Metropolis
A supervillain stood on top of a building, energy crackling around his hands and his green bodysuit. He looked at the terrified people below in contempt.
"Here is where I make my stand!" he yelled, "Here is where I shall carve out the kingdom I am destined for!" He smashed his hands against the roof of the building and, with a roar, ripped a chunk of it into the air.
"Bow before the power of Mantis!" He hurled the debris at the people below, intending to crush them all.
Before the debris could strike the citizens, a bolt of blue energy vaporized it. Mantis looked around for whoever dared to interfere. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened; it was Superman, Astrodactyl, and Captain Atom, the latter of whom had fired the blast.
"Is it just me," Captain Atom asked, "or are the world-conquerors getting mouthier?"
"He's from Apokolips," explained Superman, "they're all pretty chatty there."
"Really?" said Astrodactyl, "Maybe all the supervillains from my universe came from there too, since none of them would ever shut up!"
Mantis sent another bolt of energy at the heroes, hitting Captain Atom dead-on and freezing him solid. As Astrodactyl and Superman flew back down to catch him before he hit the ground, he had to marvel at the stuff that came from Apokolips. The technology and the powers of its metahumans were all crazy. He'd once tried to figure out a piece of tech from the planet with Grey Matter, and even then, all he got was a headache; Batman later warned him not to try to think about it too hard, or he'd go insane.
Superman managed to catch Captain Atom in time, but before he or Astrodactyl could think about thawing him out, Mantis tackled Superman through the side of a building. While the Apokoliptan was busy with the Kryptonian, Astrodactyl slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"SWAMPFIRE!" Swampfire sent a wave of fire over the ice, confident that Captain Atom would be fine; after all, it took the power of a giant, nuclear-powered robot to break his suit the last time, so a little fire wouldn't do much, if anything.
After a few seconds, the ice was melted enough for Captain Atom to break out with his own strength.
"Thanks for that," he said, "now where's Superman?"
Swampfire jerked his thumb to where bolts of energy were flying. "Three guesses where, and the first two don't count."
"Got it," said Captain Atom, "I'll go back him up."
"I'll be right behind you," said Swampfire, "it's time to go Ultimate!" He twisted the dial, then slapped it.
"ULTIMATE SWAMPFIRE!" he looked at Captain Atom. "Okay, let's go."
The two ran, or in Captain Atom's case, flew, to Superman's location, where they found their friend on the ropes. Whatever energy Mantis was hitting him with must have had magical properties, or energy blasts from Apokolips' metahumans ignored Kryptonian invulnerability, because the bolts were actually hurting him.
"Bow down before your better, Man of Steel!" Mantis gloated, before two blasts, one of nuclear energy and the other of incredibly powerful flames, sent him flying into the subway.
Ultimate Swampfire looked at Superman in concern. "You okay?"
Superman nodded. "Just needed a second; let's get him."
"What's the story on this guy?" asked Captain Atom, as they made their way into the subway.
"There's a civil war on his home planet." Explained Superman, "Guess he thought things would be easier here."
Captain Atom smirked. "Bad call."
Ultimate Swampfire nodded. "Yeah, no kidding."
As they moved into the confined space, Ultimate Swampfire realized that his enhanced powers would do as much damage to his friends, as well as Mantis, so he slapped the Ultimatrix dial, turning back into Swampfire, then slapped it again.
"FASTTRACK!" this alien was about Ben's height, with a humanoid body, blue fur and a vaguely feline face.
The three heroes found Mantis using the electricity from the third rail to charge up his own powers. A bolt of energy sent Captain Atom flying, while Fasttrack rushed forward in a blur of motion; he sent a barrage of super-fast punches into Mantis' face and, while they didn't do much damage on their own, they began to add up.
"Captain Atom?" Superman called out to his teammate, who was on his knees.
"I'm okay!" he said, "It'll just take me a second to adjust to the energy!" True enough, he stood up a moment later, looking more angry than anything else. He sent a huge blast of nuclear power at Mantis, with Fasttrack barely dodging in time.
Before Mantis could get up from that, Superman flew at him, punching him a few times, then pressing a button on the grey box on Mantis' belt. In a boom reminiscent of thunder, a white, swirling tunnel appeared behind him. Both Fasttrack and Captain Atom had to brace themselves for a moment; it felt like they were being pulled in.
"What in Sam Hill is that!?" asked Captain Atom.
"A Boom Tube." Explained Superman, after headbutting Mantis, "An extradimensional doorway back to Apokolips."
"Got it," said Captain Atom, "now duck!"
Superman did so, just as Captain Atom sent a bolt of energy into Mantis, sending him hurtling into the portal. After a few more seconds, the portal closed.
"Nice work, you two." Superman looked satisfied.
"Thanks," said Captain Atom, "but what's stopping him from coming right back?"
"You mean, besides this?" Fasttrack held out the Boom Tube generator in his hand. "I swiped it off of his belt right before you hit him."
Captain Atom looked impressed. "That was only about a second of time to react!"
Fasttrack shrugged. "I'm not called Fasttrack for nothing." He handed the generator to Superman, who crushed it effortlessly.
"Superman!" the three heroes turned to see Lois Lane jump over some debris and rush towards them. "Lois Lane, 'Daily Planet'."
Superman smiled. "Yeah, Lois, I know."
Lois smiled right back. "Would you care to comment on what just happened here? I'd like an interview… one on one."
Fasttrack and Captain Atom glanced at each other, knowing smiles on their faces.
"I'm pretty sure there's something we have to do someplace," Captain Atom said, "right, Fasttrack?"
The blue alien nodded, and they left, leaving the other alien with the reporter. After they were gone, Lois turned to Superman.
"You're late."
Superman grinned. "I was busy."
"Like I wasn't?" Lois looked down at her notepad. "But I've already written the story up and filed it, so now that we're both off the clock?"
Without a word, Superman picked her up bridal-style, and flew up through a hole, created during the battle, and off for their date.
Outside, Captain Atom and Fasttrack said their farewells; Fasttrack zoomed off, but before Captain Atom did the same, he heard a voice calling him.
"Captain Adams." Atom looked down to see General Eiling standing next to a car. "Captain Nathaniel Adams!"
Captain Atom flew down to talk to him. "General Eiling, sir, what brings you…" he trailed off as the General handed him a file, "what's this?"
"Orders." Eiling gave him a hard stare. "Your commission has been reactivated. You're back in the Air Force."
Captain Atom looked uneasy. "I'm committed to the Justice League now, sir."
"You also made a commitment to the Service, Captain." Eiling didn't even blink. "Seems to me, you've got a decision to make."
…
Unknown Location
Inside an office building, The Question was finding it hard to concentrate on downloading the file he'd found. He was slightly nervous; it wasn't the first government lair he'd broken into, but the stakes had never been this high. On top of that, there was the annoying sound of fists hitting flesh in the background, though that was only because his girlfriend, Huntress, was watching his back.
The ex-Leaguer in question kicked another security guard in the solar plexus and sent him flying. She wore a purple, skintight outfit with thigh-high boots, long gloves, and a long cape. Attached to her belt was an array of weapons and gadgets.
"You really know how to show a girl a good time, 'Q'." Her voice had a little more than its usual amount of annoyance as she drove her elbow into another guard's face. "When are we going out on a real date?"
Question finally had enough. "Shh! Trying to concentrate."
"I'm not even in the Justice League anymore," Huntress commented, as she knocked another man out with a chair, "you're lucky to have me along."
"Hardly," Question retorted, "you're drawn to my eccentric charm."
Huntress took down another guard with a flying double-kick, just as the file finished downloading. Question pulled out the flash drive.
"Finished."
Huntress dusted off her hands. "Me, too."
"Not quite." Question ripped the computer monitor out of the wall and threw it into the head of the last guard, who'd tried to sneak up on Huntress.
"You get what you came for?" asked a curious Huntress; Question had never actually told her what he'd been after here, only that it was important.
"I believe so." Question held up the flash drive. "If there's a link between Luthor and Cadmus, I'll find it here."
Huntress smiled coyly. "Which leave the rest of our evening tantalizingly free."
"There are three terabytes of date here," Question protested, "I'll be busy for days."
Huntress swiped the flash drive out of his hand and glared at him. Question sighed.
"Dinner and a movie?"
"It's a start." Huntress said while tucking the drive away in her belt.
…
Cadmus Headquarters
Lex Luthor was getting a checkup from Professor Hamilton; one of the many benefits of working with Cadmus was that he received medical care that not even he knew existed yet.
"Take off your chest plate." Hamilton ordered, "You don't need it." Then, he pressed a button on the vest's shoulder, allowing it to fall apart into two pieces.
Luthor looked at him in shock; the metal vest he wore was the only thing preventing his Kryptonite cancer from spreading!
"What are you doing!?" he demanded, even as he tried to put the vest back on, "I'll die without this! The cancer…"
"Is gone, Lex," Hamilton explained, "you're in remission. No, that's not accurate; there's no trace of the disease, as if it were never there!"
"That's preposterous." Luthor normally didn't believe in hope, but he suddenly felt the embers of it stirring within him.
"You've got the body of a 20-year-old," continued Hamilton, "and you don't have cancer."
"How?"
"I don't know," admitted Hamilton, "it might have been the vest; it might be an unexpected effect of the Kryptonite poisoning that gave you the disease in the first place. I'll continue to study the…" he trailed off as Amanda Waller walked into the room.
"I'm in the middle of my physical, Mrs. Waller." Luthor was slightly annoyed; he wanted to know what was going on with his body.
"You might be in the middle of a hornet's nest." Waller replied, "Question and Huntress have copied files from a high-security Cadmus terminal."
Luthor's eyebrows went up in alarm. "What did they get?"
"Tech support can't tell for certain." A rare expression of worry crossed Waller's face. "Maybe everything."
Luthor turned around and put his hands on the table; he took a deep breath.
"For all our sakes, we'd better hope that the encryption on those files is as good as we've been told."
…
The Question's Apartment
The Question's anticipation was rising; he'd spent months hunting down Cadmus' secrets, and now he was going to blow them wide open. If his face was visible, one would have seen a Cheshire smile on his face when the files he'd stolen were finally decrypted on his computer.
Finally, he thought, the connection between Cadmus and Luthor.
Looking over the files, he found something particularly interesting. A file labeled "President Luthor". Selecting that, he found another file, titled "Oval Office".
A red glow was reflected on his face, coming from the image on his screen.
The Question was horrified. "Oh, no, no, no."
…
Several days later saw the haggard, unkempt form of The Question, staring at a board that showed all of the connections he'd made over the years.
"It's all connected." He mumbled to himself, "Not alternate reality; time loop. Luthor becomes President… Flash is killed… Superman kills Luthor in retaliation… Superhuman arms race. Armageddon, end of the world… inevitable."
With a savage grunt, he put his fist through his board.
"Is the future immutable?" he cried out, "Can destiny be changed? Will they allow it?"
He didn't react to, or didn't hear, the sound of the lock to his door being picked, nor to the presence of Huntress storming in.
"Screening your calls?" she yelled, "You haven't answered the phone in days." She took a whiff of the apartment. "Ugh, it's rank in here. Is that you?"
"Have to try." Question muttered, oblivious to Huntress, "Alternative unthinkable."
"Q?" Huntress walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to snap him out of it. "Are you all right?"
"Have to go!" Question ran to the door, grabbing his hat along the way. "Can't let it happen again!"
At first, Huntress wanted to run after him, but then she noticed a video that had been paused on the computer. It showed Superman standing in front of the President's desk in the White House, with Lex Luthor standing behind it. She pressed the "play" button.
"There are at least six different ways I could stop you right now." Said Superman.
"But they all involve lethal force, don't they?" Luthor sneered, "And you don't do that. No, you need me. You wouldn't be much of a hero without a villain, and you do love being a hero, don't you? The cheering children, the swooning women? You love it so much, it's made you my most reliable accomplice!"
Superman reeled back. "Accomplice!? What are you…?"
"You could have crushed me any time you wanted," Luthor interrupted, "and it wasn't 'the law' or the 'will of the people' that stopped you. It was your ego; being a hero was too important to you. You're as much responsible for this as I am. So go ahead, fix it somehow, put me on trial, lock me up, but I'll beat it. And then we'll start the whole thing all over again."
Superman glared at his enemy. "I did love being a hero; but if this is where it leads, I'm done with it."
Superman's eyes glowed red.
"Oh my god…" whispered Huntress.
…
Watchtower
Technology always improves, and if the Justice League wanted to stay on top of the game, they had to upgrade, just like everyone else. Superman was holding up a massive piece of machinery, while Ship used his powers to make the new computers being installed even better; it paid to have a Galvanic Mechamorph aboard the station.
"Ship, ship!" called Ship.
"He says just a few more minutes, Superman!" Translated Ben, as he stood nearby; he was still one of the only people who could understand the little alien.
"It's okay," said Superman, "I can do this all day… not that I want to."
Both he and Ben noticed Question walk into the room; Ben recoiled when he caught the faceless man's scent.
"Dude, when was the last time you showered?"
Question ignored him as he marched right up to Superman.
"Something I can help you with?" the Kryptonian asked.
"I hope so," Question replied, "but I assume you don't want to discuss your White House weenie roast in front of a crowd." He tilted his head towards Ben and the handful of other Leaguers in the room.
Superman's eyes widened; he lowered the machine to the ground and led Question away. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
As they walked off, Ship turned to Ben. "Ship?"
Ben shrugged. "I don't know, buddy, but I'll tell you what: I have a bad feeling about it all."
…
There was one room on the Watchtower that was strictly for the founding members of the League; not even Ben was allowed in. Now, Superman opened the door with The Question in tow. The conspiracy buff looked around.
"Always wondered what was in here," he commented, "a private conference room. Original members only, yes?" he sat down in one of the chairs. "A place where you're free to discuss your secrets and lies."
Superman glared at him. "You said something about me in the White House."
"Not you, exactly," explained Question, "but another version of you, hmm?"
"Stop dancing around it," growled Superman, "tell me what you know."
"I know what you told everyone," said Question, then continued in a mocking tone, "The Justice Lords, a parallel version of the Justice League, came to our world to rid it of crime just as they did on their own Earth. With Lex Luthor's help, our Justice League managed to rout them before they could impose their totalitarian will on our populace."
Question's back straightened, and he looked Superman in the eye.
"I also know what you didn't tell anyone, outside of the original seven members of the Justice League. Not even your own cousin and your friend Ben, and Ben is supposed to know everything that you seven do. On that other Earth, so very much like our own, a Superman, so very much like you, killed the President."
Superman's hand reflexively tightened around the edge of the table, crushing it to powder.
"Question, no one can know about this."
"Or what?" demanded Question, "You'll incinerate me, too?"
Superman looked offended. "I'd never do anything like that!"
"Wouldn't you?" Question looked mocking, even without a face. "Didn't you try to lobotomize Doomsday with your heat-vision, just like the Justice Lord did?"
"That's different!"
"It's the same!" The Question seemed to be getting more and more agitated. "A heavily armed Watchtower with an army of proactive heroes, Luthor running for President; it it's not quite the same, it soon will be. Have you seen Amanda Waller's computer simulations?"
"Batman told me about them." Superman now had a feeling where Question was going now.
"Did he tell you all the models predict that a war between the Justice League and the government will devastate the planet?"
"We would never fight the government!" Superman protested.
The Question stood up. "Not even if Luthor was the government!?"
Superman only stared at him; after a moment, Question sagged, then turned to leave.
"Predestined… Flash will die, you will kill Luthor… Armageddon inevitable."
"Question, I'm…" Superman put his hand on the other man's shoulder, but he jerked out of his grasp with a gasp of fear. "I'm worried about you. You're mixed up; this world isn't like the other one. We're not the Justice Lords; those things you're afraid of will never happen here. I won't let them."
Question didn't reply; he only walked out.
…
LexCorp, Metropolis
Lex Luthor strode into his office, checking a few papers that had been sent up by his science division. He almost didn't notice The Question sitting in his chair until he turned it around to face him.
"The Question, isn't it?" Luthor didn't appear worried. "I believe you took something that belongs to me."
"Have you seen the latest polls?" The Question tossed a newspaper onto the desk. "It's beginning to look like you're going to be our next President… just like in that other world."
Luthor sat on the edge of the desk and smiled. "I wouldn't bet against me."
"No," agreed Question, "it wouldn't be prudent." He leaned forward. "I want you to understand something, Luthor. Although my distaste for you as a human being is brobdingnagian, what I'm about to do isn't personal."
"What are you babbling about?" asked Luthor, though his expression said that he already knew.
"Everything that exists has a specific nature. Each entity exists as something in particular and has characteristics that are a part of what it is." He began to pull off his tie. " 'A' is 'A', and no matter what reality he calls home, Luthor is Luthor."
He stood up and walked around the desk and faced Luthor.
"If I'm to save the world, your existence must come to an end before you take office."
The Question was somewhat surprised when Luthor only laughed. "You're going to kill me so that Superman can't."
Question shrugged. "I'm a well-known crackpot. The Justice League's reputation will survive my actions, and Superman's legacy will remain intact."
"Interesting plan." Luthor said, "Unfortunately for you, it's not really an option."
As Question moved in to strangle him, Luthor swung his fist; the impact sent the hero flying across the room and into the side of the enormous aquarium that Luthor had installed. As he lay there, moaning, The Question tried to figure out what had happened; Luthor had struck with the same force as Humongosaur. How had he done it? He struggled to his feet.
"President?" Luthor shook his head as he walked up to Question. "Foolish, faceless man, my campaign is a farce. A small part of a much grander scheme."
Question threw a punch, one that was easily dodged; Luthor grabbed his arm and threw him again, this time on top of the desk, which shattered from the impact.
"President?" Luthor said again, "Do you know how much power I'd have to give up to be President?"
Even though he couldn't see his face, Luthor could almost see the wheels turning in Question's mind.
"That's right, conspiracy buff. I spent seventy-five million dollars on a fake Presidential campaign; all just to tick Superman off." He punched Question in the face, then the gut. As he coughed, Luthor leaned in close.
"Now, about those files you stole from me…"
…
Metropolis, 1 Week Later
Superman was on patrol, lost in thought, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Boy Scout!" Jet Ray flew up beside him. "I was wondering where you were after Question left last week; I had to have J'onn look for you telepathically!"
Superman sighed. "Sorry, Ben; I've just had a lot on my mind."
Jet Ray nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, between Luthor running for President, the League getting flak for looking like an army, and your relationship with Lois…" Jet Ray's face became quizzical. "How is that going, anyway? Have you told her yet?"
Ben had been bugging Superman to tell Lois his secret identity for months; it had become a bit of a running joke between them.
Superman was about to respond, when he heard one of the special signal-watches he'd built go off. It transmitted at an ultra-high frequency that only he could hear. In all of Metropolis, only 2 people had one, and Lois was off on an assignment in Central City, so that meant…
"Jimmy!"
"Huh?" asked a confused Jet Ray.
"No time," said Superman, "let's go!"
Superman followed the sound, Jet Ray right behind him. They landed on top of a building, where Jet Ray turned into Heatblast.
"Jimmy?" called out Superman.
"Not exactly." From behind part of a wall, an arm extended, holding a watch. The owner of the arm came around the corner, revealing Huntress. "Some kind of hypersonic signal, right?" she tapped the face of the watch. "Keeps good time, too."
Heatblast was wary of Huntress; he'd only worked with her a couple of times, and she'd been brutal enough to make Rath proud. It was only one of the reasons that she had been thrown out of the League, a willingness to murder being another.
Superman disappeared in a blur, yanking the watch out of Huntress' hand. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Your little pal is fine." Huntress gestured to her side, and both aliens saw Jimmy Olson taped to a chair and gagged. "I was just trying to get your attention; you guys need a hotline."
Jimmy made some angry, unintelligible noises from behind the gag.
"In a moment, Jimmy." Superman turned back to Huntress. "This better be good."
She got to the point. "Question's been missing for almost a week."
"This isn't the first time Question's dropped off the radar," commented Heatblast, "don't you remember when he disappeared for ten days, and then we found out that he was trying to dig up a UFO supposedly buried under the Hollywood sign?"
Huntress shook her head. "Just before he disappeared, he was behaving oddly; well, oddly for him. He saw a fake tape of you, Superman, killing Lex Luthor, then he freaked out and ran off."
Heatblast turned to Superman, not knowing why the Man of Steel's face had suddenly gone very pale. Superman reached for his communicator.
"Question, this is Superman; come in, please." He looked at Huntress and Heatblast. "Channel's open, but he's not responding; J'onn should be able to track his location."
…
After freeing Jimmy, Superman explained to J'onn what he needed, and the three heroes were led to a junkyard on the outskirts of Metropolis. Along the way, Huntress explained how she and Question had raided a Cadmus outpost in order to steal the information. Once at the coordinates J'onn provided, they found Question's communicator.
That's never a good sign, thought Heatblast. Huntress had started to panic the moment she saw the communicator; she started to dig through a pile of trash, looking for Question.
"I'll find you, baby!" Huntress was nearing hysterics; Superman put a hand on her shoulder.
"Not here you won't." Huntress looked up at him, then to Heatblast as he took up the conversation.
"Yeah, they wouldn't have bothered to just dump his communicator unless they took him alive."
"It has to be Cadmus," growled Huntress, "but if they've got him, we'll never find him."
"Sure we will," said Superman, "after all, we've been keeping tabs on Cadmus for months. We know exactly where they are."
Heatblast nodded; it had been difficult, but between Batman, Superman, Question and Grey Matter, they'd finally discovered Cadmus HQ. It made everyone in the League feel a little better, now that they knew where the people who wanted to destroy them worked from.
Huntress, however, was not happy. "And you didn't do anything!?"
Superman crossed his arms. "The Justice League plays by the rules. We'll move when we have solid evidence, not before, and we'll move within the limits of the law."
"That's why I quit," Huntress huffed, turning her back.
"Um, not to nitpick," said Heatblast, "but weren't you fired?"
Huntress spun around and glared at him, but he continued.
"But she may have a point, Superman; Cadmus crossed a line when they kidnapped one of our own. At the very least, we need to get Question back."
Superman clearly wasn't happy, but he didn't have any other options. "All right, fine; the three of us will do this, and we'll do it off the books."
…
Cadmus Headquarters, New Mexico
Since Ben, Superman and Huntress were going to attack Cadmus without anyone else's support or knowledge, they had to take the long way, instead of teleporting. The front of Cadmus HQ looked like an abandoned factory, which the three heroes waited outside of for a few minutes, to let the Ultimatrix recharge.
"Are you ready yet?" asked an impatient Huntress.
Ben nodded. "It's Hero Time!" he slammed down on the dial, and the familiar green light flashed.
"EATLE!" In front of them stood a large, humanoid beetle with a green and grey exoskeleton. A massive horn rose from his head, which had large, powerful-looking jaws.
"Oh, come on!" he yelled, looking at the Ultimatrix dial on his chest, "I wanted Lodestar!"
"Is this going to be a problem?" asked Superman.
"No," said Eatle, "I can work with this."
"All right then," said Superman, as Huntress readied a Bo staff, "let's go."
…
Inside Cadmus HQ, alarms were blaring; soldiers ran to their assigned stations, and scientists locked down their labs. At the front entrance, a dozen of Cadmus' best troops stood with rifles aimed at the door. Though the door was over a foot thick of solid steel, it crumpled after only two punches from Superman. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, the soldiers opened fire. Eatle stood in front of Huntress, while bullets ricocheted off of the Man of Steel.
"We're past the lead shielding," Superman shouted over the sound of gunfire, "I should be able to find Question with my x-ray vision; hold on." With a quick burst of heat-vision, Superman melted the soldiers' weapons. "I didn't want either of you to get hit by a ricochet."
"Not a problem for me," said Eatle, "I've taken a lot worse than bullets."
"Well unlike you," said Huntress, "I'm not bulletproof."
"Are you always this angry?" asked Eatle, "Because if you are, I have no idea how Question didn't go nuttier than he already is."
While they were talking, the soldiers dog-piled onto Superman, who sent them flying with a single shrug of his shoulders. He gestured for Huntress and Eatle to attack, while he scanned the area. Huntress fought like a demon, attacking relentlessly until the soldiers were down. Eatle showed a little more restraint, but wasn't above tackling two or three soldiers at a time into a wall. Another squad of troop arrived, so Eatle ripped a chunk of the wall off and shoved it into his mouth.
"Now isn't the time for a snack!" Huntress yelled as she elbow-dropped another soldier.
"For me, it is." The tip of Eatle's horn glowed green, then a blast of energy ripped forth, knocking the entire squad out.
While they were fighting, Superman saw a familiar face in a locked-down lab.
"Hold the fort; I've got some personal business." Before either of his teammates could say anything, he crashed through the walls to his target.
"Hey," Huntress said sarcastically, "take your time."
"Yeah," called an equally sarcastic Eatle, "it's not like we're busy fighting for our lives or anything!"
…
If the front door to Cadmus hadn't stopped Superman, then the door to Emile Hamilton's office was less than nothing. Superman marched up to his former friend.
"A lot of things are starting to make sense now, Professor Hamilton." He glared at the aging scientist. "When did Cadmus recruit you?"
Hamilton seemed only mildly surprised to see one of the most powerful beings on Earth ready to crush him into paste.
"Recruit me?" he asked, "I went to them."
"How can you work for these people?" Superman demanded, "Do you know what they are?"
Hamilton shrugged. "Powerbrokers, politicians, criminals and black-ops mercenaries with one thing in common besides: they're humanity's last hope against your kind."
"What are you talking about?" Superman couldn't see Hamilton's reasoning. "Humanity doesn't need protection from us!"
"I used to believe that." Hamilton somehow had the gall to look disappointed. "I thought you were a guardian angel, come to answer our prayers; but Lucifer was an angel too, wasn't he?"
"Professor…"
"You forget," Hamilton interrupted, "I've been on the receiving end of your wrath when you brought Supergirl to S.T.A.R. Labs for medical treatment. I know what you're capable of."
"That's what this is about?" Superman couldn't believe this; all he'd done was shout, he hadn't hurt anyone then, "One little scare, and you betray us!? You stole Kara's DNA, violated her trust, my trust!"
"The chicken or the egg, Superman?"
Without another word, Superman turned around and left, leaving Hamilton to take a deep breath; he hadn't known how much longer he could keep his cool.
…
Superman came back to see dozen of soldiers on the ground, either moaning or unconscious. Eatle walked up to him.
"Geez, Supes, did you stop for coffee or something?"
Superman didn't respond, only turned and marched for where The Question was being held. Superman kicked the door down, and Eatle's eyes widened; Question was strapped to a table, with a dozen cables attached to his head and chest. Whatever was being done to him was awful, if the sadistic smile on the face of the other man in the room was anything to go on. At the sound of the door falling down, the man drew a pistol and aimed it at Superman.
"Don't be stupid," the Kryptonian warned, "drop it."
The torturer looked at Superman, then at the pistol, and let it fall to the floor. Huntress marched towards him.
"Sorry," she said, her fist raised, "not good enough!" and then she struck him with enough force to knock him across the room. She walked up to him, her crossbow pointed at his throat.
"Huntress!" Superman called out, as he unhooked Question from the table.
"Don't do it," warned Eatle, "he's not worth the arrow!"
For a second, it looked like Huntress would really do it, but then she put away her weapon, and ran back to Question.
"Lean on me," she said to her boyfriend, "we're getting out of here."
Question only mumbled incoherently.
"It's gonna be a little rough," said Superman, before they left the room, "I'll take the guards; Ben, cover Huntress when she moves Question."
"That won't be necessary, Superman." All of the heroes, save for the semi-conscious Question, smiled at the familiar voice; it was Captain Atom, who had apparently followed them.
"Good to see you, Captain," said Superman, "cover our flank."
"I'm afraid you misunderstand," said Captain Atom, as the heroes began to move out, "I'm speaking as an officer of the United States Air Force."
"Bad time to grow a sense of humor, Cap." Huntress suddenly wasn't so sure that Captain Atom was the cavalry.
"No joke, ma'am," Captain Atom replied, "I'm currently assigned to General Eiling's Special Projects Unit, and my orders are to prevent you from taking Question out of this facility."
"Oh, come on!" shouted Eatle, shocked that one of his friends had betrayed them, "How can you work for these people, Captain?"
"I'm a soldier, Ben," Captain Atom replied, "I do what I'm told." A red glow surrounded one of his hands. "So how's this gonna go down?"
"This is ridiculous," said Superman, disgusted with his colleague, "if you're not going to help us, get out of the way!"
"Not going to happen, Superman," said Captain Atom, as he put himself in their path, "I've got my orders, legal and proper."
"Dude," said Eatle, "Superman just told you to step aside."
"I heard him, Ben," Captain Atom didn't even take his eyes off of Superman, "and I'll say again: not going to happen."
Superman moved to push him aside, but the nuclear hero smashed his fist, wreathed in red energy, into Superman's jaw, knocking him down the hallway.
"I control radiation, Superman," stated Captain Atom, "that includes red sun radiation."
Eatle, and Huntress, who held the injured Question, rushed over to Superman, who looked more annoyed than hurt.
"Get Question out of here," he told them, "don't wait for me."
"What made you think I was gonna?" asked Huntress.
"You sure about this?" Eatle asked, though his question was more if Superman wanted to fight one of his own teammates again, rather than if he needed help.
Superman nodded. "Cover Huntress and Question and get out of here; this building is com-shielded, so you can only call J'onn for transport when you get outside. I'll be right behind you."
"Nobody's going anywhere with Question." Captain Atom marched towards them, while Superman moved to intercept him. "I thought I made that clear!"
He swung his fist again, but Superman dodged, then smashed him through several walls. Then it was just Eatle, Huntress and Question.
"I've had just about enough of Cadmus' hospitality," said Eatle, "Whaddya say we leave?"
Huntress nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
As they moved out, Question weakly raised his head. "You shouldn't have come for me."
"And you shouldn't have snuck away without me!" Huntress retorted.
They made their way to a wide room, but the way out of that was blocked by a massive door and a squad of Cadmus troops. Eatle rushed headlong into them, knocking them down like bowling pins. Huntress took care of the last one, who'd managed to avoid Eatle's charge.
"What about the door?" asked Huntress.
"I could just chew a hole through." Offered Eatle.
Before Huntress could say anything, Superman and Captain Atom crashed through the wall above and behind them, then arced downward and through the door, creating a hole large enough to walk through, then continued fighting each other.
"Or we could just let two League powerhouses do the work for us," said Eatle.
"Yeah," agreed Huntress, "why should we do the heavy lifting?"
The three walked into another room, where they found that their exit was up fifty stories' worth of stairs.
Question moaned. "I'm not going to make it."
"Sure you will," Huntress encouraged, then turned to Eatle, "you got something that'll work?"
"I hope so." Eatle raised his hand to strike the Ultimatrix dial, but then spoke to it. "If you turn me into Ripjaws, I'm selling you for scrap."
He slapped the dial, and disappeared in a flash of green light.
"LODESTAR!"
Lodestar looked down at his magnet-like hands. "All right, now we're talking!" he used his magnetic powers to pull a large sheet of metal loose and bring it towards them. "Everyone hop on!"
Lodestar magnetically levitated the metal, with himself, Huntress and Question aboard. As they rose, they saw Superman and Captain Atom flying all over the place, trading blows, energy blasts and heat-vision. Lodestar wanted to help, but he knew Captain Atom; if he had orders, he'd stubbornly follow them. He'd gotten better at loosening up over the last year or so, but now it was like he was back to being the soldier that he was, before he became living energy.
As soon as they reached the roof, Lodestar activated his communicator. "J'onn, it's Ben; me, Question and Huntress need to get out of here now!"
"Huntress is no longer part of the Justice League…"
"Save it!" Lodestar shouted, "Question is down, and Cadmus troops are right behind us; as soon as we're clear, scan the area for Superman and Captain Atom, they should be out here soon!"
In a flash of light, the three disappeared.
…
Watchtower
As soon as they got off the teleporter pad, a waiting medical team rushed Question to the infirmary, Huntress right behind them. Lodestar turned back into Ben, then explained what had happened to J'onn and Flash, the only senior members of the League available. While those two debated on what to do, Ben made his way to the infirmary to check on Question.
"Ben!" Ben turned to see Supergirl flying towards him. "I heard you and Superman attacked Cadmus; what's going on?"
Ben grabbed her hand and led her to the infirmary. "I'll explain on the way."
As Ben told her everything he knew, they saw another medical team rush by, accompanied by Superman and a thoroughly-beaten Captain Atom. The Captain's containment suit was cracked and pitted, looking like it was about to completely fail. Ben felt guilty; maybe Captain Atom wouldn't have been so badly hurt if he'd done something to help…
Ben shook his head; there was too much going on as it was without him wondering on what might have been. Besides, Question had been in critical condition; there hadn't been any time to talk Captain Atom down.
Ben and Supergirl made their way to the room with Question in it; once all of the medics left, they saw Huntress take something out of Question's pocket and spray it on his face. She gently pulled, removing what looked like skin from Question's head, revealing a bruised, beaten face. Since the room was soundproofed, Ben and Supergirl couldn't hear what was being said, but whatever it was made Huntress smile and kiss the man. After a moment, she walked up to the wall and blacked out the window.
Do I really want to know what they're doing? Thought Ben, Nah, probably not; I don't want to give myself nightmares.
Putting certain mental images aside, he and Supergirl met up with Superman, who was observing a team of scientists as they tended to Captain Atom.
"Did Cadmus really… turn him against us?" Supergirl asked her cousin. She trusted Ben's word, of course, but she still had a hard time believing that one of her friends could work for those people.
"They did," said Superman, not looking at either of them, "and it gets worse; Professor Hamilton is also working for them." The eyes of Ben and Supergirl went wide. "And he was probably the one who…"
"Cloned me," finished Supergirl, "why?"
Superman got a dark look on his face. "He was afraid of us."
Ben put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kara." He was just as surprised, but Supergirl had known Hamilton for years; years of trust and friendship, spat on.
Supergirl clenched her fists. "Don't be; I'll feel better when we shut them down."
"One stop first," said Superman, "both of you wait here." As he left, Green Arrow walked up to the two younger heroes.
"What's going on?" he asked.
As Ben and Supergirl explained the situation to the archer, Superman walked into the infirmary and found Huntress sitting on the side of Question's bed.
"He's gonna be fine," she said, before Superman could say anything, "but he needs his rest."
"I'll only be a moment." Superman assured her. Huntress looked ready to object, when Question stopped her.
"It's okay, Helena."
Huntress nodded at him, then stood up to leave. "Five minutes." She said as she left the room. After she was gone, Superman walked up to Question.
"What happened, Question? How did Cadmus get a hold of you?"
"I went to kill Luthor," Question admitted, not even blinking, "so that you wouldn't be able to."
"That's not how we do things." Superman said.
"How do we do things, Superman?" With every word, Question's voice grew louder. "Your counterpart killed Luthor; this Luthor is scheming to enrage you."
"And doing a pretty good job of it." Muttered Superman.
"Ruining your reputation," Question continued, as if Superman hadn't spoken, "turning your friends and comrades against you, creating a superpowered arms race; but you cannot succumb."
Superman folded his arms. "I can shut down Cadmus without killing Luthor."
A disappointed expression crossed Question's now-visible face. "Carry on then; if you're wrong, it's not like it's the end of the world, right?"
…
On the observation deck of the Watchtower, Green Arrow and Ben had joined Flash and J'onn to discuss their next move, while Ship moved from computer to computer, updating software; Supergirl had remained behind to talk to her cousin.
"What about tailing some of their employees?" suggested Flash, "I mean, Cadmus has to let people go home after a while, right?"
J'onn shook his head. "We've tried that avenue of approach; Cadmus has been using some method of getting its people to their homes and back again without us being able to detect them."
"And we can't just grab them and have you read their minds," mused Ben, "we're on thin enough ice already."
"These guys have to slip up eventually," said Arrow, "and when they do, we'll find out what they have planned."
The four tossed ideas around for a few more minutes, until Superman and Supergirl came into the room.
"Give me one good reason not to go down there again and take them out." Superman hadn't seemed this mad since his fight with Captain Marvel.
"If you didn't know the answer," J'onn replied, "you wouldn't have bothered to ask."
"Don't handle me J'onn," Superman growled, "I'm serious."
"We don't have any hard evidence that they've committed any crimes." It was true; aside from what Question had taken, there wasn't any real proof that Cadmus was evil.
"Oh, come on!" Superman objected, "You know their dirty!"
"Then maybe we should put more energy into proving it," said Green Arrow, "and less into acting like a bunch of hyperthyroid storm troopers."
Superman glared at him. "I don't remember asking you for your opinion."
"No?" asked the archer, "How about when you guys hijacked me up here against my will and made me join this team? Batman said I was supposed to keep you guys honest!"
"Do I look like Batman to you?"
"Actually," said Ben, "when you get all grouchy like that, you do."
"We can't let Cadmus get away this!" said Superman.
"Did I say we should?" replied Ben, "But we have to be smart about how we handle it."
Ben was starting to get worried; while he hated Cadmus for what they'd done to the League, the Ultimen and to his girlfriend, and while he remembered his ultimatum to Amanda Waller, he wasn't going to rush in, blindly calling for vengeance. He'd done that when he was younger, often with disastrous results. He wasn't so sure that other members of the League had learned his lessons, though.
"Do you know what they did to me?" Supergirl asked Green Arrow.
"Look, kid," the archer said calmly, "Hamilton's a piece of garbage and Luthor is worse. But this isn't the way to stop them."
J'onn spoke up again. "We must also consider the possibility that Cadmus is right to be afraid of us."
"What!?" yelled an indignant Supergirl.
The Martian continued with a slightly raised voice. "And there is strong evidence of Cadmus having legitimate connections to the government."
"Maybe," said Superman, "to some rogue black-ops group; the real government wouldn't get involved in anything like this."
"Hey." Everyone turned to Green Arrow. "I'm the only guy in the room who doesn't have superpowers, or the ability to get them, and let me tell you, you guys scare me. What if you do decide to go marching down there, taking care of whoever you think is guilty. Who could stop you? Me?"
Supergirl gritted her teeth. "So you want the government to have a bunch of superhuman weapons just to keep us in check!?"
"No," said Arrow uncertainly, "I don't know. Yeah!" the others looked hurt, while he took a deep breath, then continued. "Look, I'm an old lefty. The government must do for people what people can't do for themselves. The people sure can't protect themselves from the likes of us."
Superman lightly pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're not talking about the government. We're talking about a shadow cabinet that's taken it upon themselves to eliminate us! They came after us, we have to hit them back hard!"
"And even if we do go after Cadmus," said Ben, "what'll happen next, huh? You think the world will just let us attack a part of the US government and get away scot-free?"
Flash coughed into his hand, getting their attention. "Grammy Flash always used to say that the trouble with an eye for an eye is that everybody ends up blind."
…
LexCorp, Metropolis
Lex Luthor did not normally want for resources; he had the bounties of entire countries at his beck and call. Still, even with all that, he didn't have the technology to build what he truly desired; that is, until Cadmus came along. It had taken months, but he had discreetly smuggled the advanced technology out of their laboratories and into his own.
He was beginning the final stages of construction when the communicator began to beep. Only one person called him at this hour; he placed the device in his ear.
"What is it, Mrs. Waller?"
"Superman broke into Cadmus, along with Huntress and the shapeshifter." Luthor had always been slightly irritated that Waller had never shared any of the heroes' secret identities. "When they left, they took Question and Captain Atom with them."
"That was fast," mused Luthor, "still, opportunity knocks."
"What?"
"Sorry, I'm working on something here; go on." As he spoke, Luthor made his way over to a computer.
"The continual security breaches are bad enough, but now The Question's back with the League, and we still don't know what he's learned." In a week of torture, Question had never said anything; Luthor had actually been impressed.
"What's the worst-case scenario?" Luthor began to type, as the screen showed a satellite-image of Cadmus Headquarters.
"If they've got enough to tie you to this," warned Waller, "they'll head right for your doorstep."
"Let them come," Luthor said confidently, "I've got a full pardon from the President."
"Not for any new crimes, Lex. If you get arrested, we'll disavow any knowledge of your actions."
"Well, that would be inconvenient," said Luthor, "but I wouldn't worry about the Justice League just yet. They have problems of their own. Good-bye, Mrs. Waller." He hung up, and pressed a final key.
The computer showed a picture of the Watchtower, and read "Engaged".
The Watchtower
No matter what the others said, Superman wouldn't budge from his position of retaliation against Cadmus.
"I still think we should go down to Cadmus, take them out, and accept any consequences after…" Superman's words were cut short by the alarms that began blaring throughout the station.
"Computer," J'onn barked, "report!"
A synthesized voice began to speak, as a large computer rose from the floor. "Binary Fusion Generator initialization sequence in progress."
The heroes stared in shock; the station was going to fire the fusion cannon!
"Abort!" yelled the Martian.
"Unable to comply. System locked."
J'onn ran to the computer, typing furiously. "Override. Command authority zero-zero-four."
"System administrator J'onn J'onnz recognized. Unable to comply."
"Ship," yelled Ben, "interface with it; shut it down if you can, slow it down if you can't!"
"Ship ship!" the Symbiote leaped into the computer and merged with it. As he did so, Ben jumped off the platform and activated the Ultimatrix.
"GHOSTFREAK!" the ghost-like alien phased through the hull of the station and into space, heading towards the bottom of the Watchtower, where the cannon was located. He'd only have one chance to pull this off…
J'onn reached for the intercom. "All hands, prepare for Primary Fusion Discharge! This is not a drill!"
Ship did his best, slowing the buildup of energy long enough for Ghostfreak to get into position… directly in front of the cannon.
I hope this works, he thought, then slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"FEEDBACK!" this new alien was about six feet tall, and had a pitch-black body with green on his chest. His fingertips looked like copper sockets, while a pair of long, thick antennae over his one-eyed head had copper plugs. The same plug was at the end of his long tail.
Feedback felt a familiar rush; ever since he'd unlocked this alien, he had felt different. Every one of his aliens had a different feel to them, but Feedback was special; he felt an overwhelming sense of confidence, like he could do anything.
Since he was staring down the barrel of a gun that could level a city, he was going to need every bit of confidence that he could muster.
Despite Ship's efforts, the Fusion Cannon fired; an enormous beam of energy lanced forward, and all that stood between it and its target was a single alien.
As he floated in space, Feedback raised his hands, his fingers pointed at the beam; just before the energy struck him, it flowed into the sockets. Feedback gritted his teeth and narrowed his eye; this was a lot of energy, but he couldn't afford to let any of it get past him. Lives could be at stake.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the beam ceased, and Feedback lowered his hands; normally, he'd feel a rush after absorbing energy, but now he was out of air. Just as he began to lose consciousness, he saw a familiar blue-and-red-garbed hero heading towards him.
…
Ben opened his eyes to see that he was in the infirmary aboard the Watchtower; the strange thing was, the lights were all out. Then he remembered: the Fusion Cannon had fired, and he'd absorbed the shot with Feedback. But how did he end up here?
"You're awake!"
Before Ben could react, a blur rushed toward him and wrapped him in a hug. When his vision finally cleared, he could see Supergirl holding on to him for dear life. Also…
"Kara!" Ben wheezed, "Air!"
"Sorry!" Supergirl let up some of the pressure, but still kept her arms around him. "What were you thinking!?"
Ben shrugged. "I was thinking that I couldn't let the Watchtower blow up whatever it was aimed at." Then he frowned. "What was it aimed at?"
Supergirl had a haunted look in her eyes. "Cadmus Headquarters."
Ben froze; if having a giant space-gun aimed at you wasn't provocation, he didn't know what was. Then he remembered that Cadmus HQ was surrounded by a small town.
"Did anyone get hurt?"
Supergirl smiled. "No, you managed to absorb all of the energy."
Ben let out a sigh of relief. "How long was I out?"
"Only a few minutes, thankfully. Why?"
Ben got out of the bed. "Because we've still got work to do."
…
When Ben and Supergirl got back to the observation deck, they found J'onn hanging up a phone. The Martian turned to them and gave Ben a nod, as did Green Arrow. The happiest, of course, was Ship, who jumped out of a console and into Ben's arms.
"Ship ship!" the little alien cried, happy to see his friend.
"Hey, buddy, I'm glad that I'm okay too."
"Good to see you up, Ben," Arrow said with a smile, "how're you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a giant cannon," Ben replied, "but other than that, I'm fine. Who was J'onn talking to?"
Green Arrow lost his smile. "The President."
Ben and Supergirl looked at each other nervously.
"What did he say?" asked Supergirl.
J'onn spoke up. "He knows that the Fusion Cannon fired, and he knows that we were aimed at Cadmus. However, he also knows that no one was hurt. There is a matter that the founding members need to discuss. Ben, are you well enough to assist in getting the station up and running again?"
Ben nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Besides, I have a feeling we're gonna need every advantage we can get."
…
Cadmus, New Headquarters, Unknown Location
Amanda Waller watched as several soldiers and technicians began reassembling her office. It had been a close call, escaping before the League's space-cannon had fired. It had all been a moot point, of course, since the beam had been stopped by Ben Tennyson, if the reports were accurate. Still, they would have to be more careful in the future.
When she began to think of that future, she scowled and pulled out her phone. She dialed a number and waited. After only a few seconds, a voice answered her.
"I'm surprised to hear from you, Amanda," said the President, "since my boys at the NSA can't find you anywhere."
"We had a security breach at Cadmus," explained Waller, "and I had the facility scrubbed and moved per standard protocol; I wasn't able to get in contact with you until now, sir." Waller smiled grimly. "Even if the Justice League's weapon had hit, they would only have fired on an abandoned building."
"Good, that confirms that there were no casualties."
"Not for lack of trying," said Waller, then felt a bitter taste on her tongue as she said the next part, "if it hadn't been for that shapeshifter, there would have definitely been collateral damage."
"We don't know that the League fired on purpose." Said the President, "I just got off the phone with the Martian; he claims that someone hijacked their weapon and fired it at you in order to incriminate them."
"Oh, this was retaliation, sir, no doubt about it." Waller scowled. "We captured The Question, they bust him out, and an hour later, it's death from above."
The President sighed. "If you're right, it's our worst fears realized."
"Yes, sir; what are you going to do about it?"
"I'm weighing my options."
Waller's scowl deepened. "Mr. President, if we're where we think we are, Cadmus is your only option."
"I'll let you know, Amanda. Stay on high alert."
Waller hung up. This was why she hated politics; too much talking, not enough doing. Well, no more; if it got her fired, so be it, she was going to remove a threat to her country. She marched over to one of the training rooms, where she was met by General Eiling.
"Ma'am? What's going on?"
"I'm done with waiting for the go-ahead," said Waller, "somebody's got to do something about the League."
Waller entered the training room, where she saw a figure pushing up against a machine that was pushing down at over one million tons of pressure.
"I take it you're fit for duty again?" Waller asked.
Galatea smirked as she lifted the machine with only one hand. "Never been fitter."
"Good," said Waller, "come with me."
Galatea lowered the weight and followed her to another part of the base. Inside, past an empty room, was a massive vault.
"Your mission is to take down the Justice League," said Waller, as she typed in a code to open the vault, "and you're going to need help."
As the final part of the code was entered, the vault opened, revealing dozens of identical figures. While the originals had disappeared, the DNA of the Ultimen was still usable. They had been cloned over and over, until twenty teams of five stood before them.
Waller glanced at Galatea.
"Get it done."