Crisis After Crisis After Crisis

30 advance chapters in my Pat.reon. Pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido.

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(General P.O.V)

"The world is cruel, daughter. Nothing ever goes the way you want or expect. A weaker man would be drowned by the rocking waves. A strong one would resist. Vehemently. But how can one man contend against a force of nature? How can one man stand and oppose something that is at it's core unforgiving? He would struggle but soon enough he too would fall."

"And my words might seem hopeless...for someone who forgets a man's most powerful asset. Preparation and control. Two important things. One a result of the other. As long you are prepared, no matter whether you're weak or not, you CAN prevail. In that vein, you might say both combine to endlessly refine your Resolve. That is what I impart onto you, daughter. Preparation and Control."

Vandal Savage looked out towards the city of Gotham. The hustle and bustle was evident this close to the financial sector. The logo of Wayne enterprises was prominent a distance away, spearing through the sky from their position in the abandoned building housing the bat signal.

Cars honked and pedestrians went on their way in the late evening air, unaware of what was about to happen. The immortal himself looked healthy and whole. A few notable differences could be noticed from his original body. His eyes were red and his height was pushing 6'7.

His skin was a bit ashy and his body was more ripped than before under his usual militant clothing. Everything else was the same. His same old roguish features and long hair. The only thing missing were the scars he had received from his past.

If there was anything that he regretted, it was losing those scars. Those scars made him who he was. They made him Vandal Savage. But everything else was much better. Vandal was not someone prideful but the strength coursing through his limbs...it elevated him from the position of a mere human to a god.

He wondered if his intentions were now rendered ironic. He had been fighting for the excellence of the human race through forced evolution. The main aim was to end the coddling from the League to weed out the weak and lead the strong. He had done it himself...and now he was no different from the aliens who had inbuilt advantages from the word go, that humans lacked.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Savage decided to see it as gaining another tool to bring about the ideal civilization. All at the expense of losing his humanity. A trade off he was willing; albeit with reluctance, to pay.

Behind Savage was a small girl and an old woman who was holding the girl's shoulder's tightly, with an almost crazy glint of excitement on her face. Behind those two was the pulsing light of the boom tube. It flashed and out came Red Tornado.

"It is done. All preparations are ready."

The rogue Android informed vandal.

"Good. Cassandra...I need you to pay close attention to this next part."

Savage looked deep within himself. The void left by his lost metagene was occupied by something else. Something stronger. It was instinctual. A deep reservoir of power that was increasing with every ray of light that hit his face. This body's Kryptonian abilities.

He reached out and touched upon it and willed himself to levitate. With will built up over the centuries, the wave of noise that hit him as well as the sensory overload from his other senses was brought to heel with an iron determination.

All this power, yet he was in a suppressed state...

The noise died out and Savage stopped hearing the cries of a pack of wolves running through the forests in Alaska. They were hunting and he could almost listen and catch the thump of their hearts as excitement coursed through them. Savage approved.

He opened his eyes after the warm feeling died down as well. His eyes glowed a deeper crimson than their natural color. Then Savage rose up to the sky. The small girl behind him opened her mouth in shock.

"Look Cassandra. The glory of Vandal Savage. God over men. A cruel yet necessary god. One who gives his children the opportunity to take their fate into their own hands. That's the kind of god the world needs."

The old woman told the girl.

Vandal heard his older daughter's words but gave no reaction. He was focused on the feeling of power running through his body. An invisible field only he could detect wrapped around him in a cocoon.

"3 months..."

He breathed out.

"3 months of helplessness. Reduced to something weaker than prey. But I am back. This time, none shall stand in my way."

A very rare smile worked it's way onto Savage's face. It was one full of malice.

His gaze swept out and landed onto the target he sought. His figure was now very visible to those under and most of them were pulling out their phones and taking pictures. The smart ones were running away. Not that it would help them in the end.

Savage breathed in deeply and mentally clicked the switch. Lances of red hot energy exploded out of his eyes with an ominous hum. The heat beams speared through the air at light speed and landed on the Gotham Police Department building.

It was fast. It was brutal. But most of all...it was the perfect statement to announce himself. His heat beams carved a line through the building's structure, cutting down the foundation before landing on the gas lines. The whole building exploded, killing who knew how many people.

But to the leader of the light, it wasn't enough. Not even close. Savage poured in more of the almost endless solar energy inside him into the beams. The beams went from red to a blazing blue white color. He yelled and dragged his eyes across the landscape.

From the Gotham PD building, he created a perfect semi circle of destruction, his beams cutting deeper into the earth, quickly killing those lucky enough while collapsing the buildings and skyscrapers on those who weren't.

It was horrifying enough that Cassandra tried to hide behind Olympia.

"No dear sister. Do not look away. These are not the actions of a monster. The true monsters are the ones who allow a city like this, a cancer to fester. Our father is giving them a chance. A chance to prove that they can overcome this, rise up and take Fate into their hands. So do not look away dear sister, celebrate for them."

The girl nodded, staring at the strong back of her father. The girl was intimidated and afraid but she was also in awe.

Savage heard the tell tale sounds before he saw them. A news helicopter and a few police cars were approaching him. All throughout the city he could hear the screams of people hurt by his unexpected attack.

The news helicopter reached him first but wisely chose to maintain a huge distance between them. The cameraman adjusted the image to zero in on the perpetrator of the attack. He could feel the reporter beside him nervously playing with the cord of his mic.

"Can you get any closer? I think I see a couple more figures on the rooftop."

The Cameraman said, trying to get a better angle of Savage's face.

"Fuck no! Are you crazy? We go any closer and that maniac kills us!"

The pilot's voice blared out through the headphones strapped to the Cameraman's head.

The latter's response was cut off when suddenly the subject of their talk appeared inside the helicopter in a blur.

"Then how about I come to you?"

The Camera man looked on dumbly.

"Whaa?"

Then his view changed with a sudden jerking motion. Years of practice ensured the camera stayed on his shoulder, through the crazy flips as he found himself suspended in mid air.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the helicopter struggle to stay in the air while missing it's tail rotor and a huge chunk of it's tail boom. The chopper spun chaotically and then crashed on a building next to the street.

The main rotor blade snapped off and wrecked apart a bus that was packed near the sidewalk. The people below were now running away in panic. The same panic the cameraman was feeling.

"Please please let me go..."

He cried out in desperation.

His heart sank when he made eye contact with Savage and the man simply said,

"As you wish."

Then he let go of him. The camera man screamed while falling. His camera however was left in Vandal Savage's hands.

Another craft, this one much faster dove under the falling Camera man and rescued him. The remote controlled Batwing then pulled away to safety.

"People of Earth. I come to you with a humble request. In 10 hours, I want the UN to have convened and made the unanimous decision to do away with each governmental body in all the 194 nations of the world with the exclusion of Greater Bialya. I recognize Queenbee's rule."

"To hurry up the process, I will destroy a city across the world starting from the second hour until my demands are met. If you try to attack any of the androids posted across the targeted cities, then they are programmed to explode with a yield strong enough to take out 10 miles in every direction. "

His eyes narrowed and he pulled the camera closer to his face.

"I know you will comfort yourselves with the knowledge that the Justice League will fight for you. To disapprove of that notion, I'll give them a chance." He held up a finger.

"Just one."

Then he cleared his throat.

"4,500 lives depend on your ability to answer this riddle, 'An endless blue, I float when I should sink. I'm bigger than a boat and farther than can be seen. What am I?'"

"You have 2 hours to save those lives. If you manage to do so before the time limit, I will call off the attack and subsequently turn myself in. If you fail, then the blood of 4,500 men, women and children will be on your hands."

Then he let the camera fall.

His long coat fluttered in the air as he landed on the rooftop before Cassandra. Savage took a knee, putting him almost eye level with the child.

"Cassandra. Remember this. Always be in Control."

Savage stood up, took one final glance at the city and pressed on his Fatherbox. A boom tube manifested before him.

He passed by his daughter and walked forward.

"Let's go."

Olympia ushered Cassandra through with haste. The last to leave was Red Tornado. The Android took one long look at Gotham before following.

(General P.O.V)

The Watchtower's computer system was blaring out warnings when the Zeta tube light flashed.

Superion didn't waste time and promptly flew towards the hall. Behind him the Zeta tube lit up again. This time depositing Robin, Kid Flash and Miss Martian.

"We just missed Connor."

Miss Martian told them as they all started rushing towards the hall.

"Does anyone know what's going on?"

Kid Flash asked, reducing his speed to match the other two's pace. Robin shook his head, his hand was moving across the Holo device strapped to his wrist with high dexterity.

"No. All I can get is that its multiple level 4 emergencies."

"And level 4 is...bad?"

Kid Flash asked a bit unsurely, making Robin snort.

"Understatement of the century."

The League's meeting hall was a flurry of activity, taut tension and a heavy atmosphere that pervaded the whole room.

The Holo feed displayed above the table showed several dots of light on earth as well as one large red dot the size of the moon advancing to earth, just a few thousand miles away from Mars.

Batman did not spare them a look when they arrived. His mind was occupied elsewhere. He swiped his hand out and the image changed into a grid. Robin realized the live footage was from different cities of the world.

"London, Japan, Metropolis, Tripoli, Canberra, Kuai, Johannesburg, Moscow, Santiago and Toronto. All were attacked by squads of Androids sharing similarities with Red tornado."

He paused and pressed on the data pad. The screen changed accordingly and an image of a silver colored robot took up the screen. The Android was humanoid with non distinctive features. Several of these Androids were also floating above each of the cities.

"I bet the governments of those nations were none too pleased with that."

Green Arrow said.

"You're right but their hands are tied and restricted to basic monitoring after Savage promised to blow up each of the cities mentioned if his demands are not met."

"Or if we fail."

Zatara added, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

The footage changed to show cordon lines and different authorities monitoring each of the androids floating in the sky above the cities.

Robin could sense the tense mood in the chamber.

"We have been in communication with the UN secretary to find a way to coordinate our efforts and make sure the threat is neutralized. For now, they have decided to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the correct response. They took our advice and are now evacuating the cities on the list."

"Ummm...but can they do that in less than 2 hours? Plus, evacuating the cities does not mean anything, when these androids can just fly to the next city over."

Kid Flash spoke up.

His words made the hall explode into another heated argument as almost everyone begun speaking at once.

Batman gave no response except for pressing another key on the data pad. The image this time made everyone go silent due to the threat the person displayed posed.

"So it's true...he's back."

Robin rose up straighter in his seat.

"We were clearly wrong. He's back and he wants the world under him or failure to that, watch it burn. We cannot be caught playing his game. The Light's purpose has always been world domination. And the Justice League has been the main obstacle to overcome towards that goal." He looked around the room.

"We cannot afford to waste time arguing over who is right or not. Right now what we need is action. We have two hours to end the threat, let's use it."

Batman clicked on his data pad again and this time, the footage displayed changed to a grainy image from the satellite showing a cruise liner.

"Wait!" The Flash leaned in.

"That's the answer to the riddle. It is so simple in retrospect. An Endless blue for the ocean. I float when I should sink because it's metal and without the Ship's unique shape, it would only be a chunk of metal that would sink. Bigger than a boat should be obvious and farther than can be seen because it's a cruise ship in the ocean!"

The Flash connected the dots.

Batman gave a nod.

"I have been scanning the ocean for any Cruise ship near the coast of Gotham and one lined up with his statements. This one. The Blue Dive."

"Something is definitely fishy about the whole thing. No pun intended." The Flash stated.

"I mean while conniving, resourceful and smart, even Savage knows he can't match the League's power alone, even with all those abilities he displayed. So why put himself in the open like that? They have been content to fight in the darkness all this time. What has changed?"

"He knows that as things stand now, fighting him directly would not make things better. We always prioritize lives. Then he also has control over each of the androids. He could simply decide to blow up the cities like he promised if we try to take him down rather than going after the Cruise ship. Not to mention, we now know what they were intending to do with Superman's d.n.a."

Black Canary spared a glance at a stone faced Superion.

"We have to consider the possibility of there being other Kryptonian powered individuals under him."

Hawkwoman slapped the table.

"It's decided then. We play his game for now. Save the Cruise ship while looking for a way to take out his control or even destroy the androids before they can pose a threat. Afterwards we go after Savage. 2 hours is more than enough time."

"I'll start looking through the League's database on what we have on Morrow and Red Tornado for anything that might help. Red Tornado seems like the kinda guy... Android person? who would have countermeasures in place just in case someone high jacked his programming."

Robin offered, to which Batman nodded.

"The next crisis is this." He pressed on another key and the camera panned out to show grainy images of a far away object approaching earth.

"Oh come on! There's another?"

Kid Flash asked in disbelief, only for Artemis to nudge him with her elbow. The younger speedster looked sheepish as Batman continued.

"20 minutes ago, the Watchtower's systems managed to capture this image of a large round object advancing towards the planet."

"Shit."

Stewart said rising up to his feet, only followed by Hal, who moved away and begun contacting the other green lantern on the planet. Everyone's eyes were fixed on them in surprise.

"I am sorry everybody, but I'm afraid you will have to handle Savage on your own for now. This is more urgent."

"He's right." Hawkman said, clutching his weapon tightly.

"I recognize that abominable creation."

"Gardner's on the way. I'll move ahead while you explain to them what we are dealing with."

And with that Hal floated up and then disappeared into a streak of green light. Stewart took control of the display using his ring and shared some information with the computer system.

A clear image of the round planet sized craft appeared on the screen along with the face of an alien who looked intimidating.

"Yikes. Dude looks like he eats metal breakfast."

Robin joker absentmindedly.

"This..." Stewart pointed at the alien. "Is Mongul. And that." He pointed at the alien craft.

"Is called the War World. An artificial planet outfitted with weapons of mass destruction. It is effectively, a mobile planet buster."

"And let me guess, Mongul is not a happy go lucky person who's only here for sight seeing?"

Stewart shook his head at Artemis' question.

"If by happy go lucky you mean a ruthless galactic warlord even the Lantern Corp is wary to engage in a fight, then you're right."

"This cannot get any worse."

Kid Flash whispered to Miss Martian who looked uneasy.

"Are you sure you want to test fate like that KF?"

Just as Robin replied, Atom cleared his throat.

"We can handle the situation on the ground. If you need back up, don't hesitate to call it in."

Stewart nodded and left the Watchtower as well.

Batman swiped his hand out and this time an image of Atlantis appeared. This time his voice was curt and strained.

"The last crisis is on Atlantis. Tensions between the City states finally reached a breaking point and Triton has declared war on Poseidonis."

The image showed devastation on the outskirts of Poseidonis while the infighting continued.

"What is going on? I thought Aqualad bringing back the king's Trident should have settled things down."

Green Arrow asked, irritated.

"Heck we all did."

Wonder Woman sighed from her position at the end of the table.

"We believe the Light to be responsible. With king Orin still injured from his fight with the enhanced Trench, Triton took advantage of his condition and launched a series of attacks at the city's resource points and placed it under siege."

"Is he still stubbornly refusing to be healed by Sai?"

Starfire asked, pitching in an idea that the League had been reluctant to accept.

Black Canary's eyes softened.

"It is... worrying, placing such a burden on a child. Orin was not the only against the idea. We took a vote as well."

Starfire looked around at the gathered hall.

"I get that and the Warlord's of Okkara would find your actions noble and honorable...but also stupid."

Black Canary blinked.

"I know the kids. Sai would want to help. Especially now that things have gotten so out of hand."

"And Aden? How would he react to that?"

Wonder Woman spoke up. Batman couldn't help but notice that she hadn't contributed alot to the earlier conversation. Her mind seemed occupied by something.

"To be completely honest? He would not approve. He would rather see the world burn than place any of the kids in that sort of danger. But that is just his overprotective side." Starfire looked around the hall, as if daring any of them to disagree with her. Robin noted how she absentmindedly rubbed her belly. A jealous pang hit his heart and he quickly looked away. Now was not the time.

"Sai, Breeze, Kai and Vor-El are like their father. They are strong, powerful but above all, pro active. Do you think they will idly stand by and watch as the world burns without doing anything? Heck, they saved me from certain death before I even knew it."

Superion frowned, remembering the incident that had happened a few weeks ago.

"So you're suggesting taking them to the battlefield?"

Black Canary ground out with narrowed eyes. Starfire shook her head.

"No. I'm suggesting removing them from one."

A brief silence dominated the chamber.

"I've seen people like Savage before. If he's anything like my sister...this will get worse before it gets better. We..."

Her words were cut off when Wonder Woman's shadow lengthened unnaturally. Due to the tense mood in the hall everyone was up in arms when Yaotl made his appearance. His form was awash with green fire as he materialized.

He spared a glance at the League, his eyes pausing a little on Starfire and widening, before turning to Wonder Woman.

"It is confirmed. Kronos marches with the armies of Tartarus towards Olympus." He announced to a suddenly conflicted Wonder Woman. His next words however were even more shocking.

"Olympus needs it's god queen. Your subjects need you, your majesty."