"So, even though you were sent to fix your mind, you also fought against an intergalactic warlord and got the giant arsenal in the form of a planet?"
"Yep."
"And then you decided to do some liberation work and rescue all White Martians and some Green Martians from an oppressive society?"
"Pretty much," I nodded, Robin shaking his head as everyone else were seated in the various ships I had made inside of the ship.
"Lovely. Our former leader is now a lord of a planet," Wally spoke with a sigh before his head snapped to me as I sighed. "Wait, if there are Martians like M'gann-"
"No, I'm not gonna set you up and neither will M'gann. If you want to try and date one, you're gonna have to try and do so yourself," I replied, smirking at the look of disappointment in his eyes.
"Chris?" I heard Kaldur beginning, looking over to see him sitting with his arms crossed. "What are your plans now?"
"What do you mean?"
"We have been gathering evidence to clear your name," the Atlantean replied with a frown, "and we've been capturing as many villains as we can that are associated with the Light, but what would you do if the world leaders still won't pardon you?"
"Since when do I need the permission of others to be a hero?" I asked in turn, smirking at Kaldur's confused blink. "Kaldur, my friend, my time in fixing my mind and spending with the others showed me that being a hero is not something I am fit to do, but it is not something I will abandon.
If they don't want to let me be a hero legally, then I'll just be an illegal vigilante. After all, since when does a hero need the permission of others to save the lives of those that cannot do so themselves?"
"And what if they ask of us to capture you?"
"Are you?" I asked, laughing when Wally scoffed at my response.
"Hell no. You and I've been best buds since the day you started out this superhero stuff. There's no way I'm letting you get hauled off another prison again."
"Glad to hear it, Wally. What about the rest of you?"
"I could care less for the words of those corrupt bastards./ Same here," Red Arrow and Arsenal replied respectively, my gaze moving to Tula as she smirked.
"Kaldur's decision is my decision."
"And mine is to make sure that they don't take you away."
"You'd defy the League?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow, smirking when Kaldur nodded. "Good. I would have asked you to step down as leader if you didn't."
"Hey, new guy. Mind explaining just what the hell's going on to the other new guy?" I blinked and turned my head, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Guy Gardner being the only one still standing.
"Uh, why is there an old guy with you guys?"
"That's Guy and he's our new babysitter with Red and Canary."
"What about Shazam?"
"Oh, since you were gone, the League decided that they needed more fighting power with the absence of both you and...Superman so he was asked to join them again," Robin explained and I smiled softly before shaking my head.
"You don't have to sound so stressed whenever you mention Supes. I've gotten over his death."
"Just wanted to be safe. So, who exactly is she?" he asked and my gaze moved to Koriand'r as she, Artemis, M'gann and Raven were caught in their own little conversation.
Well, she and M'gann were as Artemis chimed in now and again while Raven enjoyed the fact that she could be silent and rest off her exhaustion.
"Oh, that's Koriand'r. We're still working on an Earthling name for her, but she is fine with her name for now."
"And is she also a Martian?" Wally asked and I shook my head as I steered the ship towards the Watchtower. I noticed the forms of John and Hal hovering outside said spacecraft, both of whom opened the doors to the docking bay.
"No, she's a Tamaranean. They're from a completely different galaxy and she was forced to work with the previous owner of the Unity Sphere as a slave."
"Oh, and then you saved her?"
"No, she was forced to fight against us so Match had Raven and M'gann's help in knocking her out before us two beat the shit out of her previous master. Now, she decided to hang out with us as thanks for saving her."
"...I'm guessing the 'us' in this scenario is you and Match?" Robin asked and I smirked before shaking my head.
"Match, to be more specific. Anyway, you all are sure that you're ready to go against your mentors should something happen?"
"Without a doubt," Wally replied with a nod, the others agreeing before the ship touched down.
"Glad to hear it because I think I'm going to need it," I replied, staring through the viewing port at the gathering of League members.
'Everyone but the Hawk-couple,' I thought, standing up along with everyone else as I dropped the steps the ramp to the ship. Walking out first, I met Batman's gaze as everyone followed after me.
Stopping a few feet away from him, M'gann, Raven and Koriand'r stopped beside me as Match and Dubbilex walked towards us from the side.
However, I along with the Justice League were surprised when the Titans fell in line with us, a thankful smile on my face as Wally patted my shoulder with a nod.
"Paragon," Batman began and I nodded in greeting with a smile.
"Batman. Glad to see that you all are doing well."
"The same to you. How's your mind doing?" Flash asked and I tapped my skull with a chuckle.
"Everything's fixed up in here and Klarion's mind control is gone."
"And the artificial war-moon?" Hal asked, jabbing his thumb at the viewing port where we could see the Unity Sphere orbiting outside of Earth's gravitational pull.
"That was from Mongul."
"Mongul? The tyrant that Clark fought in '08?" Wonder Woman asked, making me raise an eyebrow as Batman nodded.
"I believe so. Paragon-"
"Just Chris, Bats. I'm no longer a hero."
"That is my question. Would you like to be?" he asked and I raised an eyebrow. "We have the necessary evidence and suspects that can confess that you were placed under Klarion's mind control when you killed Lex Luthor and tried to kill Ra's al Ghul."
"I have no doubt that you do, but will the ones at the top believe this?"
"Not in the slightest, but there is nothing they can do when said information is shared with the world," Batman replied and I raised an eyebrow before I smirked when I saw his head turning to the Unity Sphere.
"Is the Batman suggesting that we do what I think you're suggesting?" I asked, chuckling as a ghost of a smirk grew on his face.
"That depends. Do you have any broadcasting equipment on that ship of yours?"
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"How certain are you this plan of yours will work?" Wonder Woman asked as she and Batman stood in the UN meeting room, staring at the presidents and diplomats filing in.
"It is not my plan so I do not know. All I do know is that this is a do-or-die situation," he replied, walking to the podium as the final leaders sat down.
"Batman," the Secretary-General began as the hero stood at the podium, "It is rare that you ask for a UN meeting to be held."
"It is, but I know that you will be happy to know that we have decided to stop asking for a retrial on Paragon's innocence," his words drew narrowed eyes from some of the leaders as the Secretary-General raised an eyebrow.
"Really? After you were so adamant to prove his innocence?"
"That is correct. After all, the reason for us doing so is this," he said as he stepped to the side and the leaders all flew to their feet when a projection of Chris formed on the whiteboard behind the hero.
"Ah, there you are. Hello, esteemed leaders of the world."
"What is the meaning of this, Batman?" the Secretary-General asked with a frown. "Why is a convicted felon talking to us when he should be in a cell?"
"Said convicted felon is the ruler and controller of the intergalactic arsenal satellite currently floating in space," Chris replied, the projection shifting to reveal him sitting in the control throne of the Unity Sphere.
"So, you are threatening the people of this planet with an arsenal of weaponry?"
"Not in the slightest, Secretary-General," Chris replied as the screen shifted back to show him smiling. "I simply wanted everyone to know that I control the Unity Sphere in case anyone wanted to try and make a claim to it."
"What do you want, Paragon? Last I checked, you ran away when you were were supposed to go to Rykers, did you not?"
"I did, but that was after you decided not to listen to Batman and the Justice League when they spoke of Klarion mind-controlling me."
"We did listen to them, but there was no evidence to prove your point."
"You mean this?" Chris asked, the whiteboard beside his projection lighting up to reveal scores of documents and files on a table. "These are physical copies that confirm that the Light asked of Klarion not being capable of mind control, but also orders for him to use it on me to get me incarcerated."
The screens then shifted and some of the leaders looked nervous as hundreds more photos of files appeared as well as a broadcast of hundreds of drones projecting the inside of the room to cities worldwide.
"Now, let's begin with the beginning. Hello, world. Paragon here. Firstly, let's get one thing out of the way, I did kill Lex Luthor. That is one thing I'm not denying, but what I am denying is that I was in control of myself when I did it.
I was not. The hitman Deadshot was hired to shoot me with a kryptonite bullet laced with chaos magic and various toxic cocktails. This bullet resulted in me losing all sense of who I was and needing to be relocated to Mars where the native species there helped cure me."
"This is all well and good, Mr. Paragon, but the question still stands. Will you finish serving your time?" the delegate for Russia asked and Chris chuckled before snapping his fingers.
The next moment, everyone turned to said delegate who paled when videos played of him conversing with the leaders of the light.
"Mr. Vladimir, I have evidence to prove that I was forced to do what I did. Do you?" Chris asked, nodding when the man couldn't answer. "I thought so. For the record, I know that you are not the only one as my computers have hacked into every single digital device the Light possesses. Thus, I possess evidence that they do as well.
Said evidence will be handed over to the Justice League as well as the public, where they will decide what to do with you all."
"Paragon," Batman began, drawing everyone's attention to him, "what are your plans for the foreseeable future?"
"Firstly, I don't care for being a hero under the Justice League because power doesn't need permission and justice doesn't wait for votes.
Secondly, the Unity Sphere and its occupants, which includes myself will relocate to a different part in space where we will be out of the way. We will still be close enough should you need our help.
Finally, I want you leaders to know that the truth is now public. Everything you all have tried to bury are now viewable to the public and I want it to stay that way. Should any of you try to limit the flow of information, I will release it again, but this time, I will release the personal dealings of each of you leaders to your citizens.
Every dark truth, every vile secret and every dirty piece of laundry will be seen by your citizens on websites directly under my control.
If you try to cut off the internet, the Unity Sphere will provide it for free. Should you try to cut the power, the Unity Sphere will provide it for free. Should you try to block the information, well...do I need to repeat myself?"
For a while, no one dared speak as Chris finished his speech, Batman standing back with a proud Wonder Woman.
"...Why are you doing this, Paragon?" the Secretary-General asked, being the only calm one of the leaders. Chris didn't reply immediately as he leaned back in his throne, rubbing M'gann's hand as she placed it on his shoulder.
"Because when I needed this kind of power, I didn't have it. Therefore, I want to make sure that none go through what I did," he responded, leaning forward. "Remember, leaders of the world. I have the power to ruin you all. Make sure you stay aware of that. Until we meet again."
A/N: And we end it off here~!! A short chapter, Chris returns with a bang as he draws out ultimatums.
How long will this confidence last? Only one way to find out.
Next Chapter: Project Injustice.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!!