Lex Luthor Presents: The Justice League International! (re)

[WildKnight]

Somewhere in the arctic circle

"Any questions?"

"Cut the feed, I don't need to hear anymore." Superman frowned at the now empty space where a holographic projection had just been, showing him Lex Luthor's latest press conference. His fist clenched and unclenched and he ground his teeth. "How did he convince the United Nations to approve this?"

Information not on file, Kal-El. Would you care for me to speculate? The Fortress often had difficulty knowing when he was asking a rhetorical question.

"No thank you. Get me the locations of all of LuthorCorps facilities, highlighting ones that are likely to be used as a headquarters for this team."

"Clark, what do you think you're doing?"

Intruder Detected. Media Observation Room. Shall I dispatch security robots?

Superman sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "No thank you." He turned around to see Batman standing a few feet from him, grim faced as ever. "How did you get in this time?"

Batman headed toward the kitchen without waiting for an invitation. Despite what some people thought, the man did eat and even sleep from time to time. "You trust the tech in this place too much, Clark. The Fortress is a machine. A good machine, but still a machine. I don't assume that the cave is safe just because I've invested millions into security. You shouldn't, either."

As Batman pulled off his cowl and set to making himself a sandwich, Superman leaned against the wall, watching his sometime friend, sometime enemy, and frequent partner make himself at home. "I don't have time for one of your object lessons. Lex is..."

"You think I don't know about it already, Clark? I knew three weeks ago, when Luthor met with the U.N. Security Council"

"And you didn't think I should know?"

Sandwich in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, Batman made his way back to the media center, with Superman following in his own home as if he were the visitor. "You know now. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd want to do something stupid. I've been trying to think of a way to stop you."

"Bruce, you know what he's going to do with them. He's going to get into their heads, twist them up, turn them against us."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Its Lex. Its what he does. We've fought gods and monsters, but I've never seen evil like I see in Lex Luthor's eyes."

Bruce chewed. Clark had known him long enough to know that it was a psychological ploy. Batman often used silence as a conversational tool. Amongst other things, the man was a master of manipulation. Clark chose not to take the bait this time. He, too, remained silent, until Bruce had finished the entire sandwich.

"So what, Clark? You fly in there, tear the place up, make it clear that everything Lex says is true. Basically, exactly what Lex is hoping for."

Superman hated it when Batman was right. He folded his arms over his chest. "I don't know what to do, Bruce."

"Trust them, Clark. They're working for Lex. They're not Lex. Some of them will want to do what's right, even if it means defying Lex. You're not the only super hero in the world, Clark."

Superman inhaled deeply while Batman drank some water, then pulled his cowl back on. "I've got to get back. Killer Croc is going to try to rob a charity ball in a few minutes." The distinctive CRACK of a boomtube followed and with that, Bruce was gone. That was how he'd gotten into the Fortress this time; stolen Apokalips technology.

"Fortress, see if you can't figure out a way to block unauthorized boomtube travel in here."

You asked to be reminded an hour before your appointment with Miss Lane.

"Huh? Oh, right, the interview. I'll be back later."

[Mister Sinister]

I will be following this one!

[mcr]

Any reason why Guns N Roses rather than the Stones?

[WildKnight]

Jun 15, 2015 23:05:57 GMT -5 mcr said:

Any reason why Guns N Roses rather than the Stones?

Other than "because Tedd doesn't really like the Rolling Stones"? No, not really 8)

[WildKnight]

The Allen Family Reunion was in full swing. In fact, it had been for well over an hour when Barry arrived, doing his best to balance a stack of pizzas and an enormous cake as he made his way to a picnic table to put the items down. The second the food hit the table, half a dozen family members and friends converged like a pack of hungry dogs.

"Wow, glad I ate before I came..." Barry quipped, watching the food disappear rapidly.

"Barry!" Barry turned directly into the hug Iris was approaching to give him. He kissed her warmly, legitimately happy to see her. Iris West was the one uncomplicated thing in his life, and sometimes he felt like he just never wanted to let go of her. "Did you see the Flash fighting Captain Cold? You were coming from that direction, right?" Well, it was mostly uncomplicated.

"No, I missed it somehow. Was it a big deal?"

"A big deal???" Wally West. Iris' nephew, and the first person to figure out Barry's secret identity outside of the super hero community. "It was AMAZING. Its all up on the web already. The Flash saved... I don't know, like a billion people!"

"It was probably more like six, but..."

"Yeah, and how much damage did he do to our city in the process?" Henry Allen, retired Central City PD, and Father of Barry. Where Barry was athletic but very lean, Henry had the look of a traditional man's man; square jaw, broad shoulders, perfectly kempt hair. Henry Allen looked every inch the super hero that his son, Barry, actually was. Barry had long since given up trying to convince his Father that The Flash was good for Central City. Just as his Father had never accepted that Barry was an actual police officer because he worked in a laboratory, he would never accept The Flash.

"Dad, not this again..."

"They're building a museum for that guy. A MUSEUM! Should be a museum of ways he's trashed what used to be a nice place to live!"

Barry's shoulders slumped, but Wally was undeterred. "Trashed? B... The Flash is the greatest thing ever! Without the Flash, Cold or Weather Wizard or the Trickster would have leveled Central City and killed us all by now! Plus, just last summer, Flash helped Superman stop that alien invasion! He's the real deal, the best hero ever, and we've got him right here in Central City! Of course they're building a museum, The Flash is... he's... he saved my Aunt's life, man..."

Henry Allen was unmoved. "You're a kid, what do you know, anyway? Superman, that's a hero. Flash is a goofball, and he's going to get a lot of people killed."

Barry pulled a protein bar out of his pocket, tore the wrapper open, and started chewing. If nothing else, it was a great way to keep silent. Iris could no doubt sense him growing tense, even if she couldn't possibly know why. He wanted to tell her, he'd thought about telling her so many times, especially after Wally had figured it out... but somehow, the longer he went without telling her, the more it felt like telling her would only mess things up.

"Hey, you're Barry Allen right? Crime scene tech for the CCPD?" Barry recognized the voice, and almost groaned as he turned to see...

"Hal. Hal Jordan." Hal put out his hand to shake Barry's, as if they'd never met. "Listen, I need to consult with you on something..."

Wally West was beside himself, pointing silently as he tried to form words. Eventually he managed to gasp out "Green... Lantern..."

"That's right kid. Well, one of 'em anyway. Mind if I borrow Barry for a bit? The bad guys don't take breaks"

Barry grabbed Hal by the arm and pulled him away. "Dude! What are you doing? The deal was, no crossing the streams!"

"I know," Hal said in a tone that indicated that he wasn't particularly sorry for the intrusion, "but you weren't answering your phone. We need to get some kind of... communicators. Anyway, Sinestro broke Grodd out of Belle Reve an hour ago. We need to go."

Barry turned back to look at Iris, who was staring at him with worry in her eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd "consulted" for super heroes, but she never liked it. "Isn't Lex's team up and running yet?"

"You kidding me? We're not trusting our work to those guys. They're a bunch of corporate sell-outs."

"... says Ferris Air's celebrity spokesman?"

"Its different when I do it."

"Right."

"Just get your costume out of that little ring and lets get going."

[Gris]

I like how Fuel works for both Barry and Hal.

[WildKnight]

Jun 16, 2015 7:23:20 GMT -5 Gris said:

I like how Fuel works for both Barry and Hal.

Potentially intentional 8)

[Dhark]

One. More. Day. Ugggggh.

[WildKnight]

Atlantis
The ground shook with the force of Arthur's body landed, thrown by Princess Diana of Themyscira. Arthur Curry, the reluctant "Aquaman" to the surface dwellers, rolled with the fall as best he could, but he couldn't deny that it still hurt. A lot. Wonder Woman was incredibly strong, and a skilled fighter. Arthur was going to have to dig deep to defeat her. Stretching out his hand, the Trident of Poseidon appeared, and he spun it defensively in front of himself, keeping an eye warily on his attacker. Here, where it was dry, she had all of the advantages. If only he could take the fight outside, to the sea, where the advantage would shift to him... or so he hoped.

Wonder Woman smiled. She was toying with him. "Arming yourself? You're weak, Aquaman. Too weak for this line of work."

"Which line of work is that? Prince of Atlantis, or costumed hero?"

Wonder Woman shrugged elegantly, then without warning spun as if she planned to deliver an attack. Aquaman moved to block it with the trident, but it was a feint, and Diana leaped back out of range. Arthur was certain she was testing his defenses, to see if he'd improved his skill with the weapon since they'd last battled... until he noticed that Wonder Woman's eye was on his ankle. Risking a downward glance, he saw that he'd stepped right into the loop she'd dropped on the floor, the business end of her own favored weapon, the lariat. He'd been so focused on keeping her from hitting him again that he had, literally, stepped right into her trap. Wonder Woman winked, actually winked, at him before yanking the lariat tight and pulling Aquaman off of his feet. Again. This time, however, she moved quickly, using the reverse end of the lariat to tie Arthur's hands, effectively ending the fight.

Arthur growled, straining against the restraints even though he knew it was futile. "This is pointless! I'll never be as good on dry land as I am in the water!"

"No," Diana said as she stooped to untie him, "you won't. But you'll be better than you are now, and that will save your life." She helped Arthur to his feet. "Go again?"

"I think I've got enough bruises for now, thanks."

Diana rested a hand on Arthur's shoulder, locking gazes with him. "You shouldn't let pride get in the way. Your skills are improving. You are a formidable warrior, Arthur Curry, but even you can grow."

"I bet Kal-El doesn't practice."

"No, he does not. And some day, someone will pay the price for that. I must go, before my Mother realizes I'm gone." She kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Diana, have you heard about Lex Luthor's new team?" Arthur looked tired, and not just tired of being thrown around the practice room. "Lex came here, recruiting. He talked to Garth, and some others at the Academy."

Diana paused a moment, looking out a viewing window at the kingdom of Atlantis. "Kal-El believes that Lex Luthor is dangerous, yet none of us have seen evidence of this. If Batman has, he remains silent. Even J'onn can find no proof. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe we'll finally have help. Maybe..."

"Maybe Kal-El is right. Maybe Luthor is as bad as he says, and this is some kind of trick. Diana, we've made a real mess of things, and that's just fighting scattered villains here and there. That White Martian thing last year... we almost lost The Flash, and a lot of people died. If an organized team of super powered beings comes after us..."

Diana nodded. "I know, Arthur."

When Diana had gone, Arthur Curry hit a button to flood the chamber. As ocean water poured in, Arthur felt his bruises healing and his energy returning. His brother, Orm, swum into the chamber a few moments later. Orm was Arthur's half-brother, the son of the Atlantean King. He and Arthur had a strained relationship, to say the least, and Arthur wasn't happy to see him.

"Your mysterious visitor from the surface world finally gone, brother? I don't know how you do it, breathing air with those monkeys. The smell alone..."

Arthur shook his head, and wondered if he would ever be at home anywhere.

[Dhark]

Are you sure that it's not Wednesday yet? I think that it must be somewhere...