Chapter 7 - Setup

Now. Metropolis. Project Cadmus.

Mylo's ship landed and Mylo disembarked to find an angry Waller. Amanda Waller was a constantly angry African American woman who was skinny but had lean muscles. Mylo smiled as he walked past her. "What did I do this time to piss you off this time?" He walked towards his workshop where he worked, tinkered, and usually slept.

"Mylo, there are so many moments I could reference. How about alerting that damn vigilante to your and Cadmus' presence. There is also the fact that you hid Supergirl from headquarters when you found her unconscious and without her memories, we could have used her." Waller grunted in annoyance as she started to follow him. "Then you had Scarlett wipe the dockyard footage because of your recklessness. You nearly got caught in Biayla because of Supergirl. Then there is your Arkham slaughter, I already know Batman will be raising hell because of that."

Mylo chuckled, "so does this mean I am fired? Please? I really need a vacation."

"Forget a vacation you are not even going to get much sleep. In one day, you leave for England. I managed to scrounge up a new assignment for you while you were in Biayla. I was going to give it to Scarlett but I found something else to test her new crew with." Waller explained as Mylo entered his workshop.

"Haa… y'know we only work for you because we are bored." Mylo sat at his desk and started pulling out his tools. "Okay what is my assignment?"

"Camelot. Our office in England has found a lead on it, I want you to run it down. We still have not got a handle on this magic stuff. Magicians, Wizards, and other magical beings all avoid telling us anything. Even if they work with us. So see if you can find something, like a book or tome we could use. Hell, any random artifact would work." Waller huffed out a breath of air.

"Your bosses must really be driving you up the wall. Still punishing you for your latest Task Force X debacle?" Mylo asked as he started to pull together the equipment he would need for a magical adventure.

"Yes they are, I still can't believe Harly Quinn and Deadshot managed to get out of that alive." Waller started walking away and Mylo checked out her form as she did. She glanced back and smiled, "still checking out my ass?"

Mylo chuckled, "yes, it is a very nice ass. Have the League figured out the reason for Supergirl's amnesia?"

Waller sighed and walked to the door and pressed a few buttons on it. "Yes, it seems that the alien ship you found a week ago was indeed a Thanagarian ship." The room went into lockdown, "the League are gonna be fighting it out with them eventually. By the way, when am I getting the leftovers of that ship you stole? I let you loot stuff like that first because you bring results." Waller started to remove her clothes as she walked towards him.

Mylo smiled and started to remove his clothes, "sure, as soon as I get some time off to finish my tinkering. I am glad you installed a shower in my workshop."

Waller pulled him towards a nearby empty table, "so am I."

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Now. Star City. Abandoned Warehouse.

There was a crash as Question was thrown onto a set of boxes. Nearby Green Arrow was dodging bolts fired from a magical crossbow while returning fire with his own green arrows. Then there was Captain Marvel, also called Shazam, and a giant robot Thanagarian enforcer was going punch for punch in the middle of the room. Martian Manhunter was protecting Doctor Fate against a Thanagarian Magician Cultist that was trying to stop him. Doctor Fate was trying to release the magical chains that held Superman, Hawkgirl, and prevented them from getting to Hawkgirl's mace. Blue Beetle was defusing the bomb that the Thanagarians had started up when the League arrived. Supergirl, who was still an amnesiac, was working with Wonder Woman on fighting another of the Thanagarian Cultists that was swinging around a magical mace.

Question grunted in pain as he stood up then quickly dodged to the side as the magical axe split the box he was sitting on in two. While the others had some advantage in their fights he was up against a large Thanagarian with a magical axe.

Question sidestepped another downswing and observed his opponent in more detail. The Thanagarian's wings were burnt and battered. It looked like he used them to block blaster fire at some point. His arms were big, bulky and steady, no weakness there. His legs were like tree trunks, but he noticed his right leg had a slight flinch and it appeared that the armor around the knee cap was damaged, a weak point for sure. There were some recent repairs on the armor around his abdomen, it looked like something had cut into it. Then there were his eyes, his right eye seemed dimmer than his left. He probably couldn't see as well with it.

"All right birdy, you have one chance. Surrender now, or regret it later." Question declared, getting a roaring laugh from the Thanagarian.

"You're dead! You faceless freak!" The Thanagarian swung again but as he did, Question slipped to his right and continued staying to his right side as he turned.

Question then grabbed a pipe from the ground and smacked his right knee, causing the Thanagarian to scream and grab at his knee in pain. When he did, Question moved to his other side and smacked him in his abdomen where the damaged armor was.

As the Thanagarian opened his mouth to scream again he was smacked in the jaw by the pipe Question was carrying and went unconscious. Question looked around at the other's and saw they were finishing up their fights as well.

Question tossed the pipe over his shoulder and walked towards Blue Beetle at the terminal he just defused a bomb at. It appeared that Ted Kord, the ever diligent tinkerer, was now trying to figure out the Thanagarian computer system. It was time to figure out why the Thanagarians were here.

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Five Years Ago. Island in the Pacific Ocean. Secret League of Assassins Base.

"Talia what happened to them?" Ra's was staring down at two bodies in front of him. One was motionless and dead, the majority of his skin and insides were burnt down to the bone with parts of it just having the skin melted off. The other was moaning in pain as she was covered in severe burns that covered her entire body.

Talia looked unsteady, "I… They were here to train. I sent them, but someone else came to the island. Someone found out that there was a Lazarus pit here. He went out of his way to kill them both slowly…. according to the security footage. But they managed to stop him from getting to the pit."

Ra's frowned, "who was it? Damien Darhk? Slade Wilson? David Cain? Or was it Lex Luthor looking for immortality again?"

Talia shook her head in response, "no, if it was any of them they would have just killed them. Not tortured them to death or near death in Scarlett's case."

Ra's sighed and shook his head as he took out a gun from a nearby guard's holster and shot Scarlett in her head. Killing her, "let's not let her suffer anymore. So if it wasn't one of my many enemies, who was it?"

Talia took a moment to get over her shock before she pulled out a tablet and showed him a video.

Ra's frowned as he watched the man known as: 'The Clown Prince of Crime' move through the island and kill many of the ninja's. "They managed to convince him that the Lazurus pit doesn't exist? I suppose even they know the dangers the pit will pose when in the wrong hands."

Talia nodded, "yes, even if it was only for a short time they were substantial assets to the League. What shall I do with their bodies?"

Ra's sighed, "bury them in a few days. From what I understand many members of the League respected them for their abilities. It is a shame, from what I understand young Cassandra Cain looked up to Thanatos." Ra's seemed to think for a few moments. "Store them in cold storage below. We will have a service for them in five days. Nothing too big, I know they have become your friends but we can't show favoritism, even among the dead."

Talia held back her tears otherwise she would break out crying, "I know father."

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Now. Metropolis. Project Cadmus.

Scarlett clicked the button and opened the door and was surprised to see Waller exiting Mylo's workshop. She grinned at Waller and saw Waller avert her gaze as she fixed her suit up a bit and walked away. Scarlett walked in and saw Mylo sitting at his workbench in only a pair of pants working on a cylindrical rod.

"Y'know, one of these days one of Waller's superiors will catch on that you have been sleeping with her." Scarlett set down a file in front of him as he grunted in response. "I am heading back to Gotham. Before Hush striked there was a group that found the existence of an ancient supernatural lying dormant in Gotham. I am taking my squad and capturing it. Then maybe finding the group that Waller had already sent, she figured they were already dead. But I still have to check, orders from above. How about you?"

"Camelot, Waller wants magic stuff. I will find her an artifact or two." Mylo responded. Then there was a chink as his device lit up. It generates a light around it that looks to be in the shape of a dark purple katana. "Huh? Dark purple, I wonder how that is picked." He clicked a button and it went back to being normal.

"Good luck with that. What is that thing you just made?" Scarlett asked, pointing at the cylinder.

"A magical katana, I also have a magical knife, a Nth metal knife, a Nth metal knuckle, and a Nth metal hidden blade for my glove. Looting that Thanagarian ship really gave me a lot more to work with." Mylo saw her reaching for one of the devices on his table. He quickly slapped away her hand, "if you want a custom tool I can make it for you when I get back." He then nodded to the door where a metal staff was, "but that is for you. I made it for you just in case."

Scarlett smiled, "splendid, but if you made it quickly I guess that means the staff isn't a retractable staff."

"Yup, Waller gave me a day to prepare for my new mission. I only have six hours left until I leave. How was the newest Robin? Tim Drake I think his name was?" Mylo asked as he started to pack a duffel bag with his gear and equipment.

"Huh? Um, yeah. He was good, a decent fighter but not as good as the last two. Seemed to rely on his tech more than anything. Is this your shirt?" Scarlett was holding the shirt he took off yesterday, she was sticking her finger through one of the bullet holes that were in it. "You really need to kick that habit of taking hits to resolve situations quicker. One of these days 'they' will catch on and come after you."

Mylo sighed, "yeah okay. I will try not to get injured at all this time."

"Sure you will." Scarlett responded sarcastically.

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Now. Star City. Abandoned Warehouse.

"So to start off, you landed on Earth in hopes of furthering your own magical expertise since Earth has a long history of magic." Superman was rubbing his head because of the situation. "Then while you were off taking readings of one of Earth's ley lines your space ship was stolen."

Green Arrow continued from there, "then you broke into my- I mean Queen Consolidated's satellite facilities in hopes of tracking down your ship by using the satellites."

"Which led you to the airspace over the country of Bialya?" Wonder Woman asked.

"No, we tried to follow the unique signature of the Thanagarian ship. But whoever took it must have known to store it in a lead encased area. So instead we tracked down the signatures of Nth metal." The Thanagarian cultists clarified, "first we went to the ice fortress of Superman's."

"Which is when I noticed you lurking about." Superman chimed in with a nod.

"Then we went to Gotham but quickly left when we realized it was Batman's home city. Next we went to a place in Metropolis but they were armed to the teeth and looked like they would try to kill us as soon as they saw us." The Thanagarian responded. "So we ran but one of us disappeared. So we tracked the last few Nth metal signatures and that is when we ran into Superman and Supergirl over the Russian and Bialyan border. But we did not get a chance to look because after knocking Supergirl and Superman out, we flew back here to secure him. We were getting desperate."

"That doesn't make sense why did you kidnap Hawkgirl then?" Martian Manhunter asked.

The Thanagarian tilted his head, "because she tried to stop us when we went back at night."

Hawkgirl raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I haven't left the U.S. and the first time we saw you was when you kidnapped me."

"No, that is not right. It might have been night but we clearly saw a Thanagarian trying to stop us." The Thanagarian reaffirmed.

"Question, what are you looking at?" Blue Beetle asked as he glanced over at the screen Question was using.

"Their surveillance footage. Doesn't this look like a person with wings? He doesn't look like a real Thanagarian though." Question asked.

Blue Beetle nodded, "yeah, but they look like they are watching the place…"

"Meaning they are telling the truth. There is another Thanagarian on Earth. But it is a he and he appears to have already known your hideout. Damn this footage. Hawkgirl how can we enhance-" Question was interrupted when a window broke and a small crossbow bolt embedded itself in the central computer.

"Superman-"

"Aaargh!" Superman and Supergirl screamed in pain as a loud sound, inaudible to the others, took them down.

"Crap! It is ticking! The computer's going to blow! Clear the warehouse!" Blue Beetle yelled out.

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Now. Road out of Star City.

*BOOM!*

An explosion occurred back in the city. But she just kept riding, "This is JS-3, I just covered your tracks JS-2. When is Waller gonna let us reveal ourselves?"

"Soon, she is off coms at the moment. But she knows about the Thanagarians already. She explicitly ignored them because she knows who stole their ship." She recognized the voice of JS-5, he was the legacy to Atom Smasher. Who was on the original Justice Society back when it was founded during World War II, up until they disbanded when Midnight disappeared.

"Are the rest of them ready to approach Doctor Fate and oppose the League?" She asked with a slight smile on her face.

"Haa… you make it sound like we will be fighting them." Atom Smasher sounded stressed. "We aren't gonna be opposing them, just… giving them an ultimatum."

She couldn't stop her laughter as she heard his words. She… of all people knew that people like her father were too stubborn to surrender to the government. But in this case it was her literally going against her father.