Samael61
patreon
Chapter 41 - Dakota City
🕑 Added 2025-10-22 23:10:55 +0000 UTCWatchtower
It was three days after Aresia was arrested that Batman woke up. Doctor Fate had kept him in a coma to accelerate his healing, as the Dark Knight wasn’t known for taking time to rest.
“Hey there, sunshine. Good morning.” Flash grinned at Batman, who quickly tried to rise from the bed, only for several hands to stop him.
“What happened?” Bruce asked, laying back down. His mask was on, but the rest of the costume had been taken off, and he wore a hospital gown, cutting a strange figure.
Superman pulled out a tablet, showing Batman the visuals of a wrecked building. “You were at Gotham Biotech.”
Memories came unbidden, and the Dark Knight remembered the fight through his hazy mind. “Yes, that woman; I think she is an Amazonian.” He looked at Wonder Woman for confirmation.
“Don’t worry, Batman, we have solved the issue. She has been arrested and sent to Themyscira to be judged.” Diana nodded, still feeling guilty over how her sister hospitalized Batman.
If everything was resolved and the culprit was set to be judged, then a considerable amount of time must have passed. “How long have I been out?”
“Three days now, how are you feeling?” Superman asked the overdue question since Batman was too busy interrogating them.
The Dark Knight went rigid, not pleased to be out of action for so long. Gotham’s worst would not let this opportunity pass. “Fine. What was her plan?”
Miles, Superman, and Wonder Woman explained Aresia’s plan to release a virus to eradicate all men and her eventual arrest in Metropolis, along with the villains following her.
The Dark Knight looked at the ceiling, remembering the fight. The woman’s strength had caught him off guard, and he had been knocked out easily before another hit brought him back to consciousness. “When we were fighting, she screamed something about men interfering with Themyscira, and her attacks became more vicious.”
“I slipped info to Wonder Woman about a possible attack on Themyscira. Aresia did not take it well.” It was inevitable for his meta knowledge to change the events, but Batman getting critically wounded was unexpected.
“I need to go back to Gotham.” Ever the vigilant crime fighter, Batman tried to rise again, but his teammates surrounded him, and after a short battle of wills, Bruce laid back down.
“You need to rest. Your wounds have not healed, and going out to the field in this state will only make things difficult for you.” Martian Manhunter implored Batman. J’onn knew that the Dark Knight would be looking to return to Gotham from the very second he woke up and had considered keeping the wounded hero sedated for longer.
“Criminals of Gotham won’t stop because I am resting.” Batman grunted, knowing even a small absence would lead to a visible increase in crime.
“We are patrolling Gotham in a rotation in your absence.” Superman showed him the live stream of Green Lantern intervening in a bank robbery.
“That’s not enough.” Gotham’s most dangerous criminals did not conduct their business out in the open, but in the darkness of the night, and that is where Batman needed to be.
Miles had enough of Batman and intervened. “Batman, stop being so illogical. If you are not in a condition to fight and the villains see you, it will only embolden them. For now, rest; we have things under control.”
The Dark Knight glared at Miles for several seconds before relenting.
—
Dakota City
“I can’t believe the whole Big Bang event. Fucking government.” Claire grumbled, adding another reason to hate the government to the pile. For fuck's sake, storing a biohazardous material out in the open? What the fuck were they thinking?
They had not followed up on the Bang Babies, the metahumans created due to the exposure to the chemical explosion, leaving many violent gangsters with superpowers out there.
“Are we going to recruit someone again? You were in deep thoughts, and I didn’t want to disturb you.” Claire thought it was about what happened to Batman but had not pried into it.
“No, we are just here to meet a young hero.”
“That Static kid?” He was the only hero fighting the criminal Bang Babies, and he was a creative guy with his electromagnetic powers.
“Yes.”
—
Tracking Virgil Hawkins was as easy as tracking any other civilian. He had decided to set up an early rapport with Static after he made his debut during his school’s homecoming preparations.
Having this opportunity, Miles knew he could easily find the young hero, as there were few abandoned gas stations in Dakota City.
Breaking in was child’s play, and Miles had timed it so the wait would be a short one.
“I have to say, as far as operation bases go, this is not a particularly impressive one.” Miles, who was just waiting for the distracted friends to notice him, finally decided to interrupt.
“What the heck?!” Virgil and Richie shouted at the same time as the intruder stopped their argument.
Dressed in a red and yellow shirt with red pants and a wild mop of hair, Virgil Ovid Hawkins was the young hero of Dakota, fighting his fellow bang babies, along with his blond friend Richie, who made devices for Static to use.
“Some cleaning, a fresh coat of paint, and at least covering the windows would do for a start.” Miles pointed at the broken windows. If someone had decided to come to this abandoned place for any reason, Static would find his identity quickly exposed.
“Who are you?” Virgil looked ready to fight but did not show his powers yet.
The man was not worried, though the woman with him was ready to strike. “Miles Beckett, I am with the Justice League. I thought it would be a good idea to meet Static.”
“You got the wrong person. Neither of us is Static.” Richie sweated, knowing it would open a whole can of worms if Virgil’s identity was known to the world.
His family and friends would become targets overnight.
Miles looked sheepish, as if he had just made a fool out of himself. “Really? Oh dear, I seem to have made a monumental mistake. My apologies. It appears I’ll have to track Static down to offer my support.”
Virgil and Richie looked at each other, thinking that the man was actually sincere and believed that he had the wrong person.
However, claiming to be with the Justice League while offering to support Static? That had their interest.
“Your support?” Virgil wasn’t sure what that would entail, even less if he wanted to be involved with League business yet. Static had just started his hero career, while the members of the Justice League were pros, responding to crime and disaster all over the world.
“Yes, I am the founder of EnviroCorps. I am sure you saw our demonstrations?” Richie looked excited, remembering watching the Tomorrow Expo battle and the Gotham Harbor attack on live TV.
Whether Miles was actually the founder of EnviroCorps or not, he was a true hero.
“Yeah, the android fishes to clean the ocean and the Cryo Towers.”
“Indeed. I intended to give Static technological and financial support, but I'll have to go and find him now.” Miles headed for the door, and the woman followed, coughing lightly on the way out.
Virgil stopped them before they opened the door. “Wait, wait. How do we know you are telling the truth?”
He could use help with the whole hero business but needed to be sure they weren’t being deceived by a criminal.
“I have the deed to this station here and supplies to clean this place up in addition to an enhanced suit capable of ensuring Static does not run out of charge during a fight, all without sacrificing any mobility.” Miles pulled out a deed, which did actually show the location of the station, and the woman opened the briefcase, pulling out a brand new suit.
Virgil could feel the electricity coursing through the suit and knew it was the real deal.
“Well, you came to the right place then. I am Static.” He took a risk, revealing his identity like that, but
“First you denied it, and now you claim to be Static? Why, I don’t think I believe you, young man.” Miles looked unconvinced.
“You want proof?” Virgil offered. He did deny being Static after all.
“Impress me.”
Looking outside to see if the coast was clear, Virgil stepped onto the circular metal plate, using his powers to fly inside the station before landing gracefully.
“Proof enough?” Virgil asked as electricity danced between his fingers.
Claire chuckled. “He knows you are Static; he was just jerking your chain.”
Miles was just smiling innocently.
“Not cool,” Virgil grumbled, though he had to admit the man had played them well.
“Theatrics aside, it’s a pleasure to meet a young aspiring hero like you.” Miles extended his hand, and Static took it, albeit with some hesitation.
“Yeah, I remember now; you were at the Tomorrow Expo, fighting Metallo alongside Superman and Supergirl.” Richie snapped his fingers, finally recalling where he had seen the red-haired woman.
“But why haven’t we ever seen you with the League?” Every member of the League, even Batman, made public appearances, yet Miles remained out of the spotlight.
“I work behind the scenes, keeping an eye on threats to the world without anyone being the wiser.”
So he was like a spy? “Cool.”
After the introductions were out of the way, Miles presented his gifts. The suit was effectively the same but had nano converters that transformed light, heat, and kinetic energy to sustain themselves and their wearer.
Supplies to restore the station to serviceable levels were left inside, along with a communicator for Static in case he ever came across something out of his league and needed help.
“One last thing, this young man, I believe he calls himself Slipstream, is being a nuisance. Why don’t you take your new suit for a test-drive?”
—
Focused and itching to test his new suit, Static did not allow Slipstream to escape, using the boost the nano converters gave him to easily knock out the chubby villain, handing him over to the cops.
“Man, this suit is awesome. How much did it cost?” Virgil knew the suit couldn’t be cheap, because as long as he didn’t overdo it, he would never run out of juice.
“Just some loose change, nothing more.” By his standards, of course, because Virgil would not accept it if he knew how much it actually cost.
The visit was intended to be a short one since he had other business to conduct, so Miles decided to bring it to an end. “Now, you are doing a splendid job already, and I prefer not to intervene in how a hero protects his city. However, if you need help or advice, don’t hesitate to call me. If I can’t help you, I’ll get one of the League members to do so.”
“Thanks, that’s really generous.” To know that the big guys at the top were willing to help out was a load off their back.
“It’s the camaraderie between people in our line of work.”
“Could you help me meet Green Lantern, please?” Maybe Virgil was pushing his luck, but Green Lantern was his favorite hero, and no person would want to lose the chance to meet their heroes.
Miles nodded. It shouldn’t be hard to convince John to visit a fan, especially one that is on the path of a hero. “He is not on Earth right now, but I’ll ask him to pay a visit.”
“Before I leave, one last piece of advice.”
“I may be one of the good guys, but don’t be so willing to trust an unknown, no matter who, but especially if they are the government.” The future was not set in stone, and his intervention was akin to throwing a boulder into a still lake.
His knowledge had led to Batman being beaten halfway to death; who knew what could happen to young heroes like Static?
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to tell us the opposite?” Richie asked.
“Virgil, Richie, you both are intelligent, more so than your peers, and I am sure you know better than that.” Miles, with that final advice, left the heroes. Static and Gear would carry on with their heroics, and now they had a line of communication in the event of something unforeseen.
—
“Any government agencies we should worry about?” Kurt had died months ago, but Claire did not doubt for a second that he was just one of many, a cog in a machine that could spawn thousands like him.
“Where do I even start?” The United States government was the greatest when it came to running top secret projects to acquire extremely advanced technology and weaponize metahumans, but it was not the sole power to do so.
“Damn it.”
His communicator rang, and Superman’s voice came, worried. “Hey Miles, I need advice on something.”
“I am listening.”
“Do you know Queen Maxima?”
Miles took a deep breath. “She is hunting you as a husband, isn’t she?”
This timeline was a mess. Maxima was supposed to arrive near the end of season two, not years later.
“Yes. How can I get rid of her? Should I tell her I already have someone?” Ah, Clark, living the dream of many a man.
“No need to invite trouble by giving her a target. If you want to get rid of her, just lose, horribly so.” He didn’t think Maxima would actually go after Lois Lane, but she was a spoiled member of royalty.
Caution was warranted.
“Won’t she know I am throwing it off?”
That was a valid concern, but Queen Maxima wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
“Then I suggest you give an Oscar-worthy performance, because if you defeat her, she will be that much harder to dissuade.” Maybe he could find a husband for Maxima, gaining a valuable ally?
If nothing else, it was worth considering.
“Thanks, I’ll see what I can do.”
“One more thing. Tell her that if she seeks a worthy husband, one will present itself as Almerac prospers. Hopefully, she will see to her kingdom’s affairs rather than spend her entire time seeking a husband.” Because if she does not kidnap Superman, there would be no one to help Maxima take back her throne, provided there is a coup in the first place.
“Noted.”
The entire conversation went over Claire’s head. “Who the heck is Queen Maxima?”
“The ruler of planet Almerac. She must have decided our boy scout is the perfect husband to come all the way here.” If only Lois Lane knew the advances Superman refused for her.
Claire chuckled at Superman’s misfortune, or fortune, depending on whom you asked.
“Wait till Kara hears this.”
“It is good to see that you have a friend.” Every now and then, he would broach the subject of her parents, and while Claire revealed a little more each time, she still was not ready to confront them.
“I hate the world; she is a stranger to it. We hit it off pretty easily.” That would not endear Earth to Supergirl, but the chances of her turning villain were nonexistent.
Better friends than foes, at any rate.
—
