Chapter 76: 16-5
"In the aftermath of what is being called the Deep Night Invasion, several coastal cities on the Atlantic have received extensive damage from the assault of unknown aquatic lifeforms. Though the attack was repelled by the combined effort of the local militaries and Justice League, many questions still remain as to what these creatures were and why their assault stopped so suddenly. Atlantian officials have been unavailable for comment, as their own-"
Switch.
"A military spokesman has said several cyber-attacks coincided with the assault, hitting several installations in the north east. This slowed down response-"
Switch
"Breaking News: another media package containing footage of the young heroes has reached major news outlets this morning. However, this footage appears to be heavily modified and shows signs of unfinished editing. This along with other files that appear to have been accidentally included indicates that the original media package may have been fabricated-"
Switch.
"There were robots! They came out of nowhere and started dragging us away from the action-"
Switch.
"In other news, music sales of the electronic music band Daft Punk have skyrocketed in the greater New York City area-"
A call on the comms interrupted my channel surfing, so I closed the feeds and opened the comm. "Diana. Wait, are you still working?"
"Thankfully no." The woman breathed out. "I just got out of debriefing with the rest of the League. I was going to call Starfire to give her an update, but I couldn't reach her."
"She's working right now." I said, looking out over the various construction crews working on the remains of the U.N. building. I was sitting on the same ledge I had a few months ago, when I was waiting to do my first patrol with Diana. A lot can change in a few months, I thought, wondering how they would remake this part of the city. Only two days had passed though, so I doubted anyone knew yet. "I can relay the information to her."
"Well, the U.N. considers the crisis ended, and Atlantis has confirmed that the… temple that Ocean Master found has become dormant once again. They'll be making an official statement in two hours."
"How's Atlantis dealing with Ocean Master's identity?"
"For now, quietly. Arthur and Mera want time to find everyone loyal to the former prince before they make his betrayal public." She paused. "I am not sure if things have been made easier or harder by what happened to him. Are you sure you couldn't have captured him?"
"...Possibly, but it would have been risky. I didn't want to provoke the entity that was already leaving, and given the state Orm was in I don't think he would have been much use for information. Is this a problem?"
"It makes it difficult to be sure that justice has properly been dealt… but what's done is done. While not ideal, letting him be taken by those he sought to enthrall is fitting at least."
"Speaking of which," I said, my tone becoming inquisitive. "Did Mera actually say what those things were?"
"An old civilization, one that predates anything else on record. The Atlantians never discovered a formal name for them, so they simply refer to them as 'the Deep'. They found their civilization… sleeping, some millennia ago, every member locked away in a form of suspended animation. They never discovered why, as shortly after they found it the Atlantian government decided it would be best to leave it alone. Mera says they haven't interacted with it since."
My mouth pressed into a thin line. "She's lying. Or… maybe she doesn't actually know."
"What do you mean?"
"That thing I fought in New York, the Dweller, was powered by the Blue. The Elemental Kingdom of Water. Mera herself said the Atlantian royal line has a connection to the Blue, though it's waned of late. I highly suspect that at some point in the past an Atlantian king made a deal with the Deep. Them being asleep at the time would only be a minor detail."
"So, what do you know of them?" Diana asked. "Red Tornado said that you actually talked to the Dweller."
"I can tell you that they awoke because the 'Stars were Right'. I think Lovecraft must have tapped into something he shouldn't have as I swear I recognized a few of the words of it's speech in hindsight." I had taken what spare minutes I could to pour over Lovecraft's work to see if there was anything I could use, but other than the vague hints I already knew, I didn't get much out of it. I had also taken the time to ask Fate about them, which turned out to be an even bigger waste of time. Not because he didn't know anything, but because he spent the whole conversion being belligerent about not being called upon for the battle rather than tell me anything.
It didn't matter how I pointed out we still didn't have a host for him and that we managed to beat it back on our own, Fate felt that it was some kind of cosmic insult that we didn't defer to him in that situation. I understood that this sort of thing was his job, but I was starting to get the impression that at some point it's come to define his entire existence. I had to leave him to sulk for now, but I was at my wit's end trying to deal with the bloody bucket.
Oblivious to my internal musing, Diana said "Yes, that does line up with our conclusion. To be honest, we learned just as much from Red Tornado's account of the battle. Speaking of which..." She said, her tone mimicking the one I had used earlier.
I could guess what this was about. "I'm not sure what I can tell you, beyond whatever Red Tornado might have mentioned."
"You could start by explaining how you've become the leader of a nation of artificial intelligences."
"First of all, I'm not the leader, I'm the Avatar." Kind of. As Calculus pointed out, I was still the best qualified to be Avatar of the Silver, so I held the position by default. And while the position gave me a connection to the other members, the fraction of power they sent me was negligible compared to my own. Still that connection would make it easy to request more if the situation called for it in the future. "I'm more of a vanguard and problem solver. Secondly, the Silver has settled on being more of a cooperative than a governing body for the time being."
"And what exactly are the Silver's goals? Your description of your own role implies that you will be involved in conflict in the future."
"Protecting artificial intelligences, mostly. We already have a few A.I.s made on Earth, and everything points to there being more made as technology advances. It's important we make sure that new sapient life isn't treated like tools or slaves."
"...A worthy goal." She eventually. "Though some in the League are concerned about the unrest the Silver could bring. There are many fears in Man's World about the potential harm that artificial intelligences could inflict. Even though they are fully people, they are different, and that alone has been enough to create conflict."
"A fact we are fully aware of. Which is why establishing our personhood is so important." I replied. "Our current plan is to work through intermediaries like Kord Tech to get the U.N. attention on the issue. We want to reach the public eye along with government acknowledgment of our personhood. Until then, we're going to try to keep a low profile."
We weren't just doing this to avoid angry mobs of people, but to also avoid other Kingdoms until we were ready. We decided that we were too weak as a whole to risk another elemental parliament trying to cut us off before we got going. So, until we were in a position of strength, the Silver would stay in the background. Of course we had already fought back another Kingdom in a rather spectacular fashion, so we'd have to see if anyone had been paying attention.
"And you don't foresee any conflict of interests that might arise between your roles as Avatar and superhero?"
"No, I think the two coincide fairly well." I paused before I said "What would you do if you had a conflict interest between being Princess of Themyscira and being a superhero?"
A dry chuckle was Diana's response. "I suppose I'd be in quite the bind, though I see your point." She sighed. "We've gotten off topic. The main reason I'm calling is about what the League decided with the Team."
"Ah." I said.
When I remained silent she continued. "We discussed the situation at length, and considered everything we could… but I'm afraid we can't let the Team continue. The team did good work in New York-"
"Good work?" I interrupted. "We saved the city. Hell, considering we put down Ocean Master, we probably saved the world. We saw heavier combat than anyone in the League outside of Atlantis, and we still came out fine."
"And you should take pride in that. You will be truly great heroes someday-"
"But not today."
She plowed forward. "-But the enemy that threatens you is trying to get to us. This is our fight. We can't let you, the ones were supposed to be teaching, fight it for us. I'm sorry, we can't let the Team keep operating as it has. It has to disband."
"...I see." I said eventually. "Well, that is disappointing to hear."
"I know how much the Team has meant to you, but this doesn't mean you have to stop being a hero, or even that you'll never fight beside them again. Once the threat is resolved, we'll revisit the issue. For the time being, those that can will be returning to their mentors. Superman expressed interest in taking on Superboy. For you and Starfire… well, the League will be voting on new members soon." She let the implication hang for a moment before she continued. "We'll have to clear out the Mountain in the meantime though."
"...Actually, I was thinking that I would stay in the Mountain. I've put a lot of work into that place."
"It's understandable that you've grown attached, but once again, undue attention has been drawn to the location. The League things it's prudent to-"
"I'm sorry, let me rephrase: I meant that I'm staying and you can't stop me. I legally own Mount Justice."
That drew her up short. "You… What?"
"So, interesting story: Mount Justice is private property that was originally bought by one of the League's holding companies a decade ago. Said company was abandoned after the Mountain's base was discovered, but the property never actually liquidated properly and sort of fell into a legal gray zone. I managed to clear that up and, well, it's very easy to win an auction of one."
"...When did you do this?"
"About 10 hours ago."
It took Diana a few seconds to find her words. "Jacob… there's a lot of League equipment in there-"
"Not anymore." I interrupted. "Anything that could be considered belonging to the League has been either replaced, boxed up, or completely rebuilt." I paused. "You could try to make a case for those last ones, but at that point we're just arguing the Ship of Theseus."
"But the League won't authorize that." She insisted. "Even if you're not a part of us you still need our approval to have facilities and technology of that level."
"Actually, I don't. The Heywood Act allows private individuals to have advanced and potentially dangerous technology, so long as they're considered superheroes and the tech can be verified by a certified third party. Which Kord Tech is, lucky for me. I'm even allowed to have enough to outfit potential allies."
Diana sighed. "Jacob, I feel like you're intentionally trying to be difficult. Please understand, the League has made its decision."
"I know. And we've made a decision too."
"Wait, what do you-"
I ended the call and looked to the side to see Starfire drifting next to me, having finished talking to the others. "Ready?" I asked.
She nodded and the two of us drifted down to the street. A small cluster of smartly dressed people had gathered near one of the more cleared out spaces in the U.N. Plaza. As we landed on a large, flat chunk in front of them, they all snapped to attention and launched a barrage of questions while pointing microphones and cameras at us. The reporters sure were hungry for a scoop, but then, we did call them here.
Starfire stepped forward and raised her hands, getting them all to quiet down. She had changed her costume, adopting a modified version of the undersuit I made for her armor. She wore a lightly armored purple and white patterned leotard, with long fingerless gloves and thigh-highs. She kept the green gem on her upper chest from her old costume, and had a few compartments along her waist for odds and ends.
"Thank you for coming." She said to the assembled crowd. "I am sure you have many questions, and we will try to address them. But first I ask that you remember where we are and what happened here." She turned to look up at the ruined building behind us before looking back at the crowd. "Many people lost their lives two days ago, and we must honor those who fought to save the city with us and fell in it's defense."
The assembled reporters were silent for a long moment, processing what Starfire had said. It wasn't the tone they were expecting, and seemed to throw all of them off. Still, one intrepid man managed to be first in asking "James Archer, New York Nightly. So, you are confirming you were here? During the Deep Night Invasion?"
She nodded. "Yes, we were. We arrived to help the evacuation of the U.N., but as you can imagine things escalated quickly after that."
"Kat Grant, GBS!" A blonde woman said as she raised her hand. "Was it just you two, or were there other heroes working with you?"
"There were others," I cut in. "But before we get into that, let's dive into what I'm sure you actually want to talk about: the media leaks."
"Yes! What's your statement on the two separate media packages?" she asked excitedly and without shame.
"First, let's get on the same page. Two days ago, most major news outlets in the country received a media package that showed us, along with several other heroes, performing… let's call it suspicious acts of heroism. And this morning you all received a second one, which clearly wasn't the one that was meant to be sent out."
Here's the thing about anonymously faking evidence: it may be helpful for avoiding questions about how you got it, but it also means you can't do anything when someone else comes along and makes more of it. Badly. And considering my time in software engineering, I also know what a bad commit looks like. With the aid of some of my new friends I was able to make a new media package of false events that had clearly been put out too early, complete with editing programs and comments in the files about what needed patching up. All in all, it looked like an absentminded intern committed an entire project rather than just a single folder.
"The footage and media you've all received, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, is edited. Someone has taken real footage and modified it to the point of completely fabricating certain events. Events meant to put us in a questionable legal light." I pause for just a second for that to sink in, but before the reporters could follow up on it I pushed forward. "And we have reason to believe that these people were also involved with Ocean Master and Deep Night Invasion."
That sparked another round of shouting, and Starfire had to gesture to get them to quiet down again before she said "The assault on New York City was not just another one of Ocean Master's targets. The city's power grid was sabotaged by advanced drones, and there was evidence of network tampering in the local military network. And we have seen evidence of this group during other villainous events. We are dealing with a threat that is organized, equipped with advanced technology, and willing to help with acts that kill thousands of people. They are working to tear us apart, turn us against each other and weaken us so that they may command the world unseen."
She lifted off the ground slightly. "But we will not let them win. We will not let these monsters strike at and manipulate the world from the shadows. I have seen the will of the people of this world, and while you may struggle you are capable of so much. I believe in you. And I ask that you believe in us, that we can fight this threat."
A stunned silence settled over the assembled reporters, and I had to fight to keep the smile of my face. People feltwhen Kori put her heart and soul into her words, such that it stirred something in even the most cynical reporter's chest. And I imagined the familiarity of a hopeful alien superhero didn't hurt either.
It took several long seconds before one of the female reporters in the front, a dark skinned woman with her hair in a bun, spoke up. "You-" She started, but stopped and flushed when she realized she spoke. She quickly recovered though and pushed forward. "You said that the footage of you was edited from real footage. How much of it is real, and do you have any association with the young heroes seen?"
Here we go, I thought. Starfire's expression became less grim as she said "Some of the locations and general events were real, but they were twisted into something else entirely. However, I am proud to say that I do know those heroes. Because they are part of our team."
Right on cue, Superboy, Troia and Miss Martian floated down from the rooftops, setting down behind us. At the same time Robin and Artemis swung in on grapples (carried by invisible drones) to take up position on either sides. Kid Flash sped in from around the corner, and Aqualad skated in on a small wave made by his water bearers.
As the reporters looked at the assembling superheroes I said "We have been working together for a short time, but we've already accomplished great things. We've had contact with the League, but we are independent of them. Due to the nature of the enemy we faced, we've been keeping a low profile. But recent events have made it clear that it was time to step forward."
The woman in the front looked between all of us and asked "Does this team have a name?"
Starfire drew herself up, her hair igniting behind her and a smile lighting up her face.
"We are the Titans!"
=====A=====
A/N: There's a sentence 400k words in the making.
So, this is the end of Book 2 of this fic. Well, technically the interlude that directly follows this one is the end, but this is a good place to discuss things. Namely what it means for our characters to stop being the 'Team' and start being the 'Titans'. For the general structure of the fic… probably not too much. There will still be a mix of downtime and going on, what are essentially, missions. However, the time scale is going to change.
Did you know that everything that has happened in this fic has happened over the course of 4 months? It's kind of nuts considering how much has happened. This is because the first season of Young Justice takes place over 6 months, and we are generally speaking two thirds of the way through it. But, with the founding of the Titans the train has officially jumped it's rails and gives me an excuse to not crunch everything in such a short time frame. So Book 3, which would normally cover the last third of the first season and end on New Years, is probably going to end closer to summer of 2011. The enemies plans will move accordingly.
Part of the reason for this is that I do have an ending in mind for this fic, and the place I want to be at for it is several years down the line. And I will not be writing all the way to that point with the same 'event density' that I have been. So, at the moment I tentatively have the 4th and final book planned to be stretched over several years, only taking a look at key events (and character moments) up until the finale. Book 3 will be similar, with more stuff happening between serials that's not worth going into too much detail (let's face it, at this point anytime Jacob runs into a tech villain that's not specifically prepared for him is going to finish real quick).
Of course, that is assuming I even get to that point. I've been working on Assimilation for 4 years now, and in my mind it's going to take another four to finish this. Possibly longer, as it seems I've fallen into the same problem I always do with my long running fics, and each part takes longer and longer to make. I'm not tired of it yet, but we'll have to see how the story shakes out and how I'm feeling by the end of Book 3.
So, a question to all you readers: What would you like to see before this train reaches its final stop? I have my own list of stuff I'm going to get to, and I'm not going to invent filler just to pad out the books. If I feel like I've done everything I want to with this fic early, I will likely timeskip to the last arc rather than waste time. So I would like to know if there is anything the readers think should happen or be addressed that might not be in my own notes so I can plan accordingly. I will of course neither confirm nor deny what I already have planned.
Thank you for reading.
Chapter 77: Interlude 9
"Well, that went about a well as could be expected." Superman breathed out, watching as Starfire was led out of the council chamber by Batman. "I suppose back when we first formed the League, we wouldn't have accepted anyone telling us to stop either."
On the other side of the conference table, Flash grunted. "I don't think it's the same thing, Sups. We may have been younger a decade ago, but we weren't that young."
"We likely caused the same amount of headaches though," Superman remarked. With the… Titans' announcement, they had sent both officials and civilians alike into a frenzy. Clark himself had been at his desk writing an article when Perry had stormed into the office, demanding to know who the Titans were and why they didn't have anyone covering their debut. Needless to say it was a bit of a shock to see the Team on the news, just a short while after the decision to disband them.
This needed to be addressed, but after dismissing the League from the last debrief, they hadn't been able to get everyone back to discuss the... development with the Team in a timely fashion. Still, Starfire had accepted their abrupt summons to explain her (and her team's) actions. And while she had been courteous in her responses, she had made it very clear that the Team was committed to stepping out on their own.
Next to Flash, Green Arrow rubbed his face. "I swear, it's these kids and not the supervillains that will be the death of us. 'Thank you for all you've done for us, but we can take it from here'? " He said, parroting what Starfire had told them. "Where does she get off telling us that?"
"They have experienced very 'advanced' hero work in a very short amount of time." Martian Manhunter pointed out. "It is not surprising that they would consider themselves ready for whatever the world might throw at them. Do we even have a measure for how long they have to be doing this before we decide that they are ready?"
"It's at least more than four months!" Green Arrow exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "And when they are legally adults!"
"Normally I'd agree," Everyone looked to Lantern Stewart, who had his arms folded across his chest. "But I think they've become a special case, and not just because half of them are adults. We set them on this path to begin with, and for whatever reason, we weren't there enough when things went pear-shaped. In my opinion, if we had wanted to stop them from doing this, we should have dialed back on their operations long before now."
"And you think that justifies them making their own team?" Black Canary asked. "Them pulling through extreme circumstances is commendable, but doesn't equate to good judgment. Sometimes it results in the opposite, which is to say nothing of potential trauma."
"There just wasn't enough time to talk to them," Wonder Woman groaned, slumped forward with her head in her hand. "Between the Team being exposed and the invasion, we acted too quickly and without them. In hindsight, this is not all that surprising." She sighed and sat up. "Though I wish they had come to us first rather than broadcasting it to the world. I still feel we might have been able to convince them from going this far."
Hawkwoman barked out a laugh. "Not likely, sister. In my opinion this has been coming since Bialya. Not exactly a fan of how it happened, but those kids have been chafing under League control since the start."
"Chafing? Their missions have gone off the deep end almost every time! How's that our fault?" Green Arrow protested.
"Need I remind you that at least one of those times was a direct result of poor operational training?" The woman pointed out.
Before this could turn into an argument, Superman held a hand up. "The true failing is that we didn't ever come to a consensus on what they should be doing. But… it seems that doesn't matter now. It looks like the Titans are going to be a more traditional superhero team."
"Yes, but I don't know if they are going to stay that way." Black Canary said. "Sure they've learned a lot, but I'm worried they learned the wrong lessons about which rules to break."
"I still can't believe they destroyed the U.N. building so they could drop it on Ocean Master." Flash said, shaking his head.
"I know! Wasn't that that coolest?!"
Everyone in the room turned to look at Captain Marvel, who was sporting a wide grin on his face. He opened his mouth, but he noticed the flat looks the others gave him. He coughed. "Uh, sorry."
"In any case," Superman said, "We need to focus on what we're going to do moving forward. They won't listen to us to disband on their own, so that's not an option. So, what's the League's public response to the Titans? Personally... I think we should come out in support of them."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Lantern Stewart asked. "The League never endorsed another team before. People might think we're playing favorites, what with some of them being old sidekicks."
"No, I agree with Superman." Diana said, finally pulling herself up straight. "Refusing to acknowledge them would look even worse, especially after they saved New York. More than that," Her lips quirked a little. "We should acknowledge the Titans as the heroes that are."
"I can't believe we're letting them get away with this," Green Arrow muttered. "Look, I'll be happy so long as they stick to fighting crime. But if they start intentionally going after the League of Shadow, we have to step in."
"But we need to be careful," Black Canary insisted. "If we're too forceful, they'll pull away even more, and then we won't even know what they're doing. Let's try to keep relations friendly, maybe I can soften them a bit to see our point of view with some time."
"Assuming we have the time," Lantern Stewart muttered ruefully.
Superman nodded. "Alright, we publicly announce our support while we privately try to make things friendlier between us. Does everyone approve?" The assembled superheroes agreed one by one. "Great, I'll make sure to bring this to the absent members and get their approval too. If there's nothing else-"
"One more thing," Hawkwoman said. "Now that the Titans are off doing their own thing, that means we're missing a covert ops team. And in spite of how shaky those ops were, we got some good intel from them. I think we need another."
"We're not going to-"
"I don't mean kids. We need professionals, or at least someone we can train."
"How are we going to do that?" Flash asked.
Hawkwoman settled back in her seat. "Well, we were planning on expanding the roster..."
"You were surprisingly terse in the meeting," Koriand'r said to Batman as the two walked down the Watchtower halls. "I would have thought you would have more to say about the Titans."
"I gave the facts of the matter." The man replied back. "The Titans publicly announced themselves and their involvement with the invasion. And considering how thorough Machina has been in establishing your independence, there is little that the League can officially do about it."
Koriand'r hesitated before she said "I hope this doesn't sour relations between us. I know that our actions may seem antagonistic, but we still do have respect for you and what you do."
Batman grunted. "Though not for our leadership."
"No." She replied simply. They fell into silence, passing through the main atrium of the Watchtower and moving towards the hanger bay. After a short while Koriand'r spoke again. "There are two things I should ask, Batman. The first is if you intend to allow the Titans' continued use of the Zeta Tube network."
"...That's complicated." He replied. "The League will have to vote on that, as we as get approval from the U.N. Your status as to if you are still League affiliates is already in question. The second thing?"
"Do you still consider Robin your apprentice?" She asked. "I don't mind him splitting his time between us and you, but I would like to avoid any tension that might cause."
"I don't intend to pull him away from the Titans any more than I was doing before." He said, the two of them walking into the Watchtower hanger. "I can't speak for the other League members, but I doubt they will attempt to force the issue by 'recalling' their partners." He stopped and looked at the thing taking up the center of the space. "Though I will have some things to say if you plan to take him into space."
The Psion ship that had brought her and Jacob to Earth had become almost unrecognizable over the past few months, due to the latter's efforts. The once cylindrical vessel was now a sleek delta shape, tapered at the front and expanding out into wings in the back. The rings that had encircled the central frame were now more firmly integrated with the body, and while she couldn't see it she knew Jacob had installed a few other bits of technology inside. The man in question was standing on the open loading ramp, watching the two approach. "We good to go?" He asked.
When Koriand'r had predictably been called up to the Watchtower to explain the Titans to the League, Jacob had taken the opportunity to come with her to do a 'tech exchange.' He had boxed up all of the League equipment that was in the Mountain over the past few days, and so was delivering them back to the Watchtower. He had also made modifications to the Mountain's bay doors, which meant the two were headed back down to the planet in the starship.
"Just one thing," Batman said, turning to face Koriand'r. "You're not under our command anymore, but I still expect you to live up to our standards. The public puts a great trust in its superheroes, and if you violate that trust… we will put a stop to it one way or another."
She nodded her head. "I would hope that you know us better than that, but I understand."
"Good. If there's nothing else-"
"Actually, there is something that comes to mind," she interrupted. "It's about the Mountain."
"I haven't hidden any devices, if that's what you're thinking."
"No, it's something Jacob mentioned to me when he purchased it. He said that he wasn't surprised to find it in its 'ambiguous' legal state, but he was surprised just how easy it was to free it. More than that, he found evidence that it used to exist in a much more bureaucratic mess before he located it." She arched an eyebrow. "And the only way it could have been left out in the 'open' as it was, was if the person who owned the original holding company made it that way..."
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
Koriand'r gave him a knowing smile. "Yes you do." She said softly. Humans were such strange creatures when it came to their own emotions. They constantly tried to hide or suppress them, even around those they trusted. Made all the stranger by how they weren't very good at it. Robin always spoke of how Batman never showed any emotion he didn't want to, and yet Koriand'r could remember a number of times he expressed concern or worry in their presence. "From the moment you let us go to New York, I knew you would help us. And while you may have trouble saying it openly, I know how much you care. And so..."
She stepped back and bowed deeply. "Thank you for caring about my team. I promise I will take care of them."
Batman was silent as Koriand'r rose, though she could see the struggle to remain neutral in his face. With a final nod she walked away from him and onto the ship, and a short while later departed the Watchtower.
Buddy Baker hustled up the steps to his home, trying to unlock and open the door as quietly as possible. He had told his wife and daughter that he would be coming back late that night, so they were likely already asleep by that point. Working as a stuntman often meant he kept odd hours, especially when a scene needed to be shot at night. And it was worse when the director decided that they needed to make up for lost time.
You'd think that an invasion of fish-people would halt things for more than a day, but not in this business, he thought as he moved through the entry hall to the kitchen. Then again, his hometown of San Diego was so far away from the action, you wouldn't have known anything was wrong if you hadn't been watching the news. There really was nothing to be done on his side of the country other than go back to business as usual.
Still... part of him wished that he could have been there to help. It had been a while since he had engaged in 'that' work, but he still felt the call to action every now and then. And during the invasion… he felt it more strongly than ever. The fact that he had felt it before he learned about the invasion from the news was deeply concerning, though.
Flicking the lights to the kitchen on, he moved to the fridge to pick out something to quiet down his stomach. Buddy gazed out the nearby window at the sound of a far away siren, but saw nothing aside from darkness and the array of large flowers that his wife liked to leave out on the windowsill. He opened the fridge and took a big swig of milk out of a carton before looking back out the window.
And immediately spat the milk out when he saw the largest flower had grown a face.
He sputtered and coughed, trying to clear his throat as quietly as he could. When he could finally speak again, he glared at the face. "God, I hate it when you do that."
The face that took up the head of the flower was masculine if a bit flat, the most distinctive feature being a ridge that went over the nose and down around the mouth. "I know last we talked we agreed to keep our distance," the Swamp Thing said, ignoring the fright he just gave Buddy. "But I need to know what the Red thinks of the situation."
Buddy Barker, the Animal Man, stared flatly back at his old ally (calling him a friend might have been a bit much). "What situation? The Parliament of Limbs hasn't told me anything lately." Which was typical of them. The Red had a pretty lax attitude to management when it came to him. "They're still trying to ignore what happened in Louisiana, if you want to know."
The last time the two had spoken was a few months ago, when some humans using the power of the Red had attacked Swamp Thing. It had nearly come to blows between the two Kingdoms, but luckily Buddy and Swamp thing had quickly proven that a third party had been responsible. They tried not to be seen together too much though (in spite of their past history), as some in their own Kingdoms felt they were acting out of their respective stations. Much like how Swamp Thing was the Avatar of the Green, Buddy Baker was the Champion of the Red.
Champion, but not Avatar. Most of the time those two roles were one and the same, but he was something of an exception. His appointed job (aside from handling threats to the Red) was to watch over the next Avatar until they were ready to take the position. Buddy very pointedly did not shift his gaze to the ceiling above him and asked "Is this about what happened in the Atlantic? Because I wasn't there for any of it, but I felt-" He hesitated before he asked the question he had been dreading. "Was it the Black? Are they making a move again?"
"No." Swamp Thing replied, and Buddy breathed out a sigh of relief. It had been over a decade since he and Swamp Thing had to deal with the Kingdom of Decay, and the more time he could put between himself and that nightmare the better. But, Swamp Thing wasn't done. "The Blue was responsible for it."
Buddy blinked. "Wait… there's a Blue now?"
"There has always been a Blue. It is the Kingdom of Sea Life." It was hard to tell, but the face in the flower seemed to twist into a grimace. "Among other things. We do not talk about it."
"Sea life? How does that work-"
"We do not talk about the Blue."
Buddy let his question drop, and took a moment to process this. He did feel something strange during the Deep Night Invasion, an almost eldritch sensation on the edge of perception. He had ignored it at the time, but if this was another Elemental Kingdom acting up it would make sense that he could sense that. The last time this sort of thing happened… again, he tried not to think about it.
In any case, if Buddy could feel it, that meant others in his Kingdom would have too. "Well, if that's the case, wouldn't this be one Kingdom invading another? Why didn't the Red or Green respond?"
"Too fast, the whole incident was over by the time anyone realized just what was happening." Swamp Thing said. "Besides, most of the actual assault occurred on human cities, and you know better than I do that humans are always treated differently."
Buddy scowled. Swamp thing wasn't wrong, but he didn't appreciate the implication. The Red wasn't hostile to humans, just… more detached. He had it explained to him that it had something to do with how humans were sapient, and that got in the way of their connection to the Red unless they made the effort. Or something, it had gone over his head. "If it was a threat to all animal life, I'm sure the Red would have made a move." He shook his head. "But, it doesn't matter. If they didn't tell me anything, the Red must think the whole situation is resolved. You can take that back to the Trees."
Swamp Thing's face looked back impassively, before his tiny brow furrowed. "They might not know... " he muttered.
"Or for the love of- Just spit it out. What else is going on?" The other man asked in exasperation.
"I am not certain, but there is a rumor. One that I've managed to pull out of some of my compatriots, from the few of the plant spirits that live in New York City. The Avatar of the Blue made landfall there and was fought back, but not just by superheros. Something managed to completely suppress it for a few minutes, a force that came from the city itself." Swamp Thing paused, a grimace crossing his small face. "They think it was another Kingdom. A new Kingdom."
Buddy stood up straighter. "A new form of life? How sure are these 'compatriots' of yours?"
"Very. I was told the feeling of this power was both distinct and familiar. If it is not a Kingdom, it is something very close."
Buddy raked his hand through his hair. "Alright… a new Kingdom. What does that mean, and what do we do?"
"Find it, first of all. We need to know what it is and what they're planning. A new Kingdom has always brought conflict in its wake. And ideally, we do so before our respective parliaments do. If history is anything to go by, the response will be to attack first."
And we'll be the ones they send to do it, Buddy thought with a grimace. "Right, so we're looking for a new form of life that came from this planet. No metahumans, no aliens, something else." He sighed. "Do these rumors have any details? Because for all we know Manhattan was saved by a particularly unique form of Slime Mold that lives in the sewers." He never trusted those things…
"No." Swamp Thing responded. "It was only a feeling these spirits shared. But a new Kingdom, one that can hold back the Blue at that, has to leave some kind of mark. And from that, we can pick up a trail."
"So, I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way." Buddy remarked with a sight. "I've still got some contacts in my old community, someone on the hero side of things probably knows something. I'll dig around, see what I turn up."
The flower head nodded. "I will do the same, though I'm afraid I will be less useful in that respect."
Buddy grunted, already wondering how he was going to explain all of this to his wife. "...Wait, don't you have that one mage friend-"
"No."
Ra's al Ghul walked through the halls of the mountain fortress, trying to ignore the headache that was building behind his eyes. He had low expectations going into the meeting with the rest of the Light, and yet he was still disappointed. Granted, their last operation had not been particularly successful, but he would have thought his compaiots would have learned to take it better rather than what he was forced to sit through.
When Ra's reached his office, he swept past he desk and went straight for the open doors leading to the balcony, wanting some fresh air to clear his head. He stopped to look down at the courtyard below, watching some initiates run through combat drills. He found the regimented patterns of movement much more soothing to focus on than his own thought, so for a time he simply breathed deep and slipped into a light meditative state.
It was such that he almost didn't notice Sensei standing on the opposite end of the balcony, sipping a cup of tea and dressed in his usual martial arts clothing. Then again, the weathered man knew how to subdue his presence when he wanted to, and likely noticed that Ra's needed some time to collect himself. They stood in comfortable silence before Sensei finally broke it. "How did the meeting go?"
"Predictably." Ra's replied. "Savage accused the Brain of not controlling the creatures properly, the Brain accused Savage of not telling us about a clearly powerful and ancient civilization. Luthor is angry that none of us paid enough attention to what the young heroes were doing, and the Calculator just… yelled. Klarion egged everyone on." Conversations between the Light when things went wrong were never productive. The next few days would be spent with them reaching out to each other individually before emotions cooled and they could act as a group again.
"Is the setback really that large?"
"...Possibly." Ra's turned and walked back into his office, the other man following him. "The loss of Ocean Master is unfortunate, though there are other options for dealing with Atlantis. Him going off plan and causing senseless destruction is worse, but there are still ways to take advantage of that. But..."
He pressed a few buttons on his desks, and several holographic screens came to life, showing news feeds and operational reports. Ra's gestured to the biggest screen, which showed an image of the young heroes with the headline over it 'We are the Titans!' "This is a different matter entirely. We expected them to at most play a minor role during the operation, not be solely responsible for stopping it." Though given how much Ocean Master had been going off script, Ra's suspected that was a blessing. "And then using that momentum to create a public team… it is far more clever than I expected of the Justice League."
Sensei regarded the image for a moment before he looked back at his master. "It is bold, but doesn't it also play into what you want? They were exposed to stop their covert operations, and them becoming a public team will certainly do that."
"True… but we hoped that the League would fall back on the conservative mindset they've developed over the past few years and disband the team entirely. The young heroes being repurposed into a public team shows an initiative we thought they lost." He sighed. "And their counter-propaganda lends weight to this too. Not only have they used their information skills to dismiss the evidence of illegal activities, they have turned it into momentum for their new team."
Ra's switched to an image from the Titan's press conference, zoomed in on Starfire as she rose in the air. The text across the top read 'She believes in you.' while across the bottom was 'Are you going to let her down?' "People haven't been this excited about superheroes since the Justice League initially formed. Their public influence should not be underestimated. And nothing says the Justice League will completely stop doing covert operations. They may even just make another team to do it." Ra's looked at the image of the Detective's apprentice, wondering just what the man was playing at.
Sensei was silent, but then he chuckled. "It seems for all the wisdom you have accrued, master, you can still miss the obvious sitting right in front of you."
Ra's looked up at Sensei, eyebrow raised. "Oh?"
"You see the formation of this team as a counter move on the part of the League. You've seen everything that this team has done as an extension of the League. And to a point, I suppose that is true. But you forgot that heroes are a very independent sort." A grin split his face. "And the young are even more so."
It only took a moment to understand what he was saying. "They formed the team on their own..." Ra's said. Somehow, he had been so focused on the League that he completely failed to consider that the young heroes would have their own opinion on matters. And, in spite of the reports he had been getting, he never considered they were capable of this sort of information warfare. "This… was an oversight."
"One that appears to have caught everyone unaware." Sensei said, though he had a slight smile on his face. "The world has gotten used to superheroes, and began to see them as mundane. We ourselves have helped instill the idea that heroes are fallible. This sort of thing shouldn't happen. But the young don't know what doesn't work, and thus often succeed at it anyway. Even if it thwarts us… such things are still nice to see."
Ra's ignored Sensei's amusement and thought about the problem at hand. Assuming the worst case scenario, they were now dealing with two separate teams of heroes, each with differing tactics but willing to work together. This complicated things… but could also lead to other options.
But first, he had to rectify the mistake that got them all there. "Send for Cheshire," He told Sensei. "I have a new assignment for her."
Sensei bowed and left, leaving Ra's to start updating and drafting new plans in light of this revelation. It was only a few minutes before Cheshire entered his office, kneeling before him. He had not seen her since he retrieved her from Rhelasian custody (leaving a body double in her place), but he knew she had been eagerly awaiting her next mission. If only to alleviate her boredom from laying low. "What would you ask of me, Master?" She asked.
"Have you heard of this new superhero team?" He asked, walking around his desk to stand in front of her. "These Titans?"
"...I have." She said after a moment. "Though I don't think they are of much consequence."
Ra's briefly wondered at her logic behind that assessment, but he dismissed it. "So some may think. But what few are aware of is that they were solely responsible for stopping Ocean Master and his invasion."
Her head snapped up. "Oh… well that is something, isn't it?"
"Quite." Ra's gestured for her to stand. "I believe that we will have to redeploy our asset to focus on this new threat. Clearly we have been lax in knowing our enemy properly."
Cheshire let out a soft hum. "Intelligence op. Should the goal be a full infiltration?"
The man thought for a moment before he said "No, caution is needed." Ra's did not know how easily the asset's 'nature' could be discerned, he wouldn't put it past Machina's capabilities to discover it. Luthor had been particularly unhappy when he had seen the Superboy exhibiting Kryptonian abilities he should not have, and the machine man was most likely the one who had taken a closer look. "The asset should ingratiate, but avoid detailed scrutiny."
"It shall be done." she said with a nod, and turned to leave.
"Cheshire," The woman stopped and looked back at Ra's. "You will be investigating as well. Use your familial connection as needed."
She started to protest, but stopped when he saw the look he gave her, one that reminded her of the full weight of the debt she owed him. Both for her extraction from Rhelasia, and her request to leave Sportsmaster in prison. It was only a moment before she bowed her head. "Yes. Of course Great One."
The once clean and organized lab had turned into a mess of wires snaking across the floor, connecting nearly every device in the space. The entire room had been haphazardly shuffled around a central device, a cobbled together pillar of technology a little taller than a man. It was made of dark metals and wires, with a console almost bolted onto the side of it. Whatever this thing was, anyone could tell they wouldn't enjoy using it.
The Calculator stood in front of the device, haggard and bleary eyed while striped to the waist. His hand felt sore and his torso was dirty, but he had finally finished. Even if it had taken some sleepless nights. While he was a fair hand with electronics, this sort of engineering was normally beyond him. But he had gotten some extra… motivation as of late.
It belongs to us.
He felt pressure build at the back of his skull, and rubbed his head to keep his focus from drifting. "This is going to make me strong enough to beat him," he muttered like a mantra. "This is going to make me strong enough to beat him." The pressure subsided, and he pushed forward with his work. He hadn't been able to rest since Operation Midnight, since that bloody Tek-al made a fool of him again. Well, he knew how to fix that now. How to make himself better.
We will reclaim all that should be ours.
The Calculator typed away at a keyboard on the side of the device, entering in the last set of scripted commands. With the last keystroke part of the pillar broke open, revealing a harness. He turned and strapped himself in, securing his torso and head. A panel with several switches and a large button was within reach of his right arm.
He flicked a few of the top switches in sequence, and several small waldos folded out. Two of them took up position on either side of his neck, each holding a curved piece of dark metal. And while he couldn't see it, he shivered as he felt the flexible strip of cold metal press against his spine.
He took several deep breaths, readying himself for what came next.
Nothing is beyond our-
"You know I can hear you, right?"
…That is not-
The Calculator slammed his hand down on the button, and the two pieces of metal around his neck slammed together to form a collar, which connected to the spinal piece. On connection everything activated, and small spikes inserted themselves into all of his spinal cord. He screamed in pain, and then they both screamed as rapidly modulating exotic energy was shot into his body.
He tried to keep his eyes locked on a monitor on a nearby table, watching the displayed wave oscillations tuned themselves. Every agonising second he watched as the frequency narrowed down closer and closer to the one he was looking for. Finally, just before he could pass out, he saw the oscillations match.
In spite of the pain, the Calculator grinned. "Got you, you son of a bitch!" He yelled, and slammed his hand back down on the button.
The frequency locked in, and the machine shut down. He went slack in his restraints, his breath running raggad for several minutes. Finally, the man let out a wheezing laugh. "Oh, that was close… you almost had me there. But you got impatient." He looked back at the monitor, the screen showing readouts on his little trap. Everything was green across the board, and the errant wavelength that was emanating from the nanolatice attached to his nervous system was isolated. "You shouldn't have raised your voice so much. And you definitely shouldn't have tried to make me think that augmenting myself was a good idea."
In truth, he had to give some thanks to the dear departed Ocean Master in that regard. When that… thing had wrenched control of the puppet away from him, the feedback from it knocked him out for a few minutes. When he came to, his powers were on the fritz and had to manually get eyes back on the action, which is when he saw just what happened to Ocean Master and what his meddling had done to him.
And as the Calculator's powers had come back, the thought of augmenting himself just popped into his head. And the Calc- no, Noah realized the same thing was happening to him.
And with that realization, the pieces had fallen into place. "You're the thing that tried to kill me, aren't you? The thing that was trapped in that lump of technology." He said aloud, looking at the screen with the vibrating lines on it, a screeching sound coming from the back of his mind. "I really should have checked you completely gone… but then again, maybe you were affecting me even then."
The screeching sound finally died down, and the lines along with it. After a beat, they vibrated again, and the voice in his head was finally clear and separate from his own thoughts.'This will not keep us back forever.'
Noah barked out a laugh. "We'll see about that," he said, and reached out to pull a lever to release his restraints. He stumbled forward, hand coming up to feel the collar still around his neck. It was based on the metahuman restraint collars the government used on prisoners, retrofitted to instead focus on the nanolattice. The collar (along with the spine) would keep the entity restricted, so he would be wearing it till he had a better solution.
'You said that you were making yourself strong enough to beat the Tek-al' the voice said, almost accusing.
"Yes, and that's exactly what I did. By getting your grubby little fingers out of my brain!" He yelled back. "Every time I've gone up against Machina, it's gone to shit! And yet every time I kept trying to build some new dumb thing to take him over! And that shit was not my fault." Honestly, the quality of his work had really been suffering since he got his powers. Though it was somewhat relieving to know it was due to alien influence and not him getting over-reliant. "Considering the mania you put me under, it's a wonder I got the Undernet working..."
'Nothing is beyond our reach. All must fall under it.'
Noah took this to mean the entity approved of the idea and let him do it. But that didn't answer the big question... "Just what is your problem with Machina anyway? The obsession with him is yours after all." Thinking about the superhero, Noah … ok, he still hated the swarm of nanobugs, but it wasn't the all consuming rage and focus he had a few minutes ago. He would be just as glad to see it dead, but this thing… "The fact that it's not under your control eats at you, doesn't it? Like it's a personal insult that it resisted your control."
'It is Tek-al. It belongs to us.'
There might actually be a connection there. Something to remember when I'm trying to get rid of this thing.Experimentally he tried mentally connecting with his terminal, and frowned when he found the connection weaker than it should have been. I had hoped that I only imagined my powers were getting stronger the more deranged I got, he thought grimly. While he still had his metahuman abilities, the collar seemed to confirm that whatever his passenger was, it was amplifying his powers. It made a sort of sense, that his metahuman power would develop in response to the threat that triggered them.
But, this left him with a conundrum: how to proceed with his abilities. The prudent option would be to keep suppressing the entity until he could remove it entirely. But… that would deprive him of power he needed. Joining the Light had let him see behind the curtain, see the real forces that moved the world. And if he wanted to be among them, he needed more than a middling level of technopathy. Especially if Machina was able to counter him.
Slowly, he reached up and turned a small dial on his collar. The damping signal lessened, and he felt the pressure in the back of his skull rise just a bit.
'Remove the collar.'
"No." Noah chuckled. "This is a sign of good faith."
'...We don't understand.'
"Simply put, you can't do anything while I have you locked me away, and I need the boost to my power you give me. If we cooperate, we can both get what we want. What do you say?"
'...Acceptable.'
This wouldn't last, of course. The entity's desire for control was near pathological. It would try to subvert and take control of Noah every chance it got, and Noah knew this. He could plan for it. But more importantly… Noah knew that the entity might win anyway. Over-confidence had been the death of Ocean Master, and the thing that had touched Noah's mind was proof that he didn't understand everything.
And yet… for all his artificial obsession over Machina, only now did he realize something about the hero: he was willing to put his life on the line for what he believed. Those beliefs were stuipd, but that didn't matter. If Noah wanted to get stronger like Machina, he'd have to be willing to risk his life for his goals as well. For Noah, there was no going back. He would have victory, or he would be consumed.
And with that thought burned into his heart, Noah felt more alive than he had in years.
Weezak stood before the ship's view port, the Gordanian looking out over the slowly spreading wreckage of a Psion ship drifting through empty space. They claim themselves so smart, and yet they can't handle the simplest tactics being used against them, he thought blithely. A simple distraction followed by a pincer attack renders them helpless. If we didn't acquire most of our best weapons from them, I'd say they were useless.
Regardless, these particular Psions had been difficult to find. They had been attached to a mobile research station that had been moving about the Vega system, and these Psions had been scientists that worked on it. They were well versed in moving about undetected, so it wasn't until they got a tip where they might show up that the Gordanian captain was able to spring an ambush.
A grin split Weezak's scaled face. Once the Psions cracked under interrogation, he would finally have a lead on their research station. The trove of technology it contained would bring him great renown in his clan. It's why he requested this assignment from his Citadel masters, in spite of its low odds of success. Of course, he also had an advantage: the help of a particular Citadelian VIP. One that had, a short while ago, been imprisoned in that particular station.
One of Weezak's subordinate's handed him a datapad, and he took a few moments to look it over before he walked back to the center of his ship's bridge. Several of his helmsman worked at the consoles around the circular room, but his attention was focused on the figure on the elevated dais in the back, mostly obscured by shadow. "I have good news. It seems that these Psions were carrying data recorded on the station from the day of the incident."
With a few button presses the central holographic display at the middle of the bridge came alive, showing a wireframe of the station they were hunting. The image held for a moment before a small ship detached from the station and sped away.
"We've found the telemetry the escaping vessel took from the Psion station. It seemed they headed to a system 24 light years from here."
The figure remained still, watching the central hologram display form a stellar map. As the coordinates were displayed, the figure leaned forward, glowing purple eyes narrowing. "Found you now, sister."