Ultimate Justice

Chapter 10: The Board of Infinity

Watchtower
Earth-16
June 3
13:40 EDT

"W.I.L.S.O.N!" Mr. Graves shouts.

"Yes, sir?" the Computer replies in its typical British accent.

"Is the Board assembled?"

"Yes, sir. All fifty other members, every guest seat, and the head chairman are awaiting your presence. Each with at least one member of their own Justice League organization."

"Their own Justice League...?" The Flash questions curiously.

Mr. Grave just smirks.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he says cordially. "I present to you...The Board of Infinite Directors..."
_______________________________________

A plethora of screens appear. Each one displaying an alternate version of Mr. Graves.

"Each member is a version of me from an alternate universe," he finishes.

"This is incredible," Captain Marvel exclaims.

"Why... yes. It is," Mr. Graves smirks.

The trillionaire turns his attention to dozens of screens floating above them.

"Greetings fellow Board members," he starts. "It is safe to assume that you have all recieved the message I sent earlier, yes?"

"We have indeed," the Head Chairman replied formally. "We have reviewed the files and recordings that you have sent us. And we are enacting a widespread search for your missing individuals. So far, they have not shown up on Earth-0."

"They are not in the Riech," a version of Mr. Graves in an SS uniform says with a German accent.

"Nor are they in the Collective," says a Soviet variant.

"Nor on the Great Blue," says a version in a Grand Admiral uniform.

"I have conferred with with all the main worlds of the Multiverse and several dozen of the guest seats," the Head Chairman states. "We have yet to find---"

"Forgive me, Head Chairman, for I'd hate to intetrupt," W.I.L.S.O.N. says politely. "But, there appears to be a late arrival trying to access this conference call."

"Patch him through," the Head Chairman orders, and the computer obliges. "Attention unknown Board member/guest! Please identify yourself and state your business."

"I am Joseph Graves," a voice declares as a new screen fizzles into existence. "I am the CEO of Global Enterprises and the Head Founder of S.W.O.R.D. on my Earth, Earth-12041. I believe that I may have found the individuals that you are looking for."

"Are you certain?" Batman asks directly.

"Yes. I am," Graves-12041 responds in kind. "At approximately oh-eight-hundred hours, a transdimensional anomaly was detected. Three hours later another anomaly was detected at the same location: a small warehouse near Pier 41 in New York. By that time, a small S.H.I.E.L.D. recon team was sent to investigate. Approximately, thirty minutes later the building explodes... and a different team is seen exiting the rubble in a protective force bubble..."

Another screen appears and shows the image of the Team flying away in one of Rocket's force bubbles.

"It's them!" Flash shouts joyously, then somberly asks, "Are they okay?"

"I believe they are fine," Graves-12041 replies earnestly. "And I should able to recover them before the end of the day. But...there is one... complication..."

"And what would that be?" Batmsn asks.

"They appear to have pissed off Hydra," the alternate states.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I know you fancy government warboys love your acronyms and code names," Green Arrow concedes. "But what the heck are S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra?"

The alternate sighs, "S.H.I.E.L.D., otherwise known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, is a international governmental organization that tracks supervillain and superhero activity."

"So it's a competitor for your organization, S.W.O.R.D.," Batman concludes.

"Exactly. But Hydra, they are the complete opposite," Graves-12041 explains. "Founded shortly after the start of the Second World War, Hydra started out as the head research division of Nazi Germany.

"But when the tide started turning in 1944, the head of Hydra, Red Skull, and his lead scientist, Dr. Arnim Zola, decided that Hydra should break off from the rest of the Riech and pursue it's own interests. After the end of the war and the capture of their leader, the organization went underground. Infiltrating as many high profile and high-powered organizations and governments as possible, including S.H.I.E.L.D. itself at one point. Today, Hydra is still one of the largest threats to global peace and security, especially with the...reactivation of their leader."

"Reactivation...?" GA asks, both confused and concerned.

"Well, after serving Hydra for more than forty years as their new leader after the fall of Red Skull, the bright minds of their computer science division found a way for Dr. Zola to...subvert death."

"They preserved his mind inside a computer," Red Tornado concludes. "That is highly impressive. But may I ask how the Team managed to alert such an organization to their presence."

"The building they destroyed was a Hydra research facility," the trillionaire explains. "They leveled it."

The room falls silent.

"Yep... Those are our kids, alright." GA quips.