his arm to summon a circular magical shield to block the incoming arrow. But as the simple-looking arrow made contact with the barrier, it didn't snap in two as Fate thought.
Instead, to the gold-blue sorcerer's surprise, the arrow easily rips through the magical shield and goes through his hand. Dr.Fate shouts out as he painfully feels in his now-bleeding hand and his magic begins to fade from him as well.
"Nth Metal!" Fate painfully exclaims in realization. Of course, one of the few natural substances that can disrupt and absorb supernatural elements like himself.
"Yeah, stings, doesn't it?" The Emerald Archer jeers out to his injured friend. "But you'll feel much worse when she gets through with you."
Mentioning said she-person, Dr.Fate is unprepared for the surprising enhanced kick from the side. Black Canary quickly follows it up with another punch to the abdomen, and another to his head, distorting him further to one knee.
Taking a step back, The bird-themed performs a high kick right at Fate's head, which in turn results in knocking him to the ground along with knocking off the Helmet of Fate the user's head as well. With the helmet now removed, Kent Nelson painfully groans as he motionlessly falls to the ground.
With the threat of Fate passed, Black Canary and Green Arrow can now quickly go to their friend's aid.
"Kent?" Dinah gently calls to her old friend in concern as she helps him up. "You okay?"
"Your headgear had you going there." Green Arrow sums up in a similar tone as well while he carefully removes the nth metal arrow from his friend's hand.
Kent slightly grunts from the removal before looking up at his blonde companions. "I lost control of Nabu. The spirit of the helm." He explains with his normal voice. "Thanks to you, I'm back in charge. For now…"
While he continues to speak, The now-freed man manages to firmly stand on his own. "I have to go consult with my masters. The Lords of Order. Pray they'll intervene before it's too late."
The brave and bold duo were now more concerned for their esoteric friend. "Too late for what, Kent? What's going on?" Dinah questions Kent to tell them of the dire warning coming their way.
"The Lord's magic bars me from saying more." Kent, unfortunately, lets out as he wearily gazes down at the Helmet in his hands. "I've changed fate too many times. This planet's destiny is no longer clear."
Kent would've warned them further of what was to come and helped them prepare for the worst to come as well. But not without enraging his Lords of Order further than they already are now. This is why Nabu, the spirit within the helmet, has been seizing more and more control of Kent's body lately as an act of retribution for his numerous defiance of Fate.
But despite these repercussions, Kent comprehends the incoming world crisis if he does not appease the Lords of Order now.
So without further delay, Kent unhesitantly places the Helmet of Fate back on, Becoming Dr.Fate once again, before looking towards Dinah and Oliver. "What comes next, mere mortals cannot stop." He firmly declares with his returned distorted voice as a familiar portal materializes behind him. "For better or worse, your fate rests in the god's hands." With that said, Dr.Fate takes his leave inside the portal and disappears, leaving his confused friends alone in the room.
As for Ollie, being the honest man he is, is the first to react to this new development. "That was…spooky."
"Yeah." Dinah agrees with her husband on that as well, it was spooky indeed. But regardless of that, they still had a mission to fulfill. "C'mon, let's find Grodd and get the hell outta here."
Green Arrow nods in agreement before the heroic duo ready themselves to find Grodd and the rest of his Society. But as they move forward, they are suddenly confronted by a group of Gorilla soldiers that block their path from moving forward.
Black Canary and Green Arrow ready themselves for another confrontation against the pack. But it's to their realization that the Gorillas began to clear a path for their Alpha leader, Grodd, to engage the heroic duo. And with a beaten and unconscious Harley Quinn, much to the surprise of Dinah and Ollie, in his arms as well.
Without much remorse or shame, Grodd tosses Harley right in front of Canary and Arrow before he gives them a fierce glare. "You've overstayed your welcome." He angrily states.
From seeing how Harley was recently mistreated by Grodd, Black Canary determinately scowls at his statement. "We're happy to check out. But you're coming with us."
Green Arrow quickly fires out three arrows at Grodd. But instead of avoiding the incoming projectiles, Grodd uses his telekinetic ability to stop the arrows in mid-air.
All while letting out a sinister chuckle. "Humans…" The Gorilla King spats out as he mentally drops the arrows. "Despite you're meaningless efforts, you've already lost the war."
"And what the hell that's supposed to-"
Boom
Dinah's question would've been complete had it not been for the sudden tremble suddenly taking place around them with her and Ollie being clueless. But the smirking Grodd already knows which is why he looks unconcerned about the occurring transparency around him as he looks up in the sky. Seeing the Gorilla king's action, the heroic couple looks up as well.
And what they see above them could almost scare, if not, terrify anyone of what it is that they see.
It was a ship. Not just any ship, a giant humanoid skull ship with purplish glowing eyes and numerous appendages and tentacles from its sides.
The ship's very ominous appearance sends out deep chills up the spines of the new onlookers as they continue to witness its arrival.
"Holy shit…" was all Black Canary could muster out as she and Ollie were too stunned to see such a thing right above them. They were also too stunned to notice that the ship was about to commence a move on them.
Without any form of warning, the skull ship fires a blue beam from the bottom, directly hitting Black Canary and Green Arrow. All the while Gorilla Grodd continues to sinisterly chuckle at the sight of the shocked heroes begin to dissipate out of existence in mere seconds.
And that was it. Black Canary and Green Arrow were gone. But where? Most likely in the unknown.
To be continued…
Chapter Complete!
I know, I know, it's been like forever since I last updated a chapter to this story. I have no big excuses for my late appearance except for focusing my time and energy on work and life is really draining for me. Not to mention rewriting passages over and over again and focusing on writing other stories at the same time can be highly stressful sometimes for writers like me.
But despite these setbacks, I'll never give up on my need to write down stories.
Ok, now that's outta the way, let's focus back on the matter at hand.
It looks like Black Canary and Green Arrow have bit off more than what they can chew when they agreed to help Bruce take down Grodd and his Society in Gorilla City. Now it appears that the threat Kent couldn't warn them about has now arrived at their doorstep.
How will the world respond? How will the heroes react to this Incursion about to take place?
Find out in the next chapter.
Also, as the usual saying, I do not own anything relating to the DC Universe and its characters. All I own are the OC characters, they are my creation, nothing more.
Goodbye, for now.