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Mettle, Metal, Meddled - Chapter 35 - Update - Justice League Interlude
🕑 Added 2022-09-21 15:18:13 +0000 UTC“Before we begin the meeting in earnest, let me introduce Dr. Renault and Dr. Ernal,” Batman said, gesturing to two people sitting on either ends of the table. “Dr. Renault has a PhD in ethics and was a Professor of Ethics at Harvard University, while Dr. Ernal has a PhD in philosophy and was head of the philosophy department at Boston College. They have both been vetted and agreed to keep all knowledge of these meetings secret. If you would both like to introduce yourselves?”
Doctor Renault, a middle aged woman of short stature, pale complexion and black hair pulled up in a bun, stood up with a large smile.
“Greetings, as Batman said, I am Dr. Renault,” She repeated with a faint French accent. “I am here to sit in on your meetings, to act as a voice of reason and ethical clarity. On a personal note, this setting is of great interest to me as my current personal project is to create the first standardized superhero code of ethics, as well as potentially creating a metahuman companion code. I look forward to working with all of you.”
The woman sat down with a nod, reclaiming her seat while the other newcomer, Dr. Ernal, slowly stood with the help of a cane. He was seemingly much older than Dr. Renault, his back hunched quite a bit. He had a full head of white hair and a face lined with wrinkles.
“Hello everyone, again as Batman said I am Dr. Ernal, Doctor of philosophy,” He repeated, looking around the room with a discerning eye. “I will also be sitting in on all Justice League meetings, though my purpose will be to play devil's advocate, offer conflicting opinions and just generally make sure you are considering every angle of a situation.”
“Thank you doctors,” Batman said, nodding while Dr. Ernal sat back down in his seat. “After the fiasco that was our treatment of Superboy it was clear that something needed to be done. The inclusion of the doctors is our first step towards a solution.”
Batman said, standing from his chair, tapping on his keypad and activating the projected screen behind him.
“Now, as you all know, the recent arrest of Sportscaster has unveiled an incredible amount of issues that we would have otherwise missed.”
“We have been incredibly busy,” Wonder Woman agreed. “But it has been a productive week as well.”
“It has,” Batman agreed, standing and turning towards the projector, the screen displaying the above ground section of Cadmus. “With the second raid on Cadmus complete, and the recovery of the original Roy Harper we began processing of the entire staff. A shocking amount of the staff has been mentily manipulated in some way, ranging from simple blocked memories to massive shifts in morality. We have a grand total of forty seven scientists suffering from varying levels of trauma from what they were forced to do. Twenty three of them witnessed Lex Luthor on site, either touring the facility or visiting specific projects. Six of them witnessed Luthor personally present around the original Roy Harper and five heard him acknowledging the project to clone Roy Harper, and that they had the original locked up in the secret storage room. Which leads us to our second point.”
An image of Lex Luthor, a mug shot, as well as him being led out to a police car with restraints on his hands.
“As of Friday Lex Luthor was arrested for his involvement in the kidnapping of Roy Harper. The scientists he ordered mentally adjusted are chomping at the bit to act as witnesses to his involvement. The rest are looking to have him charged for several banned areas of research and other unsafe practices.”
“Are those who are mentally manipulated capable of acting as reliable witnesses?” Dr. Ernal asked.
“I was able to reconnect the hidden memories of all affected staff members smoothly, they have not been tampered with beyond the disconnection,” Martian Manhunter explained. “The UN recognizes me as an expert witness in matters of psychic abilities and mental manipulation. Further, they have psychic individuals on staff that can confirm my findings. Psychic humans are extremely rare, but they do exist.”
Dr. Ernal simply nodded, his question answered easily.
“What's the likelihood that these charges will stick?” Superman asked,leaning forward.
“Fairly high. And even if they dont his reputation will never recover, not with how many witnesses are coming forward,” Batman explained. “Lexcorp has seen a significant loss in revenue, several business deals have been canceled and Luthor has lost a significant amount of respect. Kidnapping a thirteen year old child is not exactly something you can just brush off, not like gun smuggling or corporate espionage.”
“What about Superboy and this second clone?” Black Canary asked. “Any progress there?”
“The second clone is undergoing a detailed scan that will finish soon,” Superman explained, rubbing his face. “I’m hopeful that the scan will uncover exactly what is going on inside his body. After that, it's up to luck. I have a database of Kryptonian medical knowledge, if a cure is in there then we can cure him. If not… well I will release the relative data to trusted doctors and scientists and hope they can figure out some sort of treatment. I’m hopeful that the database will have some sort of treatment though, as cloning with genetic donors was the primary method of reproduction by the end of Krypton.”
“And Superboy?” One of the Green Lanterns asked.
“He declined the scan for-” He started to explain, only to get interrupted by several shocked exclamations, holding his hands up, hoping to stop the barrage. “He declined the scan for now. The level of detail required to scan the second clone, who Kyle has taken to calling Match, as that was the project code word, is significant, even for Kryptonian tech. If the central computer of the Fortress of Solitude was doing both scans at once, it would have taken significantly longer. Superboy decided, with the support of his guardians I might add, to hold off his own scan until Match’s scan is complete. Honestly, I … I’m proud of him, if I have any right to be at this point.”
The room was quiet for a long moment before Superman shook off his melancholy and internal confusion and continued.
“Match’s scan is scheduled to complete early tomorrow morning. Depending on the consequences and severity of the situation I will most likely be keeping the results confidential until Match can decide for himself.”
The conversation continued for a while, shifting around the treatment and of the clones, about how they could integrate into society once they were all recovered, both mentally and physically, what was happening with the staff of Cadmus who weren’t mentally affected, as well as the only other living sample stored at the secret storage.
“The ring couldn't identify their species, which if I'm honest is worrying in and of itself,” Green Lantern Hal Jordan explained. “It could mean that they are a genetic outlier to the point of being a new species, or they could be a completely unique creation. That said the ring could tell that if we undo the stasis now they wouldn't last long. The damage is deeper than it looks.”
“They appear to draw power from the sun.” Martian Manhunter explained when Green Lantern was done. “We are continually exposing them to analogous sources of light while slowly scaling back the stasis. They are healing, but it will be a long time before they are ready to be released. We can only hope that whoever they are will understand why we had to keep them in stasis.”
“Do we have any sort of time scale?” Superman asked, looking down at his display, which showed images of the unknown alien.
“We do not know for sure, but at its current rate they would be ready to leave stasis in around three to four months.” J’onn J'onzz responded. “The Star Labs they are being observed in will inform us of any changes.”
For a moment the group was silent, most of them reading the report on the mystery aliens' progress.
“If that's all I believe we should move on to our apprehension of Queen Bee,” Wonder Woman said, standing from her spot while Hal Jordan and J’onn J’onzz sat back down in theirs.”We petitioned the UN to allow us to move into the region and apprehend her, this time including the information given to us by Sportsmaster, who has fully accepted our offer of protection and a favorable prison setting for his information.”
“What was their response?”
“At first they were unsure, but it was agreed to be enough information to at least start looking for solid evidence,” Wonder Woman answered. “Four days ago, with the Green Lantern Stewart’s help we engineered a scenario in which one of her thralls was stranded away from her for more than seventy two hours. When her pheromones finally wore off they were at first confused, but quickly spiraled into a deep depression. It seems that Queen Bee considers all in her domain as her property, and therefore hers to use as she wishes.”
“She…?”
“Indeed. She apparently enjoys bending men to her will, which included forcing them to perform questionable acts for her, all in the name of loving her,” Wonder Woman explained, shaking her head. “With the victims permission we transported him to a secure location where he eagerly explained some of her darker moments. That was all the proof that the UN needed to allow us to remove her.”
“How were you able to apprehend her?” Flash asked, looking skeptical.
“As we discussed last time Biaylia was brought up, her ability is pheromone based. Green Lantern Stewart easily apprehended her as his atmospheric protections are sealed,” Wonder Woman explained, gesturing for the Green Lantern to continue.
“I just flew into her private study through the balcony. She immediately attempted to force her guards to hold themselves hostage but I disarmed them pretty easily,” The ex marine green lantern explained. “Took the opportunity to do a deep scan of her as well. Turns out she breathes out her pheromones. Shouldn’t be too hard to make a reverse gas mask for her to wear and she will be safe in any jail cell.”
“And the effects on the region?” Batman asked.
“We gathered all of her thralls as well, after compiling a list from Queen Bee herself using the Lasso of Truth,” Wonder Woman explained. “They are in quarantine until they can be given a clean bill of health. Several of them, who were lucky enough to be on the far end of Queen Bee’s rotation, are desperate to get home to apologize to loved ones. Others… others have been placed on suicide watch. The region itself is confused, and tensions are high but Queen Bee’s influence was predominantly through her thralls, who hold a significant portion of wealth and influence in the area. With them finally being freed from her influence we believe the region will stabilize, if nothing else than to spite her ideals.”
“We will keep an eye on the situation, but with the Queen Bee apprehended this is now firmly out of our wheelhouse,” Batman said, getting a nod of agreement from Wonder Woman. “Let's hope Biaylia signs the UN agreements that will allow us to patrol the area. What else have you discovered from her?”
“Lex Luthor was responsible for supplying her with weapons and technology that her country would have otherwise been unable to afford,” Wonder Woman responded. “Breaking several UN guidelines and American laws in the process. We also discovered the full roster of the Light. Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ra's al Ghul, the Brain, Ocean Master, Klarion and Vandal Savage, the leader.”
“Thank you. Before we go into more detail about the individual villains just mentioned, Aquaman?”
“Thank you Batman,” Aquaman said, standing from his chair. “Early yesterday morning Poseidonis was put on lock down when Sportsmaster suggested it may be targeted at some point in the near future. After some planning, Mera personally created a spell dedicated to monitoring incoming and outgoing messages, in an attempt to root out spies. It quickly became apparent that Orm, my brother and prince of Atlantis was rather frantically attempting to get in contact with someone on dry land. When I asked who he was contacting he attempted to attack me. I subdued him with my wife’s help. I asked the aid of Wonder Woman so I could learn the truth of my brother's betrayal, only to find he was secretly the villain known as Ocean Master, and a member of the Light.
“Did he reveal any plans for the assault on Atlantis?” Hal Jordan asked.
“He did. Their target was a sample of an organic creature we discovered and were in the process of studying. The creature's corpse was found in the depths of the arctic, and I am told that from the small samples they have examined so far, it had a shockingly robust nervous system and an incredibly dense cellular structure that the scientists at Poseidonis Science Center assured me was alien in nature,” Aquaman explained, the large projected screen flashing with images of a large lab, with a massive chunk of ice in the center, surrounded by equipment and machines of various sizes. “Upon learning that the Light desperately wanted a sample I publicly destroyed it, disintegrating it down with a singular great work of magic, headed by Mera.”
“Did he have any idea why they wanted it?” Captain Marvel asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“He did not, only that the attack would be orchestrated by Black Manta and would most likely be happening in the next month or so.”
“The League is at your disposal should you need support, though it sounds as if the attack won’t happen if the sample is completely destroyed,” Batman responded, getting an appreciative nod from the King of Atlantis. “Still, Martian Manhunter, Superman and the Green Lanterns would be best suited to aid as they do not require specialized equipment to function so deep under water.”
Aquaman sat back down in his chair with a nod, while Batman stood, the projector changing over to an image of Ra's al Ghul, as well as several other people.
“One of the most concerning members of the Light is Ra's al Ghul, the leader of the League of Shadows,” Batman explained, a dozen or so images flashing on screen, showing the images of quite a few attacks. “Mercenaries and assassins for hire, the League of Shadows has existed in some form of another for over forty years. Their members range from simple martial arts experts trained by the leaders of the League itself, to some of the most dangerous and lethal killers on the planet. I have personal experience with Ra's al Ghul. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that he would agree with the Lights' ideas.”
“How much information do we have on their members?” Green Arrow asked.
“It varies from person to person. We know plenty about Black Spider,” Batman admitted, the projected display showing the perfect image of a villain in a black and purple costume, actually posing for a shot, before the images shifted to an incredibly blurry image of a man with a hook for a hand. “but absolutely nothing about someone like Hook.”
Batman began going down the list of known League of Shadows assets, including a brief description of Sportsmaster himself before moving on. Eventually he was done.
“These are just some of the more prominent and deadly members of the League. They are not to be underestimated at any point, even if your abilities outclass them completely.” Batman warned, images shifting away. “The one talent all of these individuals share is the ability to punch above their weight class. I don't need to remind you about what happened when Superman thought Deathstroke was not a threat.”
The conversation shifted to the other members of the light, discussing their powers and potential ways to mitigate them. Eventually Batman brought up the last subject of the day, the New Titans first official mission.
“The team dropped at midnight, along the southern outskirts of the island, utilizing Bioship’s stealth ability. While Superman, the Green Lantern Stewart and Wonder Woman were all on site for support in case something went wrong. The-”
“Wait, did the Titans know you were babysitting them?” Captain Marvel asked.
“Yes, in fact the Green Lanterns inclusion in the support team was suggested by Skarn and Aqualad,” Batman responded easily. “The team has proven itself ready multiple times. Now, as I was saying, this covert mission was on a short timescale, as Sportsmaster's scheduled check in was set for the next night, after completing a pick up from the island.”
Comments
Wildebranch
So the alien is also sun-powered. Is a Daxamite? Is Mon-El?
