Chapter 93

Amanda Waller was not having a good day.

She scowled as she tossed the dozenth article lambasting her into the trash. 

The media frenzy that had erupted following the Suicide Squad's statements was setting her back years.

So much for those supposedly foolproof bombs. The Squad shouldn't have been able to utter a single word, yet the Bat and his little gang of monsters handled the explosives like they were nothing.

A mistake on her part to trust the scientists.

Amanda would've ripped her people a new one, but now wasn't the time to be firing anyone. Government pressure was already bearing down on her, although she still had enough contacts among the various alphabet agencies to ward it off for now.

But… Amanda wasn't a fool. She knew those sharks were simply waiting for an opportunity to betray her. She needed results and leverage, and she needed them yesterday.

With the capture of the Suicide Squad and the loss of Project Doomsday, she was running dangerously thin on resources. Cadmus was a lost cause, with far too many noses sniffing around for her liking, but she'd at least managed to sequester away a few assets before everything fell apart.

Project Galatea and the Ultimen weren't exactly in usable condition, but they were better than nothing.

Amanda drummed her fingers against the desk as she weighed her options.

Weathering the storm was certainly possible. The public had short memories, after all. Yet doing so would mean acceding to that damn Justice League. And without something in place to keep those so-called heroes in check, the United States would be left entirely at their mercy.

No, that was unacceptable.

So, as much as it was to her distaste, Amanda picked up her phone and sent a message.

The wait was only half an hour before she received a reply, but it was irritating all the same.

Interlacing her fingers, she leaned back in her office chair as her computer screen blinked to life.

“A pleasure to see you again, Amanda.” Lex Luthor smiled, his irritating face filling the screen. How the man had somehow perfected looking like a smug bastard was practically a superpower in itself. “I'm glad you've finally seen reason—”

“Cut the crap, Lex.” Amanda made sure her sneer was in full view. “Still acting like a big shot when your stocks are hitting an all-time low?”

Like all the other rich snobs she'd dealt with in government, Lex couldn't tolerate a hit to his ego. 

Amanda wasn't particularly up to date on the financial sector, but she knew LexCorp's stock had been hitting record lows. She needed this deal, but she wasn't about to let herself be browbeaten into it either.

“Always the pleasant woman, aren't you, Waller?” Lex sneered. “Fine, then let's cut to the chase. I know you're bleeding resources after the fall of Cadmus and your little Suicide Squad. So, as a generous friend of the United States government, I'm offering a solution to both our problems. All in exchange for a few small favors.”

“Another one of your super projects?” Amanda crossed her arms.

It wouldn't be the first time Lex had dangled some wonderful solution in front of her. Tellingly, very few of those projects had actually worked. 

“As much as it pains my heart to see my country suffer,” Lex began with a smirk, “I'm afraid not. Rather, I'm simply acting as the middleman in this affair. Tell me, Amanda, what does the United States need most right now? Loyal soldiers, of course. And with this, you'll have them in spades.”

A document appeared on her screen.

A third party?

Amanda didn't like the sound of that. These sorts of arrangements could involve anything from foreign governments to some crazy cult operating out of a volcano.

Still, she wasn't exactly spoiled for choice at the moment.

With some reluctance, she opened the dossier and began skimming through it.

Unlike what she'd expected, however, these weren't theoretical studies or boring project proposals. Video evidence and photographs accompanied the reports, and Amanda quickly found herself leaning forward.

Undead assassins that obeyed every order without question. And they could even retain their metahuman abilities?

That… was practically everything she could've asked for.

She doubted it was all smoke and mirrors. Lex was far too prideful to stoop to such cheap trickery, and even if he did, Amanda would make damn sure he suffered for it.

But there was always a price.

“What's the catch?” Amanda grunted. 

“Are you doubting my patriotism, Amanda?”

“I can end this call right now if you'd prefer.”

Lex rolled his eyes. “Just a few simple matters of cooperation. My friends require fresh bodies, as you can see. I've no doubt you have plenty of dead soldiers lying around, and I believe your Ultimen cloning technology would synergize rather nicely with their research. There's also a certain target they'd like your assistance in eliminating.”

Amanda frowned.

The fact that Lex casually knew about one of her best-kept secrets was infuriating. What the hell were her people even doing?

“Plus a few additional incentives for me, of course, as the facilitator of this little arrangement,” Lex continued. “My friends are rather reluctant to reveal themselves, you understand.”

“The bodies are workable,” Amanda said firmly. “But the Ultimen cloning technology is another matter. We'll have to negotiate unless your friends are willing to share more of this Electrum research. As for the target, that depends entirely on who you're asking me to attack. I'm not wasting resources trying to assassinate Superman.”

“Well, we can work out the finer details with my friends later.” Lex nodded before hesitating for a moment. “As for my own compensation, I'd appreciate a little assistance with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Federal Trade Commission has also been making life rather difficult for LexCorp lately, and a few pending Department of Defense contracts could use some encouragement. Nothing too troublesome, I assure you.”

That was… considerably tamer than she'd expected.

Perhaps the damage to his finances was more severe than she'd thought. Lex had always been protective of his company's position, but she hadn't expected him to be quite this desperate.

Well, that was hardly her problem.

Amanda gave a terse nod. “And what's this assignment you need my Ultimen for?”

“Are you familiar with a man called Jean Valjean?”

Amanda searched her memory.

“He's one of Gotham's new crazies, isn't he?”

She hadn't exactly had much time to concern herself with Gotham while putting out her own fires

“Quite.” Lex scowled, his expression darkening even more than when she'd insulted him.

“You need more resources to attack him?” Amanda frowned. That seemed almost too simple.

“He's quite the irritating pest.” Lex shook his head. “I assure you, there's no trap involved. We simply need enough force to stomp the cockroach once and for all.”

“Fine,” Amanda grunted. “But I want the full details of this operation before I commit.” 

The whole thing seemed fishy, but dealing with a single Gotham lunatic shouldn't be particularly difficult. Especially if she could secure the resources promised in that dossier.

And she needed to act now.

America couldn't afford to leave the Justice League unchecked. An organization of superpowered individuals operating beyond government oversight would always be a threat to national security.

Amanda couldn't even begin to imagine what those so-called “heroes” were plotting aboard their fancy space station. 

—

“Let's convene the first meeting…” Bruce reluctantly read from the paper in his hands. “For the Justice League Olympics.”

“Hell yeah!” Wally pumped his fist.

The Founders' meeting room was only half full, with Diana and Wally already seated while Clark stood by the door.

Bruce simply stared at Wally until the speedster looked away and began whistling innocently.

“An explanation for those of us not in the loop?” Clark asked, looking amused as he took his seat. “I'm guessing your meeting with Jean Valjean was… fruitful?”

“It went wonderfully!” Diana laughed. “After some discussion and our previous little match, we came up with an even better idea.”

“A full-on Olympic Games, baby!” Wally cheered. “I finally get to really push myself for once!”

“...Is that okay?” Clark blinked. “I mean, that sounds fun, but…”

“Despite appearances, there are several strategic objectives we can achieve with this.” Bruce quickly slid a stack of papers across the table. “Charity, first and foremost. All proceeds from the event will go toward sponsoring hundreds of charitable organizations.”

“Similar to Flash's and my races, then?” Clark hummed as he scanned the documents.

“Yes, but there are also operational objectives,” Bruce continued. “Over the last several days, we've managed to dismantle several trafficking rings, drug labs, and supply caches operated by the Light. It was a substantial blow to their organization, but it also triggered a mass withdrawal.”

Bruce scowled at the memory.

“As far as we can tell, most of their operations have been reduced to a minimum. At the slightest indication of Justice League activity, they shut everything down and disappear. Their coordination is worryingly efficient.”

“So we need a big distraction,” Wally chimed in. “While they're all distracted by our amazingness, we hit them where it hurts.”

“In part.” Bruce nodded. “With most of the League publicly occupied by the Olympics, they'll have less reason to expect an operation. Using magic and the Zeta Tubes, a coordinated strike force will launch simultaneous attacks during the Olympics. The hope is that Jean Valjean's luck aura will somehow influence the operation in our favor, even without his knowledge.”

“I see. Well, if you've already planned it out, I have no complaints.” Clark continued scanning the documents before looking up. “What about the games themselves? No offense to the Olympics, but we can't exactly compete in normal sports.”

“I'll be contacting Jean Valjean to discuss the details, but I thought we could bring some of Themyscira's more ancient sporting traditions back into the spotlight.” Diana smiled. “The man himself has also offered to help organize a few events to make things more interesting.”

“Uh…” Clark glanced at Bruce. “Is that okay?”

“As one of the event's primary sponsors,” Bruce reluctantly admitted, “he has the right to propose events, although we've retained veto power over anything too extreme. Most of his suggestions have been tame enough…”

“You mean wonderful!” Diana pulled out a poster and slammed it onto the Founders' table.

Bruce had seen many things in his life, faced countless horrors and monsters, yet he couldn't stop himself from cringing at the image in front of him.

He and Jean Valjean stood back-to-back like some sort of boy band, their arms crossed in what was presumably meant to be a cool pose. That was bad enough, but the fact that they were both wearing poorly made Batman masks was just…

Clark's lips twitched as he slowly read the words printed across the poster.

“Double the Bats, Double the Fright, Bringing Justice Tonight!” 

Bruce could see Wally and Diana going suspiciously quiet, both biting their lips as they struggled to contain their laughter.

“Just go ahead.” Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose.

That was all the encouragement they needed.

Both Wally and Diana burst into laughter.

Bruce just shook his head. At this point, he was starting to get used to it. 

Clark walked over with a sympathetic smile and patted him on the shoulder. “A worthy sacrifice, my friend.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him.

“Aren't you forgetting something?”

Clark blinked.

“You still owe him an interview.” Bruce snorted as he straightened the papers on his desk. “Don't worry, I made sure to remind him. I've got your back, friend.” 

***

Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices. 

I have advanced chapters lookup Daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.

Flu hitting me like a goddamn truck. I don't think I'll be able to write like this so I'm gonna take next 11/3-11/6 off. Goon will return next Saturday(11/7) at the latest, maybe earlier if I get better earlier