Project Genesis

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Rome 13/11/2022 0016hrs

Underneath the cover of the midnight black sky, the three heroes approached an old building that had been declared off-limits to the public due to alleged asbestos being present inside. All three of them knew that the likelihood of this was extremely low seeing as this was where many League assassins went to receive their assignments in the region of Europe. The plan was that Bruce would disable the armoury and communication of the base while Jake and Dick would hack their software to try and steal as much data before they needed to leave.

According to the city plans, the home consisted of two floors and a small basement but due to squatters, the rooftop had been littered with tarps and makeshift tents, essentially adding a third floor. The trio spotted a small tin shack that seemed somewhat isolated from the rest of the tarps and canopies, they figured that this was where the communications unit would most likely be, the three split up to do their specific roles.

Overwatch and Robin sneaked in via an open window that lead into the kitchen. The cooking area was a mess, mould came out of the cupboards like an infection and filthy dishes were piled up in the sink. Even though he had his mask on, Overwatch could tell that the place reeked by the look on Robin's face. Signalling for the two to continue further into the hideout, Overwatch spoke with his modulated voice; "Come on, my sensors tell me that there is a major power cable leading straight down into the basement."

Creeping down the old wood steps, the two discovered a large steel vault door in the basement. Deciding that Overwatch has the best gear to deal with this quietly, Robin kept a lookout while Overwatch got to work. Igniting his blowtorch, Overwatch melted a small hole into the locking mechanism before injecting some expanding foam from one of his arrows. Though it would make the lock incapable of moving again, it would also stop any potential alarms that might be triggered by step two. After melting a few more holes into the brick wall, Overwatch placed strategic amounts of thermite in each hole before stepping back and igniting it. Within a few seconds, the red powder had burned through the locking pylons, allowing Overwatch to simply just push the door open.

Getting to work, the two vigilantes scanned through the various files that the League server had, trying to find the right one. Stumbling across a file named Project Genesis, the two opened the encrypted file. After only a few mere seconds of looking at the intel, their eyes were stretched to their limits. Immediately placing a bug that would relay a copy of every single file to a secure location in Taiwan. There was only one problem, the bug was painstakingly slow and with the data that Project Genesis contained, the heroes couldn't wait that long. Snatching a copy on a USB drive, the pair bolted for the exit. "Robin to Batman, come in Batman."

"Batman here, what did you find?"

"It's bad B, we need everyone on the Watchtower now!" Robin called over his earpiece before Overwatch chipped in; "Batman, this is a code Black." A short pause followed Overwatch's sentence before Bruce responded; "Get outside, Dr Fate will be there for extraction."

In Jake's time with the Justice League, he had helped Batman and Martian Manhunter to create a series of alert or warning codes that ranged from green to black. Green meant that everything was relatively stable and there was no major threat present, Yellow meant that there were multiple incidents taking place that required hero intervention. Usually, it would be at either one of these two but there had been a few occasions when it would get upgraded to Orange, this meant that there was a looming threat that needed at least a small team of heroes to take care of. Red meant that there was a situation that required any available League member to respond immediately.

The final level was black, this has only ever been used by the Justice League twice before and it meant that all heroes were required to attend to one issue that immediately threatened the whole world. The only times this code had been used previously was when the Legion of Doom attacked the world with the plant tentacles and when Weather Wizard had accidentally caused a short-term blizzard across the whole world due to an uncontrolled experiment at STAR labs.

After meeting Batman at the house's courtyard, the trio waited for only a few seconds before a blinding gold portal opened in front of them. Stepping out in all his magical glory, Dr. Fate allowed them safe passage to the Watchtower.

Watchtower 13/11/2022 0100hrs

It only took a few minutes for the immediate Justice League members to arrive after the distress signal was sent out. Forcing everyone into the briefing room, Overwatch uploaded the file onto the main screen before grabbing the attention of the heroes at the table, these included; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, both Green Lanterns, Martian Manhunter and Flash.

"Member of the Justice League, we have a serious problem. As we all know, a few months ago a group of villains by the name of the Legion of Doom attacked the world. Well, it turns out that the whole event was just a front for the real threat. Project Genesis is an operation that has been in motion for years now. Spearheaded by some of the most influential villains and minds on the planet. Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ra's Al Ghul, and Vandal Savage, to name a few." Jake explained with urgency, sparking worry among the members present at the table. Jake showed them the files that Robin and himself had stolen from a League of Assasins hideout only mere minutes ago.

The files showed that large missiles were to be launched out of a hidden facility, these missiles contained state-of-the-art robots and drones outfitted with unknown weaponry and armour. The scary part was that there were enough missiles to blanket the whole world. Agreeing to send out a Code Black out to all the heroes of the world, Jake ran over to the main computer at the Zeta Tubes to send out the message. Before hitting send, an alert came through the Watchtower system.

"Warning; Multiple ballistic missile launches detected, impact trajectory critical. Warning; Multiple ballistic missile launches detected, impact trajectory critical."

"Jake, what's going on!?" Superman called from the conference room. With a cold voice, Overwatch replied to the Man of Steel. "We're too late, it has already begun."

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