Director Cameron Chase of the DEO ran for her office, her graying blonde hair blown back by her movement. "Ma'am, communication lines have already been set up with Checkmate and the Suicide Squad, as well as the head of Task Force X," her secretary, Lina Terril said crisply. "Thank you," Cameron nodded as she opened the office door, "also, try to signal General Rock. We'll need to coordinate with the US military on this, too." "Yes ma'am," Lina nodded as she went to work. Cameron sat behind her desk, bringing her desktop computer on line as she shrugged her suit jacket off. "All right people, we've seen the reports," she said crisply, "alien ships are here, and according to a briefing released by the JLA there's more coming." The leader of Task Force X and head of covert superhuman activities in the US sat back in the shadows. "How are each of your groups preparing?" he asked, his voice a gravelly rumble. Amanda Waller was still a impressive figure, the dusky skinned old woman's suit jacket carrying the black king emblem of Checkmate. Beside her Donna Troy was as youthful looking as ever, the heroine called Troia designated the white king. "We've been covertly contacting superhuman programs internationally," Troia said calmly, "we're hoping to bring their various operatives into the field on our side." "Black side agents are ready to move out to counter terrorist attempts taking advantage of the chaos of a invasion," Waller said flatly. A grim smile, "Our sanction of Kobra seems to have crippled them, but the Demon's Head is still operating along with several others." "DEO is assembling files on the aliens sighted so far," Cameron said respectfully, "as well as investigating intelligence sources earthside. We're also subjecting Oracle's briefing to data analysis for possible falsehoods." "Is that really necessary?" their leader rumbled. "I know you trust Oracle sir," Cameron kept her voice respectful, "but my encounters with her have been less than pleasant." "Fair enough," he admitted. "The Suicide Squad is ready to deploy as needed," Belle Scott said, once the former supervillain Plastique as well as the current wife of Nathaniel Adam aka Cameron Scott. "We've got several field teams prepared using standard methods to keep them in line," the orange haired woman added with some barely hidden distaste. "Exploding wristbands?" Amanda nodded thoughtfully as she said, "Best way to keep criminals in line." "Best way to convince people to back stab you, too," Belle muttered. "Enough," their leader leaned forward into the light. The steely gray haired man was wearing a metal exoframe to support a body pushed harder than any man should, but he still carried authority. Bruce Wayne grimly said, "Fighting amongst ourselves gets us nowhere." "Sir," there were various nods from the now sheepish group. "The President authorized the wristbands, so we're going to have to live with them," Bruce told Belle then looked at Waller, "but I disapprove in the strongest terms what you've said." "Understood," Amanda Waller gave him a clipped nod. "Sorry Sir," Belle nodded, "I suppose I just think the wristbands are counterproductive, considering the Squad's new purpose to reform criminals." The Suicide Squad had begun as a small military covert team, taking on jobs as dangerous as it got. When Amanda Waller restarted the program she created a new plan, recruiting jailed supervillains and offering them freedom in return for handling the dirtiest of government jobs. After being run by various individuals over the years Belle was the current director and her focus was on reformation rather than forcing crooks to work for them. "Cameron, I have a fairly big job for you," Bruce said. "Oh?" Cameron Chase looked attentive. "There are still a lot of unaffiliated superhumans out there," Bruce said thoughtfully, "while I'm sure the Justice League will call out everyone they can, we should try to ready them for possible mobilization ourselves." "Huh," Chase muttered, looking out into the distance. "We've got contact methods for a few, and we can put the word out on the grapevine..." "I have every confidence in you," Bruce nodded. "There are some ex-Suicide Squad members I also keep in touch with," Amanda added after a moment, "I can try to bring them into the fight, too." "How reliable are they going to be?" Bruce pressed. "Not very," Amanda admitted, "but they don't need to be. All I want them to do is cause problems for the enemy." Donna Troy smiled slightly, "Has the President contacted the Themescrian ambassador yet? While the Amazons have mostly given up their advanced technology they're still powerful warriors." "I'll pass that suggestion on to our liaison Nathaniel Adam," Bruce agreed, "though I'd suspect he already has called on them." "No official notice," Donna shrugged slightly. She flashed a slight smile, "And we haven't heard about it yet, so..." Everyone restrained a chuckle at that. Checkmate was the UN organization responsible for dealing with superhuman threats, and they tended to be very much in the know. With the superhuman presence in United States Checkmate was closely connected to them, but they were responsible to the entire international community. If there was something international involving superhumans going on, Checkmate knew, and the Amazons were certainly under that category. "I hate to bring this up," Belle said after a moment, "but what do we want to do about the Injustice League?" "I think we'd be best off concentrating on the invasion," Bruce said calmly, "and leave them to the Justice League." Briskly he continued, "We all have things we need to do... Let's get to work. I'll have my secretary send a transcript to the president and the UN Security Council." "Thank you, sir," Cameron nodded as they all signed off. Bruce Wayne smiled wryly as he shut down the holograms for his virtual office, revealing the darkness of the Batcave all around him. If someone had suggested a few years ago that'd he'd be heading Task Force X he wouldn't have believed it, but politics could make strange bedfellows. Donna Troy had approached him after taking up her position at Checkmate, suggesting him for the head of Task Force X. Her arguments had been telling, especially her final card: the fact that Bruce wouldn't trust that kind of power in any other hands. President James Olsen had been a perceptive man, likely suspecting the truth about Bruce's dual identity, but he accepted Donna's recommendation without asking too many suspicious questions. Getting Bruce approved for the job was even easier, with Olsen convincing his political foes that Bruce's position would be largely empty and meaningless. Bruce chuckled softly, bringing his computer on-line. "Oracle," he called, "are you there?" The redheaded hologram materialized in a moment, her smile curious. "Ah," Oracle quickly recognized the look on his face, "another meeting with Waller?" "The whole group, actually," Bruce nodded. He looked up at her and asked, "How are things up on the Watchtower?" "Crazy," Oracle shrugged casually, "we've got annoyed alien refugees, feuding families and romantic complications." "As usual," Bruce chuckled. He accessed the file recording of the meeting and sent it to Oracle's mainframe, "We're planning to back the League up, but I can't guarantee much." "Thank you," Oracle nodded. She paused, "Do you think the authorities will object to your sharing the information with is?" "Chase will," Bruce said, "she still distrusts you." "I knew I shouldn't have given in to temptation to raid her files," Oracle admitted.
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