Chapter 159: Conclusion! #159
Outer space
JLA Watchtower
"Interesting..." Hal Jordan remarked, rubbing his chin as he stared at Gray, lying in a bed with a complex green energy life support system attached to his body.
"By all means, the boy is human with no active meta gene..." he said as the flesh over Gray's chest slowly wiggled, healing at a visible rate and creating a grotesque scene.
Gray's chest cavity was still empty, and the only thing keeping him alive was the green construct Jordan had created. Still, the flesh was growing out of the veins, slowly replacing the organ light and superseding the green-constructed heart.
"It's almost like he evolved..." he quizzically muttered, turning to regard the caped crusader with a questioning look as the latter was the one most familiar with Gray amongst those present.
"Everything I know is on the database," Batman blankly and briefly replied, and even if Hal Jordan didn't buy it, he knew better than to push the matter.
"Still... I didn't expect you, of all people, to be here..." Hal Jordan said, raising an eyebrow at the caped crusader as he promptly changed the subject.
"I read the report, you know... didn't seem you liked the kid much," he added as he gestured towards Gray, giving the caped crusader a hard-to-read expression.
"Someone has to keep an eye out..." Batman replied, his expression hardening. He did not specify who or what he was there to keep an eye on, but Jordan understood.
Jordan's eyes twitched as he barely resisted the urge to cringe at Batman's words and the blatant lack of trust as Batman spoke in an alienating tone.
The Green Lantern, like many other Justice League members, knew about Zatanna messing with the minds of multiple supervillains, and much like the others, he chose to look the other way.
Even Superman knew and did not say a word. Still, Hall and the others knew it was wrong, that it would come back to bite them in the ass sooner or later, and it did.
Batman being Batman, found out and even attempted to attack Zatanna and the others responsible after finding out, only for them to overpower the caped crusader and erase his memory of the event.
The entire was a shit show, and that incident was the topping on one bing dirty pile of rotten cake. Though enraged and appalled by the actions of Zatanna and the others, Jordan still didn't interfere.
Like Superman, he knew choosing sides might lead to tearing apart the Justice League. Jordan knew that speaking out would have been the right thing to do, but he remained quiet.
The Green Lantern hoped against hope that the incident would mark the end of the matter, that Batman would never recall the events of the day, despite knowing better.
He was not surprised when Batman showed up in the JLA watchtower to confront Zatanna and the others and expose them, only to leave after realizing the others were already aware of their actions.
Though most of the Justice League's inner circle members were against tempering and blatantly brainwashing the villains, they could not support Batman in that situation as he wanted to hold Zatanna and the others accountable.
Though what they did was wrong, they were still their friends. And if the heroes had to decide between their colleagues and a rapist, who would have no qualms about targeting their family members, the choice was clear.
Unfortunately, Batman didn't see it that way. The color gray did not exist in his pallet, and he only saw white and black, so Hal and the others could do nothing but regretfully watch him leave.
Hearing Batman plainly stating his inability to trust The Justice League with caring for the injured Gray without doing anything funny, Hal Jordan couldn't blame him. Not one bit.
In fact, Hal had the same doubts and was here mainly to deter any such ideas that his colleagues might have. While Jordan's presence was necessary to keep Gray alive as he powered the life support and the constructed heart with his ring, The Watchtower had other alternatives.
The JLA Watchtower was equipped with the best alien technology and had the proper facilities to keep Gray alive as long as there was still life in his body. Still, Jordan made up a bullshit excuse to stay beside the young man as he couldn't trust his fellow heroes anymore. Most of them, anyway.
"It's funny you should say that..." The Green Lantern remarked, bitterly smiling as he shook his head.
...
Louisiana
Belle Reve
The operation room was deathly silent as the satellite video footage came back, showing no signs of Brimstones, the heroes, and Gray, only the ruined landscape where the battle took place.
No one dared speak a word as Waller gazed into the screen with a hard-to-read expression, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics scouring the area, searching for the remains of any citizens unfortunate enough to get caught in the battle.
The last thing they saw before the footage cut off was the red armored man obliterating Brimstone, which would have been an acceptable conclusion to the disaster, even if the task force x director couldn't take advantage of it.
However, the reveal that Grayson Whitlock was the armored man who eliminated Brimstone immediately dashed Waller's hopes as one of her operatives called to report.
"Someone... go and get the prisoner..." Waller calmly said after several seconds, prompting everyone to breathe in relief. "Bring him to my office, and be quick," she added as she walked to the exit without waiting for confirmation.
Everyone understood who she meant, and even if they didn't want to, no one would dare question her as she was now. They worked for her long enough to understand she was fuming because of her plan backfiring so massively.
They exchanged glances after watching Waller leave and promptly began arguing about who would bring the prisoner to the task force x direction as they were unwilling to have the slightest interactions with their enraged boss.
Amanda Waller was not the type of person to anger quickly or often. However, whenever that happened, her line of sight was the last place you wanted to be, and everyone knew it.
...
As Logan Whitlock regained consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes and lethargically inspected his surroundings. It didn't take him long to panic as he found himself inside a dark, small cell, still in his stained underwear.
He quickly recalled what happened and the last thing he remembered before waking up here. Logan's panic only intensified as he remembered the heavily armed soldiers who broke into his apartment.
His mind worked like it never did before as he quickly got up and started inspecting the cell, looking for a way to escape. Logan found none and almost had a mental breakdown before inspiration hit him.
He quickly raced to the cell's door and started banging. "Hello! There must have been a mix-up...!" Logan exclaimed as he hit the cell's metal door with his meaty fist.
"You people are with the government, right...?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "My son is a hero. Call him. He'll vouch I did nothing wrong..." he shamelessly concluded.
As a deadbeat, Logan spent most of his time on the couch, watching television. He'd seen multiple new reports about Gray. Even though he dismissed such reports as exaggerations, as he had zero faith in his son, he found no trouble bringing up relying in him.
"If you want money, then you should call him too...!" Logan exclaimed after several seconds of waiting as he received no answer. "Grayson is rich. He'll give you whatever you want...!" he added, sighing in relief as he heard footsteps approaching the cell.
"Step away from the door..." said a gruff, annoyed voice from the other side of the door. Logan peeked through the door's window bars to see a man dressed in a black suit, holding a baton.
"Oh...! thank god. Look--" Logan said, stopping mid-sentence as he froze when the guard swung his baton at the cell's metallic door, electrocuting it and, by extension, Logan himself.
The guard grunted as he exerted to push open the door as Logan fell right next to it, adding his considerable weight to the metallic gate. "What a fucking waste of air..." the guard said as he entered the cell and looked down on the unconscious Logan drooling on the floor.
"Fucking Waller... all of that to get this piece of shit..." he muttered as he put his hands under Logan's arms and started dragging him out of the cell, all while muttering curses at Logan, Waller, and his colleagues who forced him to do this task.
...
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