"You have to start out learning to believe the little lies to believe the big ones."

[matchmadeinhell]

They had to try their best to do this thing incognito. After all, the plan was get in, get the shard, get out, and while several of them were total unknowns in this world, three of them ran the risk of being recognized by some of the resident superheroes and supervillains since they were from a similar dimension and had equivalents here.

Nightwing, not so much since he usually wore a mask, but Cassie and Kon didn't wear masks as part of their costumes, and Kon especially wore a very familiar face. He was younger than Kal but still approaching adulthood now and that meant his cloney resemblance to the current de facto ruler of the world was pretty uncanny now.

That was why Kon was in disguise. He was wearing his usual jeans, black long-sleeved shirt, black boots, and black gloves. But he had a dumpy, shapeless, brown jacket over top of it all, a blue baseball cap, and a pair of dorky, large-framed glasses. Fortunately, spring was only just starting in this world and hadn't quite chased away the chill of winter so they could all bundle up with clothes that made them look innocuous.

The magical door had appeared in an alley, against a nondescript wall. As soon as they were all through and had closed it behind then, Kon peered around a corner to see if he could recognize where they were by the city's night-time skyline.

"Looks like Gotham." A pause. "It's hardly recognizable, though. I've never seen Gotham this clean."

He squinted instinctually, trying to peer around some more with his X-ray vision and found it working in full when he usually struggled with it back in the Guardians' universe. He held up his hand and poured on the teke, creating a field around it.

"My powers seem to be stronger here for some reason. The ones that are limited in the Guardians' universe are back, like my teke. You guys feeling the same? Most of us are superheroes or equivalents in our worlds. Being in a superhero universe might be amping up our powers or something. Maybe making the belief stronger."

It all ran on narratives, right? Stories? This was a story superheroes were supposed to be in.

Comments

[injustice_npcs]

"Sounds fair to me," Deadman said, turning to face Batman, arching one of Batwoman's eyebrows. "Doesn't it, Bruce."

[holydefendersbatman]

Batman stared at them all in silence for a moment, then finally relented, "Get them briefed on our situation and let them know what resources we have left. I'm going to talk to Oracle about giving them comm clearance."

With that, he swooped off.

[injustice_npcs]

"I'm going to let Batwoman take over from here," said Deadman.

Batwoman started in surprise when she was freed. She wasn't upset. She'd offered to let Deadman possess her at times he really needed to talk with the others.

"What's the situation?" she asked Renee Montoya.

[injustice_npcs]

"Bruce wants us to get them briefed," she said, "They've offered to stay and help - but only if they get a say in what goes down. And they wanna know who's left."

The Big Kids' Table - Plotting Out a Plan of Attack

[injustice_npcs]

They had all been given seats at large meeting table. And tea and coffee, thanks to Alfred, who seemed to be trying to offer all the hospitality that Batman was lacking.

"To start with, we're going to brief you on what we're up against the resources they've gathered at our disposal, and then we'll explain what we have to work with. The very very little we have to work with." She said, "Then when Bruce is back, we'll decide our plan of attack."

[injustice_npcs]

"You're looking at most of us," said Batwoman, "But I'll get you caught up."

However they'd gotten their information, there were still things they likely didn't know.

They were led to a large meeting table so they could come up with a plan of attack.

Re: The Big Kids' Table - Plotting Out a Plan of Attack

[have_mustache_will_travel]

Sitting at the table as well with bright wild eyes and a broad toothy grin was a familiar face. One of the only DC related guardians that had been specifically told to stay behind.

"Oooo this is gonna be so much fun! Can we keep some of them? They're so cute and full of hope and not crushed by the brutal fist of a heartbroken godlike alien!"

This universe's Harley Quinn was only marginally more serious then the previous versions at first glance. But the fact that she was being welcomed here among the resistance was probably a good sign, right?

Then again as she brought her knees to her chest and spun her chair around in delight...maybe welcome wasn't the right word for her place among the others.

[matchmadeinhell]

"No way in hell are we staying," said Kon, "Some of us have to go back to a world crushed by the brutal fist of an egotistical, bald #$%$&@#."

Kon leaned back in his seat, arms crossed behind his head, balancing precariously.

Or at least it looked precarious. Really, his chair was rooted to the spot by his teke.

"Speaking of evil bald guys, where's Lex Luthor in all this? He's gotta be sticking to the dorsal region of somebody powerful like some kind of evil remora, waiting for his moment to strike."

npc tag - open to comments or questions

[injustice_npcs]

"I'm getting there," said Batwoman.

Apparently, they didn't regard Harley being there as a problem at all because at most she got a glance from Batwoman before she continued on.

She called up the Justice League on the view screens.

"The League is comprised of nine members: Cyborg, The Flash, Yellow Lantern, Hawkgirl, Raven, Shazam, Sinestro, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Aquaman, so far, has maintained neutrality after Atlantis was threatened by Superman, but he might be swayed to either side of the conflict if we press things. And Lex Luthor works with Superman, helping the League by providing them technology and working out the logistics of their evil empire. After I go over each one, feel free to ask any questions."

She called up an image and footage of Superman.

"Superman is the one in charge, obviously. He says 'jump' and the others say 'how high?' He expects absolute loyalty from the rest of the League - and from the rest of the planet. By threatening the world governments into doing what he wants, he's become the de facto ruler of the world."

She played various clips of footage - footage that was fairly horrifying. Superman standing at a podium, speaking to the public, surrounded by saluting Stormtroopers in a scene that was reminiscent of several very very bad times in human histoty. Superman killing ring-bearing Green Lanterns. Superman shooting heatvision through the waist of a heroine in black leather and fishnets - one that Kon, Cassie, and Nightwing would recognize as Black Canary.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking he's just a bruiser - he's smart. We've gotten a few over on him but he's screwed us more than once and knows how to rely on the people around him and utilize them well. He's also a master manipulator, both of the public and of the rest of the Leaguers obedient to him." She went on, "It's important to note that he believes in what he's doing. This isn't some shallow grab for power or prestige, he thinks he's on some kind of holy mission to bring peace to the world, that he has the right to be arbiter of life and death and justice for everyone on the planet."

"Powers-wise, he's got a standard flying brick powerset with a whole lot of perks. Superstrength, flight, and invulnerability, as well as superspeed, super-fast reflexes an superhuman endurance, a healing factor, superhuman breath capable of freezing things or gale force winds, X-ray vision, heatvision, microscopic and telescopic vision, and enhanced senses - superhearing and an enhanced sense of smell. All of his powers are based on solar energy absorption - yellow sunlight fuels his powers, red sunlight weakens them. He's also vulnerable to magical attacks and kryptonite - green meteor rock from his home planet - of which we have a very limited supply."

[morescaredofyou]

Peter turned to the other Guardians. "Okay, are you guys seeing this, or am I imagining the Codpiece of Doom there? Because I'm pretty sure that must have come from my nightmares. I mean seriously, look at that thing! I'm going to need a picture of that for when I go home, so that every time someone makes fun of my costume I can pull it out as proof that it could be worse."

It all sounded rather glib, but without the suit on - without a mask hiding Peter's face - it was pretty clear that he was very much disturbed that footage. He'd been told about this before they got here, sure, but seeing it...that was another story. Especially when the perpetrator was someone who was supposed to be one of the greatest heroes in the multiverse, not a villain.

[have_mustache_will_travel]

Another burst of laughter from Harley who had barely suppressing her giggles throughout Kon's commentary.

"Seriously, like...ALL of his costumes have some kind of focus on his super groin! It's like he's hoping to intimidate people with it before they even dare to speak out against him!"

This was the kind of banter she'd been desperately missing.

[matchmadeinhell]

"If only looking tacky had the same effect as red sunlight - we'd beat him in a day," said Kon. "Both my alternate evil selves looked cooler than this."

But there was serious work to be done here.

Kon raised his hand like he was in class because...well, that was what you did at the big superhero meetings, right? (Right?) Or at least that's what he assumed happened when the Justice League and other superteams had their big meetings. The Titans' meetings didn't have hand raising and - mostly because of Bart but partly because of the lack of hand raising - they tended to be all over the place.

"Dude's crazy off-balance, right? I mean, he's obviously keeping it together enough to keep this choo choo train of evil from going off the rails but I saw enough of, uh, our intel -" How did he explain that was comics books? "- to see that he's also impulsive and out of control half the time. Hence caving in Green Arrow's head like a pumpkin in a fit of pique."

He went on, "So, assuming he hasn't killed Ma and Pa yet for, I don't know, making his mashed potatoes wrong and leaving Prairie Home Companion on too loud, has anyone put any thought to using his parents against him?"

That got all of Batman's people staring at him like he'd grown a second head - a second, very, very evil head. It was only then that Kon realized how what he said probably sounded, especially with Benedict blathering his business all over and making him sound like a horrible ruthless murderer.

"I don't mean hurting them! God, what's wrong with you, people? They're my aunt and uncle! I mean maybe getting them out of the farm, you know, to where it's safe. Where they won't be the next victims of his next big super-baby tantrum - because they will be, at some point. I can tell you that much. They're probably trying to coax him out of being evil in a quiet way because they're terrified of him and super desperate to bring him back over the edge but Pa's got this thing he does where if you push him just the wrong way...it'd be one of those unstoppable force, immovable object situations except in this case the unstoppable force can tear through the immovable object like a wet paper towel."

Something he rather desperately didn't want to happen, which was very clear from his expression.

He finally stopped leaning back in his chair and sat forward.

"We should convince them to come somewhere safe, like here in your big ol' secret hideout. And maybe leave a comm behind so they can safely tell him off once and for all. There's no way they're not gonna be pissed once they find out about your Superboy and having his parents snatched out from under him and crushing him under the weight of their disapproval once it'd be safe enough for them to do it would totally knock him off balance."

He tapped his temple. "Forget the Fortress of Solitude, the farm is his real sanctuary; that's where you can hit him hardest in the psyche. Then he'll be furious, sure, but he'll also be reckless, scattered, and impulsive like the whole rest of the fight."

[holydefendersbatman]

Batwoman's eyes widened slightly at that proposal and she exchanged glances with Renee.

They were obviously surprised.

Mostly because they were used to their world's Superboy seeming about as smart as a brick.

"I like how you think," said Catwoman. "Talk about cold-blooded."

[goddamnwingman]

"It's not cold-blooded. It's good sense." Even without the mask, Dick was very much in Nightwing-mode at the moment. He had his chin propped up by his folded hands, mouth pressed to a thin line. "We're not going to use the Kents as leverage. That's Kal's play, from everything I've seen here and through our intel. All we're going to do is give them the information that we have and let them make their choice." His eyes cut to Kon with a nod. "Kon knows the Kents, probably better than anybody else here. I'm sure he knows very well what they'll do with the information.

"Still," he said after another moment. "This group is going to be far too small to go up against Superman and his merry band of Leaguers without some more help. Especially since Kon will probably be the one keeping Kal busy. And Cassie will probably take Diana." He considered it for a moment. "We should be able to pull some of Kal's folks over to our side. Barry never struck me as the type to be completely on board with what Kal's been doing. Cyborg and Raven we might be able to pull back over if we can show them proof that the Titans weren't taken down by J. Q. Random Villain." He was more certain about Cyborg than Raven, though. Even in their world, Raven had her moments. "That means a trip to the Fortress of Solitude in order to free the Titans, because they have no reason to believe us straight out."

Having Dick there would probably make them pause, but possibly not enough to be of use.

[mark_in_the_sands]

"Damn right I'm taking Diana," Cassie said. She was seated upright in her chair, feet planted on the floor and arms crossed over her chest. "And I'm sure that alternate me would be more than happy to help us out."

She hoped her alternate would be up to snuff: so much of Cassie's own training had depended on Diana caring about her enough to make her a priority. If she'd vanished along with a bunch of Titans, Diana would have gone to the ends of the Earth looking for her; this version of Diana either didn't care that she was missing or didn't care that Superman had trapped her in the Phantom Zone. Neither spoke well for how much she cared about her sidekick.

[have_mustache_will_travel]

"Now that's a fight I'd pay good money to see." Harley chimed in grinning at Cassie. "Old Wonderbra has really been setting a bad example for us strong female protagonist types lately with her attitude. I thought it was her job to keep the boys from acting like idiots and yet...here we are." She sighed rolling her head back and forth before she leveled her gaze on Kon grinning wickedly in approval of his tactics before turning her attention back to the others from her world.

"While we're at it, if we're gonna try and convince some of Overlord Squarejaws loyal lackies to switch sides, maybe now's the time we start luring other has-beens out of retirement? I mean they might not be willing to join us as we were, but with this fresh blood here I bet they'd give us a second thought. I mean...call me crazy but just sitting at the table with these kids is kinda inspiring in it's own way."

[daddyphantom]

"You are crazy." Danny reminded her, rolling his eyes.

"But you've got a point. I figure at least some of them probably were threatened into quitting by Superman. We might be able to talk them into helping to end it all for good."

[holydefendersbatman]

"You might be able to convince Blue Beetle to come out of retirement," said Batman, appearing as if he'd melted out of the shadows.

That was just a thing he did. A Bat-thing.

"He's refusing to talk to us after the...incident that forced him into retirement, but he might be willing to fight again if someone other than us talks to him. And if we offer protection for his family." A pause. "He was always far more inclined to hope than the rest of us. Despite it all, I doubt that's really changed."

[willbeyourhope]

"Yeah, all the backup we can muster would be good," Haruto finally piped up, putting down his cup. He'd been pretty rattled by the footage - that was way more brutal than he'd ever seen anyone be, and that was counting someone willing to sacrifice countless lives in a ritual to revive someone.

Hell, even the Badan Empire wasn't that harsh...

He shakes his head, then frowns. "I'm here to bring magical firepower, but I'd feel a lot better with a lot of help after seeing all that. That said... I'll do what I can to help convince people." He smiles slightly, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. He's not quite as confident as he usually is, but there's still some.

"Turning despair into hope is kind of my thing."

[injustice_npcs]

"We're going to need the numbers," said Batwoman with a nod. "Because he's definitely not working alone."

She pulled up images and video of Wonder Woman, many of them just as sinister as the videos of Superman, as she toppled tanks and snapped the necks of supervillains.

"This is Wonder Woman, aka Diana of Themyscira, daughter of the Greek God Zeus and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. She's Superman's second in command and the most dangerous of his allies. Her powers include superstrength, superspeed, super fast reflexes, invulnerability, flight, resistance to injury, enhanced senses. Her lasso is capable of compelling whoever is bound by it to tell the truth, her sword is capable of cutting through nearly everything, and her impenetrable bracelets allow her to deflect lasers and projectiles. She's an extremely gifted combatant and an expert in combat and military tactics. Superman wouldn't have been able to cement his regime without her."

The worst part of all.

"She has no known weaknesses like Superman. Due to the magical nature of her origins, she has no particular weaknesses towards magic."

[have_mustache_will_travel]

"I happen to have it on good authority that she has a weakness for Cheesecake." Harley piped up having fallen back into being unhelpful.

"I hear on Themyscira they have a Minotaur that cooks all their desserts. I say we kidnap him and make him cook for us!"

[mark_in_the_sands]

"Blue Beetle's a good egg if there ever was one," Cassie said, though she'd stiffened and glared when Batman had reappeared. "You guys may want to give us a list of the people who are still around -- I get the feeling there are a good number of heroes from where we're from who didn't even exist here.

No sign of Donna, after all. Unless she was still being bounced around through various lives of horror and hardship because this Diana didn't seem to give a rat's ass about her sidekicks.

She frowned as Batwoman explained Diana. "Wait, she's a daughter of Zeus? That's...weird, but it does put the two of us on more equal footing, at least when it comes to sheer power. It also gives us a potential weakness: Hera, queen of the gods. She doesn't traditionally care for her husband's bastard kids. I don't have a direct line to her, but..."

Her hand strayed to hover over the lasso at her hip, but not to touch it. Would it speak to the Ares here as it did to the one in her world? Did she really want to talk to any version of Ares, put herself in his debt?

Still thinking, she added in Harley's direction, "Ferdinand is from Kithira, not Minos. He prefers 'Kithotaur'."

[morescaredofyou]

"Oh, well now there's no need to worry. If we have cheesecake on how side, how could we possibly ever lose?"

Peter wondered if it was a bad sign that he fell so easily into bantering with the clearly completely insane jester lady. Probably not a good indication of his own mental sanity, really...

"But these people we're asking for help - can we be sure that they won't tip Mr Superdoom off if we can't convince them? Cause, like, I'd really prefer it if we didn't have him and his merry band of evil minions coming after us first. Even if we do have cheesecake."

[goddamnwingman]

"Because if they were inclined to help him, they'd already be doing it." Which was the bitch of the thing with Cyborg, Raven and Flash. Among others. He would never have pegged them for going along with any of this.

Then again, he never would have thought that Kal would have gone off the deep end like this, either. "The fact of the matter is, once we start moving, it isn't impossible that we're going to stumble across the other side. It's a fact of life, especially since we're likely to be hitting places and things that, if Kal's smart, he'll have watch on." And they couldn't guarantee that Kal wasn't smart.

"Blue Beetle...the Reyes kid, right?" Dick had only met the kid in passing, really, but he'd heard good things about him. "We'll send somebody to talk to him, see if we can't get him back in the game. As for magical back up for Haruto. I love you, Z, but we're going to need to pull in somebody else as well."

Dick had to pause, frowning. Constantine, he remembered from the comics, was in the wind. Not that he would have been Dick's first choice on the best of days. Most of the others were dead.

[matchmadeinhell]

"Red Robin says Baby Beetle's almost Big Blue levels of being a total boy scout." A pause. "Well...our Big Blue anyway. Obviously the one in this world failed to get all his not-being-evil merit badges." He nodded towards Cass, who was the one that told him about what he was about to say next, "Apparently, the evil future Titans that we'll fortunately never turn into had to outright kill him to get their evil regime going. He was basically an incorruptible pain in their backsides until they had to take him down. As long as this version's that decent, even if he turns us down, there's no chance he'll rat us out."

That was one person covered at least.

Dick was right though, they definitely needed some more magical heavy hitters.