292 Godfrey, The New God #292

Author's note: if y'all havn't given my new story (One Piece: The Killer Method) a look, then now will be the time to do it. It's got 20 chapters already, so it'll make for a good read if you have some free time!

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Earth's moon

The Watchtower

"Can we get this over with already? I've got places to be..." Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, said as he sat in his chair inside the Wathctower's meeting room.

"We need to wait for Hal," Wonder Woman said as she turned to Green Arrow. "He said he'll be here shortly..." She added, pausing as Hal Jordan appeared with a flash of green light.

"Sorry, I'm late. The guardians have been busting my balls ever since that Grayson kid tampered with one of their rings," Hal said, getting an amused chuckle out of Guy Gardner as he scanned the area to see who was present. "So what's this all about...?" Hal asked as he sat down, causing everyone to turn to Superman since he called for the meeting.

"It's about Grayson Whitlock," Superman said with a sigh, causing Hal and Martian Manhunter to frown. "Some of you suggested we leave him to his devices, but the kid is growing too powerful to ignore," He firmly added, alternating his gaze between Wonder Woman and the green martian.

"Especially considering how unscrupulous his way of doing things is," The man of steel went on, clearly ready to keep talking, only for Hald Jordan to cut him off.

"Is this about how he handled Maxwell lord?" Hal asked, his tone clearly displeased. "If that's the case, then we have absolutely nothing to talk about," He added with a scowl, shaking his head.

"Lord was a snake in the grass. The only way to stop him, or rather you, was to kill the slimy bastard," He concluded.

"We don't kill people! That isn't who we are!" The man of steel said, clearly angered by the green lantern's words. "We started the Justice League to protect Earth and defend the innocent, not so we could act as executioners!" He added, clenching his fist.

"That might be so, but the kid isn't one of us, and even if he was, he didn't break any law," Hal calmly replied. "The way I see it, your only mad because Lord had to die for your sake," He mockingly added.

"Instead of throwing a tantrum about it, we should evaluate ourselves and work to prevent such situations from happening again," Hal concluded.

"I won't deny that we share some blame for what happened..." The Flash interjected from the side. "We should have been more careful," He added with a wince.

"But that kid is dangerous, and you all know it. You didn't forget about him trying to kill Hawkwoman and me, did you?" The Flash said, awkwardly scratching his head. "He even threatened to kill Superman, for god's sake," He added with a disbelieving expression.

"The boy was angry and spoke rash words, which I'm sure he will later regret," Martian Manhunter argued. "You, Zattana, and several others here should know a thing or two about acting rashly," He blankly added in a neutral tone that carried no judgment.

"That's where everything started going to shit..." Hal said with a frown before anyone could speak. "The Justice League was a shining beacon of hope and justice, and look at us now..." He added, regretfully shaking his head.

"Ever since we did that to Batman, we started to rot. Now I see why he became disillusioned with the Justic League, and I don't blame him," Hal said as he scanned the faces of everyone present, and no one dared to meet his gaze.

"I've had enough of this shit. I quit." Hal said as he stood up and turned to leave, only for Martian Manhunter to sigh and do the same, followed by Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman.

...

GBS studios

The G. Gordon Godfrey Show

"It's been a week since Superman's rampage in Gotham..." Godfrey said, staring straight into the camera with a laidback expression. "And in an unsurprising twist of fate, the Justice League paid the damages, and the man himself wasn't held accountable," He added with a scoff.

"Make no mistakes. That damned alien should be held accountable for his actions," Godfrey said, his relaxed expression evaporating as he gritted his teeth. "But it's never going to happen! And you know why?" He said as he leaned over the desk.

"Because the people running the government are cowards!" Godfrey said as he smacked the table angrily. "None of them have the guts to stand up to the alien-super menace plaguing our great country!" He added, pounding the desk again for good measure.

"The lazy slobs are too afraid our so-called guardians would stop doing what they do if they pressed them too hard!" Godfrey exclaimed as he took a deep breath as if to calm himself.

"Our government has grown too lazy and dependent on friggen heroes and vigilantes to do its god-damned job, I tell you," Godfrey said as he leaned back into his chair. "But that's hardly news to anyone with eyes and ears who's willing to use them...." He added, clicking his tongue as he leaned into his seat.

"Here's the real shocker..." Godfrey said with a weird smile. "A little birdie tells me the Justice League's heroes aren't happy with the young man responsible for stopping Maxwell Lord," He added with a chuckle.

"I'll get to that in a minute, but first, let me tell you all about the one behind that incident," Godfrey said, raising a finger. "Apparently, Maxwell Lord had helped in creating the Justice League..." He added, his smile becoming more pronounced.

"For reasons unknown, Lord suddenly snapped and decided superheroes were a menace! I wonder why?!" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "In any case, he used his minor telepathic abilities to slowly influence Superman's mind over the years until he turned him into his personal lap dog, and you all saw the result," He explained.

"In other words, this Maxwell Lord character not only managed to infiltrate the Justice League's ranks but also brainwashed the best of them..." He blankly added. "Please note he did all of that under the Justice Leagues' noses, despite the presence of powerful telepaths like Martian Manhunter," He continued, his smile broadening with every word.

"Now the question is... was Maxwell lord really that good? Or were the League's heroes incompetent and careless? Maybe it was a mixture of both?" Godfrey said, rubbing his chin as he put up an act of thinking deeply about the matter.

"I'm guessing it's the second option, but your guess is as good as mine," Godfrey said with a chuckle as he paused briefly. "Now, back to our young friend, Grayson Whitlock, and why the League is angry with him..." He added as he retrieved a paper from under his desk.

"And I quote the little birdie, some of the Justice Leaguers seemed none too happy with Grayson Whitlock because he let Gotham's police commissioner pull the trigger instead of doing it himself, end quote," He said, pausing again as he stared into the camera with a blank expression.

"The same little birdie told me another group of the super-alien-freak alliance is agreeing with the young man's methods, which sparked a fierce debate in their ivory space towers. Trouble in heaven, anyone...?" Godfrey continued with a chuckle.

"Apparently, the ultimate keepers of the sanctity of life would prefer to take matters into their hands instead of letting licensed officials do their job..." He added, his blank expression turning into a mocking smile.

"And you wonder why the lazy slobs in the government give them so much leeway..." Godfrey said with a chuckle. "Need I say more? I think not," He concluded, shaking his head as he ended the live episode.

"Good job, everyone," Godfrey said as he got off his desk. "The episode is sure to drop a couple of jaws," He added with a chuckle, lazily stretching his arms as he walked away, heading for his dressing room.

He quickly reached his destination and sat down after entering the room and locking the door. 'Let's see what kind of reaction we got...' He said, frowning as he retrieved his phone and browsed the social media.

'Perfect...' Godfrey mused, his eyes glinting as he read through dozens of posts disparaging the Justice League and the government while officials were already making excuses and shifting the blame toward the superheroes.

"It's time..." Godfrey muttered to none in particular as he double-checked the door before reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small octangular sphere, kneeling as he put it on the ground.

"My lord..." Godfrey said, lowering his head as the sphere shone in a blue before falling apart and turning into the shadowy figure of a towering alien with red glowing eyes. "Your humble servant begs for an audience," He added, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Speak, Godfrey..." The figure spoke in a deep voice.

"Earth is ripe for the picking, oh great one..." Godfrey said as he raised his head, but he still didn't dare look the figure in the eye. "The planet's protectors are no longer united, and humans no longer have the same blind trust in the Kryptonian," He added.

"Now would be the best to strike, my lord," He concluded as he quickly calmed himself.

"You've done well, Godfrey..." The figure said, the red shine in his eyes intensifying for a fraction of a second. "Continue fanning the flames. The cohorts of Apokolips will be upon you when the time is right," He concluded as he disappeared without waiting for a reply.

Godfrey's expression instantly turned jovial as the hologram disappeared. He quickly picked up the communication device and put it away before turning to the mirror.

"It looks like I won't have to put up with this pathetic disguise for much longer..."

...

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