Robin eagerly shook Clark's hand, with a strength that Superman found somewhat surprising. The girl's spirit was no doubt infectious, as she seemed to constantly radiate energy and enthusiasm.

"Oh wow well thanks!" she said loudly, "Hehehe well I guess I did do pretty well and all and you're pretty awesome too and really the Watchtower seriously that's awesome oh my god!"

"I appreciate that Robin," replied Superman, taking the data-arrow from her, "You seem a lot friendlier than Bruce."

By now the cloud cover had faded, and the sun's rays were beating down on the city. The bright golden globe atop the Daily Planet building was shining brilliantly in the light.

"Try not to let the old Dark Knight get you down," said Superman as he parted from the Girl Wonder. Now that he had the arrow, he could hopefully get some answers. Human technology couldn't interpret the data, but where he was going the technology was anything but human.

Clark activated his communicator, "Justice League, report back to the Watchtower. I'll be in contact as soon as possible. Superman out."

With that, the Man of Steel took flight into the clear blue sky. As he flew overhead he looked down and saw one of the soldiers that arrived with General Lane. The soldier looked up at Superman and gave him a salute. Clark couldn't help but smile.

"Oh well, um, Batman's not the friendliest guy but he's really awesome!" replied Madison enthusiastically, grinning widely as she spoke. It was the truth, at least from her point of view. There were a lot of reasons Batman was awesome, one of which(a relatively new addition to the list) was the fact that she was his sidekick. There were also a lot of reasons Superman was awesome. And Wonder Woman. And Green Lantern. And the Flash. And Aquaman... and... and all of them! All these heroes were awesome in her eyes, there was no denying that. As Superman took the arrow and began to fly off, Robin cheerfully waved to the Man of Steel. This was so cool, so, so cool to the Girl Wonder. There was no hiding it. Even if she had wanted to hide it. Which she didn't even slightly. "And working with Batman could [i]never[i] bring me down, don't worry!"

And with that she turned, and... Batman was in fact right there, though he was heading back into the Batjet. They did have some important things to do... even though it hadn't quite been talked about yet as far as she could remember. Robin hopped into her seat in the Batjet, before turning to wave to Superman and the others from her seat. She wanted to talk to all of them... Wonder Woman was so awesome and pretty, Aquaman had saved her, Green Arrow had given her a path to the robot and all... And Green Lantern looked her age! Wow! She didn't know you could be fourteen and get into an intergalactic police force kind of thing... But she had to listen to Batman.

"See you!"

"Well guys, its been real," green arrow said into his communicator. "Crap," he thought, "how the hell am I gonna get back to the watchtower, batman usually takes me."

"Honey," he said as he called black canary, "beam me up please,". He said and then warped up into the watchtower. "This...is gonna be a long day"

Shifter watched as the other heroes left to head back to the watchtower and he transformed into Chekov from Star Trek spoke into his communicator in a fake Russian accent "Martian Manhunter, I am ready for beam out"

In a couple of seconds Walt was transported to the watchtower and he gave the green man a salute. he then transformed back into his normal form and laughed. He walked over to the others and transformed into an air horn. he made a loud honking noise to get their attention and changed back to normal and then asked, "So how about we party now?"

Wonder Woman raised her eyebrow at the Green Lantern. She showed an amazing lack of decorum that would have been appropriate to her position as a Green Lantern. It was times like this that made Diana wonder where Hal and John were. Kyle was professional despite his age and Simon was earnest at least. Hopefully this new Lantern didn't turn out like Gardner. As it was however, Diana didn't hold her breath.

When Lane came to take custody of the machine, Wonder Woman had to keep the grimace from materializing on her face. Lane was a soldier of his country but his obstructionism often complicated the situation for no good reason. She wished she had Clark's faith in the American government. Then again Diana had little faith in any government of Man's world. No doubt Bruce would find a way to obtain what the League needed however.

Seeing the situation was resolved Diana tapped her communicator, "The machine has been destroyed, but it seems our friends in the Government have taken control of the wreckage. We've done all we can here. Ready for transport, J'onn." A flash of light and Wonder Woman was back in the Watchtower. She smiled at J'onn and Mister Terrific, who arrived to help fill in with Monitor duty.

The hero who Diana hadn't recognized, the shapeshifter, suddenly turned into a horn. He certainly got her attention. Wonder Woman raised her eyebrow at J'onn. He simply said, "Shifter, a new recruit. He's quite... eager." Diana smiled, "Indeed." Wonder Woman walked over to Shifter and said, "We don't often celebrate after a mission like that. After spending enough time on the League those kinds of battles start becoming routine. I'm Princess Diana of Themyscira. What is your name?"

Walt was a little disappointed to find out that there wasn't much celebration with the Justice League but he guessed that was what happened with adults. When Wonder Woman introduced herself, Walt smile and replied, "My full name is Walter Chuck Warner, but you can call me Walt when we are not on duty. Is it true that you have an invisible jet?"

He was curious to know since he had heard people talk about it and this made Walt curious since Wonder Woman could fly and didn't see why she would need a vehicle to travel. It also sounded funny

Diana smiled at Walt and extended her hand, a custom she was used to after years in Man's World, "It's nice to meet you Walt. You acquitted yourself well in the battle. You're one of the most talented shapeshifters I've ever seen right next to J'onn, Miss Martian, and Matrix." It was true. The League had very few shapeshifters and they were all excellent resources. Walt had proved himself to be a valuable asset as well.

Diana answered Walt's question, "Indeed I do. The plane is an extraterrestrial artifact and it has advanced cloaking technologies. It's good for transporting teams stealthily and it's nice to not have to fly all the time." It was a common question, and one that could've been sufficiently answered if one took the time to apply common sense. Diana asked her own question, "When did you join the League Walt? I've never seen you before today and I know almost everyone else on the Watchtower." As one of the League's premier members, Diana had become familiar with the scores of heroes that made up the League and even many of the staff that worked on the space station. It was very rare for Wonder Woman to come across a completely new person and she was curious about this new hero.

"I joined the League only about a week ago, it's all thanks to my mentor Animal Man, he gave my suggestion to Superman and Martian Manhunter. I'm still getting use to awesomeness of hanging out in a headquarters that is in space. You know before today I never thought that I would be good enough to join the Justice League, I mean Superman is the last survivor of a dead planet and incredibly powerful. Batman is the greatest Detective in the world and you're an Amazon princess with powers from the Greek gods. While I was just an ordinary kid who got his powers by accident" he said to Wonder Woman.

It did feel strange to be on a league of superheroes who had such incredible powers, sure he could do some amazing things with his powers but he certainly could not pick up building and incinerate entire streets with heat-vision. He lived in a world where Superman could take down entire armies and Aquaman could call upon the fury of the oceans at a whim.

A large, battle-scarred hand clapped down on Walt's shoulder.

"Nothing happens by accident Walt. We ascribe meaning to things with every action we take, and you proved beyond any doubt that you deserve your powers today. I think you'll go far with this league." Aquaman smiled approvingly at the younger hero. Between Shifter's heroics and Batman's newest Robin, Arthur could tell the league was destined to be in good hands. "And if nothing else, that was one impressive shark you turned into!"

The Fortress of Solitude, a sanctuary on Earth for Krypton's Last Son. The magnificent crystalline structure was quite unlike anything built by human being. It was distinctly alien, much like Superman himself. The Fortress was everything the Bat-Cave was not. While Batman's lair was dark and utilitarian, Superman's sanctuary was bright, vibrant and beautiful. As it sparkled in the sun Clark wondered if it somehow drew strength from the same source as he.

The Fortress was originally the ship that had brought Clark to the Earth as a baby, but as he grew, it did as well. When he entered adulthood, his ship came alive, blasting away from it's resting place on the Kent farm and heading north, far, far away from the populated world. Through advanced Kryptonian technology the ship expanded itself and terra-formed the land around it, building what would become the Fortress of Solitude. What began as a cradle for Clark as an infant would become a home for him as a man.

In the main chamber, there was a massive Kryptonian computer. Clark placed the arrow underneath the computer scanner, hoping to collect a data-reading from it. According to the computer, the robot's origin was indeed the planet Colu, as was reported by Green Lantern's ring. It's configuration and specifications matched that of Coluan probe droid, controlled by an entity known as Brainiac. After pondering for a moment, Clark placed his hand on one of the computer panels, which began to glow.

"I am in need of your help Father."

A massive hologram projection appeared in the image of Jor-El, Superman's biological father.

"Speak my son."

"My world has fallen under attack," said Superman, "A Coluan probe droid came to Metropolis, sent by a being known as Brainiac. However, I have not heard of such a planet, nor have I encountered such a being."

"I had feared this day would come my son," replied Jor-El, his voice booming through the halls of the Fortress, "The Earth has been chosen by the Preserver of Worlds."

"Preserver of Worlds? I don't understand."

"Brianiac," replied Jor-El, "Is an immensely intelligent and highly advanced android, whose primary function is to collect and preserve remnants of doomed civilizations."

"You speak as though you have seen this android before..."

"I have Kal-El. Decades ago, he came to the planet Krypton," Jor-El paused before continuing, "His forces invaded our world, but his aim was not to destroy it. He miniaturized our greatest city, the City of Kandor, and collected it in a bottle. A relic of a doomed world. The bottled City of Kandor is all that remains of Krypton, aside from this Fortress, and you."

Clark was taken aback by this revelation, "Why have you not told me this before Father! I could have sought Brainiac out, found a way to save the people of Kandor and restore the City! I thought myself to be the last surviving Kryptonian, but that was a lie!"

"I had feared this reaction. Brainaic is a power unlike anything you have ever faced. Despite all the gifts bestowed upon you by the yellow sun of this world, I do not believe you can stand against Brainiac. And know this Kal-El, the people of Kandor are not alive, they are trapped in a permanent micro-stasis. And to be able to reverse this process, you would have to defeat Brainiac himself. There is nothing that even you can do to help them now."

"The symbol of the House of El means hope, how can you have forsaken all hope for Kandor?"

"I have witnessed the power of Brainiac and his armada first hand. My brother Zor-El was one of the many Kryptonians lost in Kandor. Brainiac's interest in the planet Earth is a dire omen for what is to come."

"What do you mean?"

"Brianic has foreseen the imminent destruction of the human civilization and of this world. That is why he will come Kal-El. Kandor is but one of many cities in Brainiac's collection. For every planet that Brainiac has visited, death and destruction have followed suit. Years, months, sometimes even only weeks later. There is no pattern to the destruction. Some worlds fall victim to pollution, to war, some due to environmetnal catastrophes and to the natural evolution of solar systems. But all have met their doom."

"I refuse to accept that the Earth is doomed. We will find a way to persevere and overcome."

"Your spirit is admirable my son, your adoptive parents have raised you into the man I had one day hoped you would be. But know that on Krypton when I spoke of coming doom, my voice fell on deaf ears. I pray that it is not the case again."

"What can you tell me about how Brainiac launched his attack?"

"Brainaic's forces will attempt to create a diversion, allowing him to prepare for the collection process. Be wary my son, for he will attempt to use this planet's own technology against it."

"I need to contact the Justice League."

"Do you remember the story I once told you Kal-El, the story Nightwing and Flamebird.?"

"Of course Father."

"They were the greatest heroes that Krypton had ever known. And they died defending the City of Kandor from Brainiac."

"Their sacrifice will not be in vain. I'm going to save Kandor, and I'm going to save this world."

"I am so very proud of you Kal-El. You are a far more courageous man than I could ever have hoped to be. But know that this Fortress was, and is, meant to be your salvation. It has the capacity to transform back into a ship, and take you far away from this place. Brainiac will not pursue you. He will come to collect his prize and nothing more."

"My fate will be the same as that of this world. Goodbye Father."

Superman turned off the console and left the Fortress. He looked up to the sky, thinking of Jor-El's words.

"Be wary my son, for he will attempt to use this planet's own technology against it."

Far above the Earth, he could see the Justice League Watchtower.

Wonder Woman smiled at Shifter, "Animal Man knows heroes when he sees them. He chose wisely in recommending you. Many of us were overwhelmed when we first joined the League, you'll get used to it eventually." Diana caught sight of Aquaman and she smiled even broader. Diana had always felt a certain kinship with Arthur. They both resembled regular humanity but were utterly different, they were both royalty of supernatural civilizations, they both lived in two worlds, and they were both excellent fighters. Though Diana had not yet tested herself against the King of the Sea.

She nodded at Arthur's words,"He's right. For such a new member you proved yourself more than capable. I was highly impressed by your performance." Diana caught Arthur's eye and smiled, "Hello, Arthur. You missed the bout earlier today, Hawkgirl and the others put me through my paces. One of these days you and I should indulge in some friendly competition."

Walt smiled at their responses to him, and when he heard Aquaman compliment him on his transformation into a shark, he replied, "I transform into animals when I am going on the extreme attack, but I really like transforming into people and characters. Like one time two years ago, I was in the process of busting a gang of criminals in San Diego and they were as tough as street level thugs could get. So I transformed into Batman and got the drop on them. They were terrified and tried shooting me but I made my body as hard as steel so their bullets just bounced off me. That also freaked them out even more so I decided to play with their heads and transformed into tiny insects to make it look like I had the ability to disappear and they screamed like frightened little girls. One of them shouted 'where are you?!' and I appeared behind him as Batman replying 'here' before knocking him out. Then I grabbed the gang leader by his collar and I said 'I am the goddamn Batman, just a made the guy lose some teeth. That was one of my favorite crime fighting experience, it really messes with your enemies' heads if you constantly change appearance and confuse them."

Arthur returned Diana's grin, smiling even more at her mention of her bouts. The Amazonian's training matches against her Leaguemates were legendary, equal parts instuctive lessons and brutal humiliations for her friends. Aquaman himself had been known to test his skills in the leagues halls before, usually under the tutelage of Batman or Hawkman, but had been finding less and less time for it lately as his responsibilities as king of Atlantis began to pile higher and higher.

"I would enjoy that Diana, though I think any competition between the two of us would soon become slightly un-friendly. We both enjoy winning too much!" he winked, robbing the quip of any real venom.

Walt interjected with a story of his own, his mouth running a mile a minute. Arthur stood with a slightly bemused expression on his face, struggling to keep up with the shapeshifter. Finally Walt finished his story, but Aquaman was no more certain now of what had happened than he had been at the start of Shifter's story. Instead he settled for a good natured laugh.

"Outrageous," he chuckled. "Now, if you both excuse me, I need to see Jonn about the issue of a sinking drilling rig. Atlantis demands retribution, and I believe it could soon become a problem for the League, not just Atlantis's king. The work of Royalty never ends, eh Diana?" Aquaman left with another smile, walking through to meet with the Martian-Manhunter.

The Batjet took off and re-cloaked as soon as Robin got inside. Batman didn't quite turn around to acknowledge her, but only because he was focused on flying the aircraft.

"We're going to go pay a visit to Lex Luthor. Lately he's been lobbying for U.S. intervention in Khandaq, a repressed country ruled by a military dictator who insists he's the last true heir of the Mongol Empire, guilty of multiple human rights violations. Luthor's contracts with the military mean that war in Khandaq would make him an obscene amount of money, but it's not that simple. The thugs we interrogated earlier this afternoon were part of a smuggling ring. I broke up one of their shipments a short time ago, high grade military weapons, unusual for them. A lot of the guns had had major cosmetic changes, but I still recognize LexCorp weaponry when I see it. We couldn't get them to talk but most likely the scheming weasel is arming the most radical elements in Khandaq in an attempt to escalate things. If he succeeds it could destabilize the entire region and cost millions on millions of lives, all to feed his greed and his ego." Even without glancing back at Robin, Batman's tone of voice made it obvious as to exactly how sickened it made him.

"I'm telling you this so you'll understand why we have to break into the home of a man you've never met, beat guards who are just doing their jobs unconscious, likely vandalize an extremely expensive penthouse and threaten the owner in ways that might otherwise make your conscience squirm. It will be more convincing if you're not confused. And if you're angry."

The Batjet eased slowly to a stop and used its' vertical thrusters to keep itself in the air as its' canopy retracted, a massive tower looming in the distance, the opulent penthouse suite at the top visibly decadent even from the plane. Batman dropped a line from the plane and clipped his belt through it to slide down.

"This whole ridiculous tower is his home. We can't access his room directly. Even swinging to the balcony involves too many aerial proximity sensors that would mean a small army of guards to deal with first, and the windows and locks are reinforced enough that it would take Superman time to break in. So we're doing the unexpected and walking through the front door. This means fighting less numerous guards at the front but doing it quickly enough that they can't hit alarms, either. We can either spend time hacking or breaking through the security protocols for the elevator after that or scale the empty elevator shaft. Luthor's suite itself is difficult to access, but the kitchen two floors below has a dumb-waiter for delivering his meals. I'll need you to use it to access his room and unlock it from the inside since I've already determined you'll fit. Meanwhile I'll be searching his offices. If we do this right we can take our time afterward and wait for him to get home. There are easier ways for us to do all of this, but I want him to know that no amount of security makes him safe without knowing how we did it, to lose sleep wondering if we'll do it again."

He was about to jump out when he stopped, looked back at Madison and added

"Oh, and while you're there, help yourself to anything in Lex's kitchen. It rubs salt in the wound." Aside from that, Bruce felt Madison did well on the mission today, and cake and high quality food, cake and/or ice cream was probably a suitable reward.

Madison tried to dampen her excitement as Batman explained what was going down now. Obviously she had heard of Lex Luthor before, but meeting him was another thing entirely. As he explained exactly why they would be doing so, she really couldn't help but get angry. How could someone do something like that, just to put money in their pocket? Do something that would kill so many people? This was a different kind of crime then the other things Madison was more used to, but it was still crime and it was still something that had to be fought, and while it was definitely something Madison wouldn't be comfortable with under normal circumstances... this was so very, very different. She understood exactly why they were doing this and wanted nothing more then to try and ensure they could stop Luthor.

"I understand," she nodded as she spoke, determination crossing her face. And, well... the promise of cake and ice cream was a pretty big bright spot after the serious discussion of the whole plan...

Superman contacted the Watchtower immediately, "J'onn I need you to beam me up."

"Locking onto your location now."

Moments later, with flash of light, Superman was gone. As he stepped off the transporter pad, the Martian Manhunter could see the earnest look of concern on his face. J'onn J'onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, was the coordinator of the Justice League. From the Watchtower, J'onn was able to survey the Earth and monitor the League's activities. With the League having grown so much in size, it made sense to have someone in charge of directing groups of heroes to various crises around the globe. Superman believed J'onn to be the League member most similar to him, given that they were both the last of an extinguished race. However, the recent revelation about the existence of Kandor had thrown that belief into doubt.

"I fear the Watchtower may soon become compromised, we need to be on full alert," said Superman.

Just moments after he spoke, the Watchtower's surveillance system lit up. An armada of ships emerged from hyperspace, and began to close in on the Justice League headquarters. At the front of the fleet, was a ship in the shape of a skull.

almost a week prior to Batman & Robin's arrival to Lex Luthors current location

Lex Luthor sat in a chair behind a desk, holding his hands together impatiently as he glared at the door to the room, seconds passed by before the door creaked open and a person who's face was hidden behind a mask walked in, he was well built, in a suit that matched the color of his mask
"your late..." Luthor deadpanned with an agitated tone

"only fashionably so" the masked man retorted as he walked further into the room, slowly approaching the desk as the door slowly closed itself
"so, what can I do you for?" he asked with a sly grin behind his mask

"I need you to "collect" something for me" Luthor said with a faint smile as he took out a folder from his desk as slid it across the desk to the masked man who stopped it with his hand and picked it up
"I'd do it myself, but I'm a bit busy at the moment" the masked man opened the folder and read what was written, his eye's slowly widening in interest, he then looked up from the folder to Luthor with narrowed eye's

"heh-heh... sure, I'll play fetch for ya, but the "weight" of this package is going to cost ya a little extra in advance..." said the masked man as he grinned devilishly behind his mask, Luthor rolled his eye's slightly as he reached into his desk and pulled out a brief case and placed it on the table, sliding it over to the masked man, to which he spun it to face him and open it, to inspect the contents, which he was happy with

"does this fit your price?..." Luthor asked with a dim smile as he placed his fingers against each other while he rested in his chair, the masked man closed the brief case with a wide grin

"very much so, consider the job done" the masked man said as he turned to leave, taking the brief case and folder with him, he opened the door to the room and let it close itself as he left, Lex Luthor then slowly turned his chair around 180 degrees and watched as a large screen came from the ceiling, he pushed a few buttons on his chairs right arm and the screen turned one, a few more buttons pushed and an image of a seven foot humanoid machine appeared on screen, rotating 360 degrees slowly, Lex Luthor rested his chin on his hands as he slowly grinned at the image

a two days after the meeting, location: somewhere in America, in a top secret military location, midnight

On a hill behind the cover of trees, the masked man from before looks through a pair of binoculars at the military base before him, he gives a satisfied chuckle before he turns to the stealth helicopter landed behind him, inside a pilot wearing a helmet nodded to him, the masked man placed his right hand up to his ear as he looked back to the base
"here's how it's going to happen, I'm going to sneak in, grab the "package" and bring it into the open, I'll radio you to come pick it and me up when I'm ready, for now stay put"

"roger that" the pilot said in a plain voice as he turned off the helicopter, the masked man then made his way to the base, as he approached he pushed a button on his wrist and he turned invisible just as a search light went over him, he nonchalantly walked up to the fence before he looked left and right, making sure no one was watching, he then took a few steps back before running towards the fence and jumping over it with a front flip, and landed on his hands and knees
"this is going to be too easy" he said as he stood up and began making his way to one of the warehouses, when he got to the first one, the massive doors were locked with a panel beside the handles, the masked man then took out a small hand sized device and placed it on the panel, it then began hacking the code to open the door, after a moment it gave a beep and the masked man grabbed the device, and the door lock made a loud ka-chunk as it opened, the masked man slipped inside and turned pressed a button beside his right eye, activating night vision, his eye's widened as he seen hundreds of large wooden and steel crates piled up to the ceiling
"we'll, looks like it's time to play hide and seek...." he said in a bored tone as he began walking around the warehouse looking for a crate that was about seven feet or so tall, most likely made of metal a few minutes had passed by and he had nothing, he had opened a few crates, finding weapons and gadgets of all sorts, but it wasn't what he was looking for
"hmp.... must be in one of the other warehouses..." he thought aloud as he turned to leave, he had taken a few steps before he smacked his face on something
"the f*ck?" he said as he rubbed his head, he looked for what hit him but their was nothing in front of him, he stood in a middle of the warehouse, most the crates had been placed near and around the walls, there was very few in the center of the building, but he had hit something, the masked man slowly felt around in front of him, taking a few steps forward with his arms out, then he felt something, he placed both hands on something hard, but not there
"interesting..." he said as he knocked on the object three times, then from the top of what appeared to be a seven foot object came a distortion of light that flowed to the floor before going completely invisible again
"heh-heh, I think I found the package" he said with a grin as he tried to place his hands around the object, he found the corners of it relatively easy, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't lift it
"okay..." he said in slight annoyance as he let go and tried pushing it with both hands, but to no avail
"come... On!..." he said as he placed his back to it and pushed as hard as he could, but still it didn't budge
"This Is Stupid!" he said in quiet frustration as he reeled back his right hand and punched the invisible crate making a loud thud with a few cracking noises following, he stood still with his fist against the box before he slowly looked to the floor
"ow...." he whimpered quietly to himself as he held his wrist while he turned away from the crate, just as he looked up he found a way to move it and grinned to himself

A few minutes later and the door to the warehouse opened, two passing soldiers that were on patrol had passed the doors a few seconds before it started opining, when it opened the two stopped and looked at the doors with their rifles aimed at them, a few seconds passed by just before they heard the sound of an engine, they held still with their aim locked, then out drove a forklift, with no one driving it and nothing being carried, the two soldiers stood their completely dumbfounded with their weapons lowered
"uh.... should we.... inform the base?..." one asked to the other

"....... I think we can handle a runaway forklift...." he said as he watched it drive strait to the open courtyard
"come on, lets go get it, then we'll find out who forgot to turn it off and lock the warehouse door...." the second one said as he began walking to the forklift, the first soldier followed behind

"wow... I can't believe this is working..." the masked man said to himself with a stupid grin under his mask as he drove by the soldiers, then he place his right hand to his ear and radioed the helicopter pilot
"alright, I'm heading towards the center of the courtyard, look for the green forklift, come get me" he said with a smile before he looked back, his eye's widened slightly as he seen the soldiers making their way towards him, he quickly placed his right hand up to his ear again
"and make it quick, your not the only one making their way towards me!" he said in a quiet panic as he got stopped the forklift dead center in the courtyard and got out of the drivers seat before climbing on top of the invisible crate

as the two soldiers approached they noticed the forklift come to a stop
"see it stopped, why the hell did you want to inform the base?" the second one asked with a grin, the first one looked away slightly with a slight glare

the helicopter turned on and the propeller blades spun up, and they were as silent as the night, with the pitch black paint job, it would be unseen as it flew over the base, the masked man stood somewhat impatiently on top of the crate as he watched the soldiers get closer
"the hell is he?!" the masked man silently yelled to himself just before there was a clank, the masked man grabbed at his head in pain before he looked to see a large robotic claw near him, he looked up to see it connected to the helicopter, the masked man grinned as he grabbed the claw and attached it to the invisible crate, it made a whirring sound as the robotic claw tightened it's grip, then it locked, the masked man then turned and gasped somewhat when he seen the two soldiers were less the ten feet from the forklift, the two soldiers noticed an increase in the wind, but it didn't seem to be of any concern as they closed in, the second soldier got into the forklift seat and looked to the first

"alright, lets get this back to the warehouse" he said as he backed the forklift up, the first soldier jumped onto the forklift and went with him, leaving the military base the masked man couldn't help but grin when he gave a two fingered salute to the soldiers as he watched then fade into the distance

"so long suckers" he said as the helicopter carried him away in the night

a day before Batman & Robin arrive at Lex Luthor's current location

Lex Luthor impatiently walks back and forth around his room, his hands behind his back as he waits for his "Package", a less then a mile out a black stealth helicopter closes in on the location, the masked man watching as the building comes into view
"right, now how to get it inside...." the masked mas said as the helicopter hovered near the building
"hold it over the front doors, I'll get something to move it" the masked man said as he jumped off and landed on the ground, he stood up and dusted his knees off before walking into the building, he returned shortly after with a steel pallet with wheels, he wheeled it away from the doors as he signaled the pilot to drop the "Package", the helicopter placed itself over the pallet and lowered it's claw, when the masked man heard the steel pallet creak he signaled the pilot to released the claw, when he did so the pallet creaked a little more, then the helicopter took off
"alrighty then, I have a delivery to make" he said as he began to push the invisible crate into the building even with wheels it was somewhat difficult, inside his room Lex Luthor stood at a window, watching a helicopter disappear in the distance, he then look to the door as he heard it open

"took you long enough..." Luthor said as he turned to face the masked man
"well, where is it?..." he asked in an irritated tone

"glade you asked chrome dome, it's right here" the masked man said as he opened the second door to reveal the invisible crate on a steel pallet, Luthor raised his right eyebrow in slight confusion and anger

"is this some kind of joke?..." he asked, his arms to his sides with his hands lightly curled into fists

"no, come see for yourself" the masked man said with a grin, Luthor decided to humor him and approached the empty pallet

"so tell me... what am I looking at?..." Luthor asked while slightly gritting his teeth as she looked to the pallet on the floor

"the container" the masked man said as he leaned on it and knocked on it with his right hands knuckles, Luthors eye's widened and he place his right hand on the invisible crate
"I'll admit, it took me a while to find it, but I managed" he said prideful as he looked at the back of his hand

"did you check to see if "it" was inside?..." Luthor asked as he raised a judging eyebrow, just then the masked man's eye's opened wide in surprise

"uummmmm..... I may have... overlooked that part.. eh-heh-heh..." he said as he got off the crate and took a few steps away, Luthor glared at the masked man before he felt for something to open the crate, or deactivate the invisibility to open it then, soon he felt something and pressed it, then the invisibility turned off, revealing a seven foot tall metal crate that had a little panel on the center of it, Luthor just so happened to push the off button for the camo, he then pushed another button, and the crate made a hissing sound as the front of the crate opened up, revealing a seven foot tall humanoid machine, Luthor grew a large smile before looking to the masked man

"you are incredibly lucky that you just happened to pick the right crate..." Luthor said coldly as he marveled at the machine

"so, Lex, where the rest of my pay?" the masked man said with a slight grin, Luthor looked to his with a slightly annoyed look

"I don't even think you deserve this..." Luthor said as he walked up to his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a brief case, a lot bigger then the last one, he walked over the then masked man and held it out to him
"but a deals a deal...., now take it and leave..." Luthor said to him, without hesitation the masked man grabbed the brief case and opened it, happy to see it filled with money, he closed it and held it to his side

"pleasure doing business with you baldy, perhaps you'll hire me again someday" the masked man said as he made to leave

"perhaps..." Luthor said with a weak smile, as the masked man left and the door closed, his weak smile turned into grit teeth
"not in you life...." Luthor added silently before he went over to the crate to view his new machine
"such a marvelous machine, I cant wait to open you up and see how you work, before test you out to see what you can do" Luthor said with a grin as he closed the crate

present day, Batman & Robin have made it to Lex Luthors current location

Lex Luthor stood frustrated as he watched to hired mechanic/scientists through a window, also inside the room were four guards, the two mechanics were standing around a table and on it was a seven foot tall humanoid machine, they were trying to find some sort of opening or switch that would allow them to try and open it up so they could see what was inside, they looked over to Luthor through the window
"Mr.Luthor, we cant find anything, it's completely sealed off" one complained as she shrugged

"well then find a blow torch and cut it open, use your head you idiots!" Luthor exclaimed before he stormed out of the observation area
"if I didn't have the money I'd do it myself..." he complained as he went back to his room, leaving the Mechanic/scientists to do there job, the two mechanics looked at each other as Luthor left then they looked around the room they were in

"you find a blow torch yet?" one asked

"no, not yet..." the other replied, the guards rolled their eye's as they ignored the scientists, the two mechanic/scientists continued to look for blow torch or something that would be able to do the job just as well so they could try to open up the machine placed before them

Diana listened to the story with growing amusement and she smiled as Walt concluded his tale, "Ha. That would have been a sight to see. Though I do not know what Batman would think of you using his reputation." There was some distance between this young new Leaguer and the experienced senior member of the League. Walt had not known any of the heroes long enough to really know them, and Diana found herself in a now rare instance where she could not use Bruce's name around a teammate. She was hopeful that that would change soon and that Shifter would integrate smoothly into the League.

She replied to Aquaman with a fair measure of boisterousness, "Don't worry Arthur, I won't let a little competition get between us. I'll even let you use your trident." She grinned and almost relished the thought of testing herself against the King of Atlantis. Aquaman was a prodigious fighter and his skill with his legendary trident was well... legendary. She had seen Aquaman cut through swaths of enemies with almost mythical speed, dexterity, and skill with his formidable weapon. Not that he was any less of warrior unarmed of course, but the magical weapon presented a challenge that the Princess of the Amazons wished to face.

She nodded solemnly at Aquaman's mention of a sunk rig, "I hope this doesn't strain relations with Man's World and your own too much Arthur. And I agree, even as Princess my duties are increasing. I can only imagine what will be needed of me if it is ever time for me to ascend to the throne." Diana would only ever succeed her mother Hippolyta if she abdicated the throne or died. The former was unlikely and for the latter it was even more unlikely that her mother's death would come of old age. Diana dreaded the day that Hippolyta might fall in battle and hoped it would never come to pass.

She was about to say something to Walt when the surveillance system lit up. She flew over to where Superman, Aquaman, and J'onn stood and examined the screen. A whole armada of ships was bearing down on them and at the forefront was a ship massive in size and of a shape that disconcerted even her, the Skull promised death and destruction on whatever it set its eyes on. And its gaze was locked on the tower. She watched as Mister Terrific hit the alarm button and the station was drowned out by the noise of firing klaxons and red lights began flashing with urgency.

Diana asked aloud, "Are they the ones who sent our alien friend? What is it?" At the same time J'onn spoke over the main communications line which feed into the commlink over every member and ally the League had, "Code Red. I repeat Code Red. The Watchtower is under attack, this is not a drill. All away teams are to report back to the station immediately. All personnel on station report to battle stations." The station became a flurry of activity, the transporter worked in rapid succession admitting heroes back on to the station as staffers turned into a flurry of activity and Leaguers already present began readying for combat.

Diana spoke up again to Superman, "All of the heroes with space-based combat capabilities, including us, should suit up. We should meet the enemy head on. Everyone who can't fight in space should load up on the Javelins. We throw everything we have at them and have the Javelin teams board the main ship while we deal with the rest. And do we have any defenses? Cannons, turrets, lasers, missiles, anything?" The Watchtower had been attacked before of course but never quite like this. It would be a battle of such magnitude that even the Muses would sing of it. And whoever was attacking them Wonder Woman would make sure they regretted threatening her friends.

“So I hope full league intervention won’t be necessary Jonn but . . .” Arthur and Martian Manhunter we’re deep in conversation, trying to come up with some peaceful resolution to the problems facing Atlantis when they were disturbed by an incoming transmission by Superman, requesting immediate teleportation to the Watchtower. Clark sounded odd, Arthur and Jonn exchanging worried glances as the Martian locked onto the Man of Steel’s position. Seconds past, then Superman appeared in a flash of light, his face grave.

"I fear the Watchtower may soon become compromised, we need to be on full alert," warned the Man of Steel, his warning becoming a dire prediction as a mere heartbeat later the Watchtowers surveillance warning lights whined into life, heralding the approach of a menacing looking armada that seemed to blink into existence from hyperspace. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ships that looked like the one that had attacked earth earlier surrounded a giant cruiser in the shape of a metallic skull streaming long, grasping tentacles. Skull shaped ships are never a good sign!

With a growing sense of unease Arthur realised the entire armada was on a collision course with the Watchtower, an unerringly straight path that promised only destruction. While Jonn and Mr Terrific were busy assembling the rest of the league the King of the Sea’s was staring straight out at the fleet, his stern gaze scanning for any weakness in formation or any a sign for a strategy that may give the League an upper hand, but the cosmic invaders were inscrutable. The only avenue was to hit the enemy hard with a multi-faced pre-emptive attack, something he could hear Diana already counselling Superman with. Another reason he admired the Amazonian, she understood that battle was won by the brave.

It was a good plan, but looking at the foe Arthur was unsure if it would be enough. Could a handful of heroes stop such a juggernaut as that skull-ship? Would their line in the sand be enough? Arthur hoped so, but he knew that if hopes were fishes then the poor wouldn’t go hungry.

“I agree with Diana,” he announced to Clark and Jonn “I’ll take a team of heroes on a javelin and lead the assault squad myself, though I don’t think we should put all our eggs in one basket. Jonn, appraise the worlds governments of what is happening, we should be ready in case the unthinkable happens and we fail here. And please contact Atlantis and tell them their King orders them to marshal the armies, ready to reinforce the surface world. I would do it myself, but I am out of communication range here.” Fortune favours the bold, it is often said. Let us also hope she favours the foolhardy.