Tag: justice league

“President of the United States?” scoffed the Master. “Fools. I took advantage of Maxil’s dullness and stole a TARDIS meant for him, now bonded to me, and you think I’m going to content myself with being the ruler of a backwards country whose populace is engaged in an informational Civil War? My campaign is a farce! A small part of a much grander scheme that involved getting Sinestro to figure out my plan and foolishly rush to usurp it!” He then activated red lamps and Superman immediately felt weakened. “President?!” The Master then slapped Superman. “Do you have any idea how much power I’d have to give up to be President of the United States? Why do you think Trump flailed and cried like a two-year old during his two terms, especially in 2025!” He then made the restraints slam everyone against the wall. “That’s right, everyone. I made every Republican voter waste their money on a fake Presidential campaign, got the worst of the Justice League’s rogues gallery to kidnap the UN General Assembly, and stole Sinestro’s ring, all just to take advantage of the Grouping!”

“Your failure was predetermined!” growled Batman. The Master stopped gloating and pulled Batman up to his face.

“I’m a Lord of Time, Mr. Wayne,” he said. “I determine destiny.”

“And I went through the Grouping!” hissed Batman. “We all did at one point or another! It hasn’t happened to my friends yet, but it happened to me between this meeting and my first meeting with the Doctor! And the universe goes back to normal despite your best efforts!”

“You lie!”

“Then what’s wrapped around my ankle?” The Master blinked at Batman’s question, then looked down at the Dark Knight’s ankle. There was a glowing rope around it…and Wonder Woman was holding it!

“It’s not called the Lasso of Truth for no reason!” hissed Wonder Woman.

“I’ll be changing Batman’s history, make no mistake!” promised the Master. “And with you all restrained and my wearing of Sinestro’s ring, I’ll turn this planet into a world of order! Something Sinestro keeps failing to do!”

“Sure wish I thought of something,” replied Batman. “Oh wait, I did.” He nodded towards the Master’s desk. The Master looked at the desk and saw a batarang on it…a batarang with a timer!

“NO!” yelped the Master. The batarang blew up and the red light vanished. Superman then flexed and broke out of the restraints. Superman absolutely DECKED him, yet still held back enough that the insane Time Lord’s head didn’t explode! The Master groaned as he lay on the floor. Sinestro then took the ring off the Master’s finger and put it back on his own, restoring his suit.

“This whole event was a waste of time!” snarled Sinestro. “I can’t believe I got roped into a Time Lord’s petty plan!”

“What did he promise you, Sinestro?” asked the Doctor.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” scoffed Sinestro. He fired a blast at Wonder Woman, obviously not wanting to test the lasso, then scattered debris to confuse everyone, then took off and left Earth.

“And there he goes, back to Korugar,” grumbled Green Lantern.

“What about the Master?” asked the Flash. Everyone then heard a noise. They looked over to see that the desk was vanishing!

“NONONO!” shouted the Doctor as she leapt at the desk. Too late, the desk, or rather the Master’s TARDIS, vanished.

“…That’s two that got away,” muttered Martian Manhunter.

The Doctor brought everyone back to the Watchtower. As they all left the TARDIS, the Doctor gathered six little squares. “…Doctor, what are you doing?” asked Superman.

“The TARDIS telepathic circuits can’t make a call to Gallifrey,” replied the Doctor. “I’m sending a message the old-fashioned way.” She laid out the squares in a circle on the floor, then sat cross-legged on the floor and entered a meditative trance. As she meditated, the squares moved across the floor. Four of the squares attached themselves to the sides of a fifth square, then they moved up to form the sides of a box. The last square then slid up one of the box’s sides and aligned itself on top. The seams of the squares then vanished, forming a complete cube. The Doctor woke up with a sigh.

“What is that?” asked Amy.

“It’s a hypercube, a message with all my thoughts concerning the Master’s recent gambit,” replied the Doctor as she stood up and picked the box up, “as well as a request for Gallifrey to watch for the Grouping.”

“What IS the Grouping?” quizzed Lurra Rus.

“It’s where various points in time start blending together,” explained the Doctor. “The confusion would start a greater war.”

“Doctor, won’t less-scrupulous races take advantage of that?” asked Amy.

“Yes, they would,” replied the Doctor. She then concentrated on the hypercube and it vanished. “There we go,” she said. “Barring major disasters, the Time Lords will be made aware.”

“So they’ve returned,” remarked Martian Manhunter.

“…Yes, J’onn, they have,” replied the Doctor. “All I can say is that I’m not asking much, just that they observe things. They can’t do anything more as they’re still rebuilding.”

“Doctor, make sure you never lose them again,” said Martian Manhunter.

“Indeed. Well, goodbye, everyone.” The Doctor and her friends went back into the TARDIS and took off.

“…Nice lady,” remarked Superman. “Now, barring any emergencies, I gotta talk to Lois about her newest article.”

“Someone mention my name?” asked a woman’s voice. A woman with long, raven hair arrived.

“Lois!” Superman brought the woman into a hug. Batman rolled his eyes while Wonder Woman smiled.

“What brings you here, Miss Lane?” asked Wonder Woman.

“Oddly, just a visit,” replied Lois. “But I’m sure I’ll get an assignment about you all later.”

“Well, as long as you’re here, Lois,” said Superman, “…are you doing okay?”

“…Yeah, why?” asked Lois.

“Well, I just got your article-.”

“Nice, isn’t it?! Pure genius!”

“Well, you’re keeping me employed,” remarked Superman. Lois bridled at this.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Lois, there were so many errors and typos! Did you turn off the spellchecker?!”

“SPELLCHECKER CAN’T CONTROL ME, CLARK!” Superman backed and raised his hands at that. He could take on Darkseid, wallop Doomsday, and foil all of Luthor’s plans, but he wasn’t gonna try and take on Lois’ retort!

Back in the TARDIS as it spun through the Time Vortex, the Doctor fiddled with the controls, monitoring the Time Vortex for any temporal anomalies. Amy and Lurra Rus gave her some space. As she worked, the Doctor heard a beeping. She headed over to see that it was a video call from Gallifrey. “Let’s hope it’s to say that they got it, old girl,” the Doctor whispered to the TARDIS. She activated the scanner. “This is the Doctor. Receiving you, Gallifrey,” she said. A Time Lord’s face appeared. “Ah, my granddaughter’s Castellan, yes?”

“Castellan Stognavtifrelizundar,” replied the Castellan. “But let’s take a page from the lady Romana’s book and just call me Stognav.”

“Now that’s a page I had help in writing,” chuckled the Doctor. “So did you get my message?”

“Yes, and we’re monitoring the Time Vortex for any anomalies,” replied Stognav. “It’s a good thing you merely asked for monitoring as we’re not in a state to do anything about the upcoming Grouping.”

“I didn’t think so. Last time I was on Gallifrey, you lot were drafting a new Constitution.”

“We’ve gone through a few rough drafts, but we believe we’re getting closer to one that would make Gallifrey as dynamic as Earth. Even the Outsiders have a say.”

“Truly?” asked the Doctor hopefully.

“It’s been decided that there would be two High Councils,” explained Stognav, “the High Council of Time Lords and the High Council of Gallifrey. It’s believed that, since Outsiders outnumber Time Lords, their High Council should be bigger than ours. President Foreman’s insistence.”

“Well, she lived on Earth for a while, I can guess where she got the idea,” chuckled the Doctor with pride.

“Doctor, she tasked us with looking at the various points of English Parliament, believing that they could provide a framework for how both High Councils should meet and debate.”

“Make sure you look at Parliament’s mistakes as well as their victories,” directed the Doctor.

“Very well. If you could provide us with a good starting point, that would be helpful,” said Stognav.

“Transmitting now,” replied the Doctor as she keyed in the time periods to look at.

“Oh, a union of parliaments, was it?” chuckled Stognav. “Very well. We’ll take it from here, Doctor. Erm, you WILL also be on the lookout for any indications that the Grouping will start?”

“Naturally, I’m not letting you do all the work,” replied the Doctor.

“Very good. Safe travels to you and your companions.” Stognav ended the call. By then, Amy and Lurra Rus came in. Amy was back in her goth dress.

“Who was that?” asked Amy.

“Gallifrey,” replied the Doctor. “They got my hypercube. I won’t be monitoring the Time Vortex alone.”

“Great!” sighed Lurra Rus happily. “Now…where should we start monitoring?”

“…Well, psychic energy CAN affect the Time Vortex,” mused the Doctor. “Maybe we should check out where the greatest psychic concentration is.” The Doctor began her scans.

The Flash ran across the ocean, then reached Haiti and began his search. He then heard a gorilla roar. “That way!” he said as he followed the roar. He then found Gorilla Grodd beating his chest and intimidating his 33 hostages. “Hey! Donkey Kong!” called the Flash.

“FLASH!” roared Grodd.

“Following a chump like Luthor?” chuckled Flash. “No wonder Solovar’s trying to take his throne back!”

“Mind your tongue, human!” warned Grodd. “I won’t hesitate to eat it!”

“I thought you gorillas were herbivores?” asked the Flash.

“Most are! I’m not!”

“…Jaime was right. Freak of nature, that’s what you are. You really think the UN will recognize YOU as the leader of Gorilla City?”

“With Grodd, all things are possible!” Grodd then used his telekinesis to grab a large rock and throw it at the Flash. The Flash side-stepped the rock before it hit.

“You know, there’s a rumor floating around that someone else is pulling Luthor’s strings,” he remarked. “Who’s the puppet master here?”

“I…I…I cannot…say!” strained Grodd. He swung his fist at the Flash, but the Flash dodged again and used his superspeed to punch Grodd in the face multiple times, causing the talking gorilla to fall flat on his face. He then helped the hostages out of their spot and called the Doctor.

“Doc, it looks like Grodd’s been forced to be quiet about the puppet master like Cheetah,” he said. “We need answers…oh, and a lift. The delegates are all right.”

“I have a nasty theory,” replied the Doctor, “but I’ll need Amy and Superman’s help to confirm it.”

Martian Manhunter flew towards Ontario. “And just think,” he muttered to himself, “I had a stash of Oreos ready to be eaten.” He then heard screams. “D’Razz!” he hissed as he flew towards the source of the screams. On the outskirts of Ontario were 29 people, 28 of them being the last of the hostages and the remaining one being D’kay D’Razz. “D’KAY!” called Martian Manhunter.

“Ah! My mate!” replied the twisted female Martian.

“D’kay, you must stop this!” urged Martian Manhunter. “Our race cannot return like this!”

“It can and it will! And with what our partner has promised, there will be only ONE Martian race! No Ice Warriors, no pseudo-humans, no White Martians, and no inky-black creatures that look like some blend of Rome and Egypt!”

“Your ally isn’t a real friend!”

“I’ve seen his technology! I’ve returned home just before our end! Now I can bring it back!” D’kay pulled out all the stops, but Martian Manhunter simply changed shape to dodge each blow. Finally, he grabbed a book of matches…and lit one! D’kay tried to put it out, but Martian Manhunter hit her in the back of her head, knocking her out, then doused the small fire. He then shuddered.

“That’s the last time I’m doing that!” he said as he freed the hostages. He then called the Doctor. “Doctor, the hostages are freed, and I may have discovered a clue that might narrow down our list of people controlling Luthor. D’kay D’Razz said that she saw our race just before we went extinct.”

“That would imply time travel,” replied the Doctor. “And with the other clues we gathered…standby.”

Back at LexCorp, the Doctor called Amy. “…You don’t think…I mean, he was imprisoned, wasn’t he?” asked Amy. “…Yeah, he would, wouldn’t he? …I’ve got an idea to confirm it. You just get the delegates back.”

“So, the hostages are freed,” guessed Luthor.

“Did you think we wouldn’t save them?” asked Superman.

“I suppose I had a small hope you would,” replied Luthor. “Now, Miss Rose, what IS this brilliant idea of yours to confirm the Doctor’s theory?” Amy simply took the lasso off her waist. “…You really think that can overcome the mental block my associate placed on me?”

“We’ll have to try,” replied Amy.

“You gotta admit, Lex,” mused Superman, “it WOULD be good PR for any future political campaigns if you asked the Justice League for help in taking down a criminal.” Luthor stroked his chin.

“The thing is, Superman, I know you’re stroking my ego,” he said. “…but you’re right. Miss Rose, if you please.” He rolled up his sleeve. Amy slipped the lasso of truth on his wrist.

“All right. Here goes,” she said. “Is the Presidential Candidate behind this catastrophe really the renegade Time Lord known as the Master?” The lasso glowed. Luthor strained for a bit, then…

“YES!” he finally shouted. Amy took the lasso off and called the Doctor.

“Luthor confirmed it with the lasso!” she said. “The Master DID break out of Gallifreyan prison and he’s one of the two Presidential Candidates!”

“How could he break out?!” Lurra Rus asked the Doctor as the two helped the delegates leave the TARDIS in an orderly fashion once they were brought back to UN Headquarters.

“He’s a genius,” replied the Doctor. “A mad one, but a genius.” Another call then came through.

“Doctor, it’s Green Lantern! Sinestro overheard and he broke out! He’s looking for the Master!”

“No, not now!” complained the Doctor.

In Texas, a man in a goatee, cowboy hat, and boots as well as a suit and red tie returned to his office. “You just keep doing what you’re doing!” he called to his secretary. “We’re gonna win this!” He shut his door and gasped when he saw Sinestro sitting at his desk.

“Tell me, what is it your people fear, Master?” he asked.

“…I-I don’t-!” stammered the man.

“We all know who you are,” dismissed Sinestro. “Not this ‘Sam Terrance’ act. The Lasso of Truth was used on Luthor, and it overcame your mental block. Besides, my ring is screaming that you’re Gallifreyan, not human.” The man, or rather, the Master, rolled his eyes.

“Well, I suppose even knock-off Oan technology can do something that simple,” he sighed, dropping the thick Texan accent. “What do you want, Sinestro? I have a campaign to run and a country to throw into civil war.”

“Have you seen the latest polls?” asked Sinestro as he summoned a hologram of said polls. “Even the independents say you’re going to be this backward nation’s new president.” The Master sat on his desk with a smirk.

“Those fools, Trump and Putin, DID pave the way for me,” he said.

“And betting against you at this time wouldn’t be prudent for the denizens of this country,” replied Sinestro. “You must understand, although my distaste for you self-proclaimed Time Lords is incalculable, what I’m about to do is utterly impersonal.”

“What are you babbling about, the superiority of Korugarans over Gallifreyans?”

“You DO know that everything that exists has a specific nature, yes? Each entity has something in particular and has characteristics that are a part of what it is. The human letter ‘A’ is the human letter ‘A’. And no matter what face he wears or what biological sex he is, the Master is still the Master. If I am to bring order to the universe, your existence must come to an end before you take office.”

“You’re going to kill me and thus eliminate a rival to your power.” The Master chuckled.

“I’m a well-known monarch. The upcoming Grouping will play out, and order will reign supreme.” By then, the TARDIS made its usual arrival noise, distracting Sinestro.

“Interesting plan, Thaal Sinestro,” mused the Master. “Unfortunately for you, it’s not really an option!” The instant the TARDIS fully materialized, the Master grabbed something from his desk and fired a laser right at Sinestro’s chest! The shot pushed him into the TARDIS and he hit with enough force to knock the ring off his finger. The Master rushed over and snatched it up just as the TARDIS doors opened.

“NOBODY MOVE!” called the Doctor as she led the Justice League and her friends out of the TARDIS.

“Too late, Doctor!” cackled the Master.

“How did you get out?!” demanded Lurra Rus.

“Intruder window, how else?” snarked the Master.

“You’ll be going right back there when I’m through!” swore the Doctor.

“Promises, promises!” retorted the Master.

“The jig is up, buddy!” warned the Flash. “Your alien origins will be revealed and the Republican Party will have to settle for your running mate!”

“And I care because?” asked the Master.

“Master, there’s something I don’t understand,” said Amy. “How does being the President fit into your-?”

“President?” scoffed the Master.

“You must stop him!” insisted Sinestro. “He has my ring!”

“Okay, now I think I HAVE lost the plot here,” remarked the Doctor as she leapt towards the Master. The Master twirled out of the way and slipped the ring on his finger! A yellow and black jumpsuit replaced his outfit and a Time Lord collar and skull cap appeared on his shoulders and head.

“A perfect fit!” purred the Master. “Now…now I can fully take advantage of the Grouping!”

“The Grouping?” asked the Doctor. “You really ARE insane; that’s just a myth!”

“How does being our President help you handle this…grouping?” asked Superman. That was when the Master used the ring to create restraints around everyone!

“193 known member countries,” muttered the Doctor. “Each with one delegate. How did Luthor get them?!”

“We’ll figure that out as we go,” said Martian Manhunter. “For now, we must rescue them.”

“Global surveillance,” reported Batman, “says that they’ve been kidnapped and are being held according to each group of the General Assembly. Cheetah has the Group of African States somewhere in Nigeria, Sinestro has the Group of Asia Pacific States in Japan, the Joker is holding the Group of Eastern European States in Poland, Gorilla Grodd has the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States imprisoned in Haiti, and D’kay D’Razz is holding the Group of Western European and Other States in Ontario, Canada.”

“We’ll have to split up,” muttered the Flash.

“Agreed,” said Superman. “But how do we get-?”

“My TARDIS can pick them up and drop them all off back and UN Headquarters,” replied the Doctor.

“That box? How?” asked Green Lantern.

“It’s bigger on the inside,” replied Batman. “And it travels through time.”

“No way!” scoffed the Flash.

“The Time Lords WERE famous for dimensional engineering, according to the archives,” said Superman. “Anyways, Amy, we still have your Wonder Woman outfit available if you want to join me in interrogating Luthor.”

“Sounds fun!” replied Amy.

“The rest of the team assignments seem pretty straight forward to me. Wonder Woman, you’re heading to Nigeria.”

“Got it,” replied Wonder Woman.

“Batman, you’ll be heading to Poland.” Batman nodded. “Green Lantern, you head to Japan.”

“Understood,” answered Green Lantern.

“Flash, you’re going to Haiti.”

“Check,” said the Flash.

“Martian Manhunter-.”

“I’ll depart for Ontario,” said Martian Manhunter.

“Doctor, here,” said Superman as he handed the Doctor a communicator. “You and Lurra Rus keep an ear out for anyone that needs a pickup, then get the delegates back to UN Headquarters.”

“You got it,” replied the Doctor.

“Amy, let’s get you suited up,” continued Superman. “We’ll be heading to LexCorp, where Lex’s demands were broadcasted.”

“All right!” cheered Amy.

“Friends, we face a dire threat!” said Superman. “But as long as we hold to the ideals of the Justice League, we can-!”

“Clark, with all due respect,” grumbled Wonder Woman as everyone got up for their assignments, “save the speech for later!” Everyone rushed out, leaving Superman and Amy.

“…But…we always let bad guys finish their speeches! That’s just good manners!” protested Superman.

Wonder Woman arrived in Nigeria via her invisible jet and spotted a crowd. “That must be where Cheetah’s holding her hostages,” she guessed. And she guessed right. Once she landed her jet, she flew above the crowd and spotted Cheetah with the 54 delegates that made up the Group of African States. “Barbara!” called Wonder Woman. Cheetah looked up.

“Wonder Woman, please! Do not interfere!” she called.

“Barbara, this isn’t going to help!” urged Wonder Woman, hoping to end this before she had to throw a punch. “I don’t know what the Goddess is telling you, but killing those people will NOT restore your human form!”

“This isn’t a command from the Goddess! It’s from someone else! I have no choice!”

“From Luthor? He’s not the best example of the world of Men.”

“No! It’s…It’s…!” Cheetah clearly tried to say it, but couldn’t.

“…Someone with more power than Luthor,” guessed Wonder Woman. “Barbara, you are a brilliant woman! You know what you’re doing is wrong! Resist! Resist that being!”

“I…I cannot…disobey…my master!” strained Cheetah. She then leapt at Wonder Woman, her claws and teeth bared. Wonder Woman raised her arms so that Cheetah bit on Wonder Woman’s bracelet, then Wonder Woman decked Cheetah with enough force and restraint to simply knock her out. The Amazon Princess then freed the delegates and called the Doctor.

“Doctor, this is Wonder Woman. Cheetah has been dealt with and the delegates are free. Cheetah HAS mentioned someone above Luthor. I don’t think he’s pulling the strings here.”

In Japan, Green Lantern scanned the area for any signs of fear. “Alert!” warned his ring. “Evidence of the Yellow Impurity detected!”

“Ring, take me there!” ordered Green Lantern. He flew to Kyoto and found a distinct yellow glow. He found Sinestro using his yellow ring construct to bind his 55 hostages in snake coils!

“Typical of you Justice League fools,” scoffed Sinestro.

“Hey, it’s in a Green Lantern’s job description!” replied Green Lantern. “Remember? Green Lantern? No evil shall escape my sight?”

“The Sinestro Corps are hardly evil, just ask my ally.”

“Kidnapping politicians is pretty evil if you ask me! And Luthor’s a known criminal according to all Earth laws!”

“I refer to the one pulling his strings,” replied Sinestro.

“Wait, this ISN’T Luthor’s plan? Then who-?” Green Lantern didn’t get his answer as a wicked-looking spider made of yellow light flew at him. Green Lantern used his ring to make a giant can of bug spray and sprayed the spider with it. The spider vanished against Sinestro’s will. “I’m not arachnophobic,” scoffed Green Lantern. He then created a jet with his ring and fired on Sinestro, knocking him out of the sky and making him lose consciousness. The snake then vanished, releasing the hostages. “Doctor, this is Green Lantern. Requesting pickup. Mission accomplished. And Sinestro revealed that there’s someone pulling Lex’s strings.”

Batman flew his Batplane over Poland, looking for the Joker. Just then, a call came through. The ID said it was Penny One. Batman accepted. “Go ahead, Alfred,” he said.

“Master Bruce, Sir,” replied Alfred, “surveillance cameras loaned graciously by the Justice League has detected a rather gaudy carnival in the northern outskirts of Elblag, just shy of its border with Russia. Sending you the coordinates now.”

“Thanks, Alfred. I’ll wrap this up as quickly as possible.”

“And after this affair is over, I’ll have your usual evening meal ready. Roast chicken, salad, water, bandages, the usual.”

“Very funny, Alfred. Batman out.” Batman ended the call and guided the Batplane to the coordinates. “Gaudy” was perhaps an understatement from Alfred. “Horrifying” would be a more accurate description of that carnival. Under the giant strongman machine were 23 people.

“ROLL UP! ROLL UP! COME ONE, COME ALL!” came a familiar lunatic’s voice. Batman jumped out of the Batplane and landed safely on the ground. “AHA! And our guest of honor is here! All the way in Poland! Tell me, Batsy, have you tried the local cuisine? The eclectic varieties would suit your tastes! I know they suit mine!” The Joker then jumped down from the strongman machine.

“Let them go, Joker!” hissed Batman.

“Aw! Don’t want to play? Come now, Batsy! All work and no play make Joker a sad clown!”

“Working for Luthor makes you sad in the first place.”

“Believe it or not, he’s just a puppet!”

“Then who’s controlling his strings?” asked Batman. “And yours?”

“Oh, I’ve got no strings to hold ME down, Bats! As for Luthor’s master, well, I ain’t singing!” The Joker then sprayed acid from his boutonniere. Batman leapt out of the way, then threw a batarang at the Joker. The Joker used his cane to knock the batarang off target. He then drew his gun and fired, but all he hit was a popcorn stand. “Oh, NOW look what you’ve done!” complained the Joker. “How are my carny friends supposed to enjoy the place now?!”

“They’ll move on, especially without someone so dull in charge.”

“DULL?! I’M THE STAR OF THE SHOW!” By now, the Joker was gnashing his teeth! He fired wildly, thankfully as Batman wanted. He then threw another batarang that cut the ropes holding the hostages. The hostages then grabbed whatever they could get their hands on and whacked the Joker senseless. “…C…Communists!” coughed the Joker once they finished. Batman called the Doctor.

“Doctor, hostages are safe,” he said. “Requesting pickup. And the Joker just said-.”

“That someone’s pulling Luthor’s strings?” asked the Doctor over the line. “I heard the same from Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Any clues?”

“None that I could get,” replied Batman.

Over in Metropolis, Superman and Amy in her Wonder Woman dress landed on the balcony of the LexCorp building. Superman politely knocked. Lex Luthor looked behind him and saw the two. He let them in. “I thought you’d crash through the window,” he remarked.

“I’d rather not pay for a window,” replied Superman.

“I heard three groups have been rescued,” remarked Luthor.

“Groups that YOU kidnapped,” reminded Amy. “But something your allies said made me and Superman wonder.”

“Cheetah was clearly under some form of mind control,” explained Superman, “but Sinestro and the Joker weren’t. All three of them said that someone is pulling your strings, Luthor.”

“Loose lips sink ships, Superman,” grumbled Luthor. “But they ARE correct.”

“So, someone’s controlling you. But who?” asked Superman.

“Their control over me prevents me from saying,” replied Luthor. “All I can tell you is that they’re one of the two major party candidates currently running for President of the United States.”

“…You guys really DO have a two-party system?” muttered Amy. “Mobius doesn’t have that in my time.”

“Luthor, are you saying either Senator Sam Terrance or Senator Emily Percival are pulling your strings?” asked Superman.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Superman. Do you really think I would risk my business so easily by starting an international incident?! I’d be tried at the Hague and executed for this level of terrorism!”

The TARDIS spun through the Time Vortex as usual. Inside, the Doctor checked the console, pondering what she found. “Amy swore up and down she was transported to another universe,” she muttered. “So why…?” The Doctor scratched her head. “Maybe she was mistaken?”

“Who was mistaken?” asked Amy as she and Lurra Rus entered the console room.

“…Amy, are you sure you said you were taken to another universe?” asked the Doctor.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I’m not seeing any disappearances in history concerning you, just mere transports through time.”

“Are you sure, Doctor? Because I can remember one adventure where I had to fill in for someone in the fight against a really nasty guy after the Chaos Emeralds.”

“Do you remember the nasty guy’s name?” asked the Doctor.

“Yeah. His name was Darkseid.” The Doctor goggled.

“Darkseid?! Ruler of Apokolips?!” she asked.

“Yeah. You know him?” quizzed Amy. The Doctor keyed in several search words for the TARDIS computers, then got the results.

“…Amy, you and your friends weren’t transported to another universe during that incident,” she finally said. “Merely to the past.”

“What?! Seriously?!” asked Amy. “You mean I could chat with Wonder Woman again?!”

“Yes, you could. …Want to?”

“Yeah!” Amy turned to Lurra Rus. “Lurra, you’re gonna love the Justice League!”

“I would like to see more friends of yours, Amy,” replied Lurra Rus.

“That settles it, then!” declared the Doctor. “Let me just set the coordinates to the Watchtower and…” The TARDIS was then set on course!

The Watchtower, the base of operations for the Justice League, a group of superheroes that watched over all of Earth. In front of a big bank of monitor screens, a man in a red and blue suit with a diamond pattern on his chest that evoked a red S over a yellow background and a red cape was watching intently. In his usual civilian disguise, he was Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a newspaper known as the Daily Planet. Right now, in his current costume, he was the Kryptonian survivor known as Superman. “You know, it’s that kind of brooding that spreads the rumor that you have a crush on Batman,” said a woman’s voice. Superman heard someone walk into the monitor room. He knew it was a woman in a red and gold outfit with a starred tiara and silver bracelets and armed with a gold lasso.

“Very funny, Diana,” he retorted, using the woman’s civilian name. He turned to see that the woman’s raven hair was wavy instead of straight and she wore a blue skirt with white stars on it. “…Nostalgia?” he asked.

“Just wanted to wear the skirt again,” replied the woman, Wonder Woman. “So, any threats you could find, Batman Junior?”

“Cut that out!” he said. “And to answer your question, it’s the sudden lack of intelligence on six specific threats.” He pulled up dossiers of six threats the Justice League faced.

“Lack of intelligence? They can’t just vanish like that!” argued Wonder Woman. “Does Bruce know?”

“We both spotted this at the same time,” replied Superman.

“And that’s a cause for concern, Diana,” came a third, raspy voice. Superman and Wonder Woman were startled, then Wonder Woman turned on the speaker, a man dressed in black with a bat motif to his cape and cowl.

“Okay, my creeping up on Clark was an accident!” she hissed at the new man, Batman. “YOU did that on purpose, Bruce!”

“You two were late for the meeting,” replied Batman. Superman face-palmed.

“Crap, I forgot it was today!” he groaned. “Come on, you two.” As they headed off, a strange noise filled their ears.

“…Boys,” said Wonder Woman.

“It can’t be!” breathed Superman.

“There’s only one machine I know that makes that sound,” remarked Batman. The noise ended in a thud and alarms blared.

“Intruder Alert!” warned the computer. “Blue box in hangar bay 2!”

“Come on!” called Superman. He leapt out of his seat and flew down the hall with Wonder Woman flying after him and carrying Batman.

“Diana!” protested Batman. The three then made their way to the hangar and found a familiar blue box.

“Great Rao!” swore Superman. “It’s a…it’s a TARDIS! It’s…THE TARDIS!”

“Does that…mean anything?” asked Wonder Woman as she set Batman down.

“The Doctor is here for some reason,” replied Batman. “Computer, cancel intruder alert. The box belongs to a friend.” Superman flew towards the TARDIS and accidentally tackled the two people coming out. He goggled as he recognized one of them!

“AMY ROSE?!” he yelped.

“Superman!” replied Amy.

“Amy?!” asked Wonder Woman.

“DIANA!” called Amy. The two hugged each other.

“It’s great to see you!” cheered Wonder Woman. “Trying out the goth thing like Batman and Shadow?”

“I’M NOT GOTH!” protested Batman.

“Of course you aren’t,” replied Amy. “Oh, this is my friend, Lurra Rus!”

“H-Hello!” gulped Lurra Rus. Superman ran his eyes up and down Lurra Rus.

“…You’re an actual Twi’lek,” he said.

“Y-Yes,” replied Lurra. “Earthers have heard of us?”

“We thought we created your people for the Star Wars franchise,” explained Batman.

“I can assure you, we’re real, Mister…” answered Lurra Rus.

“That’s Batman,” replied Amy. “AKA, Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne. The lady is Wonder Woman, AKA, Diana, Princess of the Amazons of Themyscira, and the big blue boy scout that tackled us is Superman, AKA, Mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent.”

“Charmed,” said Lurra Rus.

“Amy, can you clear something up?” asked Superman. “I could have sworn this was a TARDIS. THE TARDIS. The only TARDIS the Kryptonian Archives ever talked about.”

“Is there someone called the Doctor in there?” asked Batman.

“Yeah! She’s just inside!” replied Amy.

“No, she’s not,” corrected the Doctor. “She’s coming out.” She saw the three superheroes. “Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman! What an honor!”

“…You’re wearing your old face, Doctor,” remarked Batman.

“…N-No I’m not,” replied the Doctor. “You mean this isn’t our second meeting and I changed my face?”

“…My second meeting with you must have been with your future,” guessed Batman.

“Well, that’s time travel for you,” sighed the Doctor.

“Doctor, you and your friends might be able to help us,” said Superman.

“Oh?” asked the Doctor.

“We’ll explain more at the meeting,” said Wonder Woman.

The Doctor and her friends were led to a conference room. Already there were the remaining founders of the Justice League; Green Lantern, AKA Hal Jordan, the Flash, AKA Barry Allen, and Martian Manhunter, AKA J’onn J’onzz. The Doctor was naturally surprised to see Martian Manhunter. “Forgive me for pointing this out, but I thought-.”

“I’m the last of those Martians,” replied Martian Manhunter. “I believe you understand, Last of the Time Lords.” The Doctor said nothing. Lurra Rus arched an eyebrow.

“I thought she wasn’t-,” she whispered to Amy.

“I doubt that feeling goes away,” replied Amy.

“Here’s what we’ve got so far,” said Green Lantern as he used his ring to project holograms of news articles. “Six of our greatest enemies had suddenly vanished. Amy would know a few of them.” The holograms then changed into a bald man in a suit. “Lex Luthor, owner of LexCorp, vanished ten days ago.” Amy flinched when the hologram changed into a man in a cheap suit and with clown makeup. “The Joker, anarchist, disappeared a day after Lex.” The hologram changed to a woman with cheetah features, “Cheetah, On/Off ally, vanished two days after the Joker.” The hologram changed again, this time into a gorilla wearing armor. “Gorilla Grodd, tyrant of Gorilla City, vanished a day after Cheetah.” The hologram then became a man wearing a suit similar to Green Lantern’s but the symbol was different. “Sinestro, leader of the Sinestro Corps, also known as the Yellow Lanterns, vanished right in front of my eyes during a fight with him a day after Gorilla Grodd.” The hologram changed for the last time, this time into another Martian of Martian Manhunter’s type. “And D’kay D’Razz, the last female Martian, unethical scientist, vanished two days after Sinestro.”

“Sounds to me like someone is gathering them,” mused the Doctor. “But who?” At that moment, an alert came through. Batman checked it out.

“It’s the UN!” he said. He pulled up the video where Lois Lane, Superman’s girlfriend, was reporting.

“This is Lois Lane, reporting live from the UN!” she said. “Six of our planet’s most heinous villains have kidnapped the delegates of the UN and are holding them ransom! I just received word that there’s footage of Lex Luthor outlining the terms of their return!” By then, Lex Luthor appeared on screen.

“Greetings, my friends,” he said. “Rest assured, all the delegates will be returned, but there IS a bit of quid pro quo involved. I would advise all nations to disband the Justice League as their presence is a threat to proper security. I didn’t wish to go this far, but the laissez-faire approach that Earth as a whole has become too prevalent. Please understand that I have no choice.” The video ended.

“…Just when I thought his demands were for forty cakes to be delivered to him,” muttered the Flash.