Justice League: Doom Page #3

I'm staying right here.

I want you to get out of here

as quickly as you can.

Follow the light,

it's a safe path back to the surface.

- They've still got Carol.

- Carol?

From Bookkeeping.

They took her hostage first.

I'll get her out. Go.

Help me.

Don't hurt her.

It'll do you no good.

All your partners are captured, or worse.

- All of them?

- All of them.

You've got no options.

I've got one.

No.

I don't understand.

Why didn't I disarm him?

Why didn't I--?

Oh, no.

I'm so sorry.

She sort of looks like me, doesn't she?

Carol?

Yes. Her name was Carol too.

She's beautiful, of course,

and she has dark hair like mine.

And the stench of your failure

hanging over her.

I didn't mean--

You didn't mean

to get all those people killed?

You didn't mean to betray me,

drive me into becoming this?

What didn't you mean, Hal?

I don't know. I'm--

Afraid?

Afraid that you don't deserve

to have so much power?

That nobody does?

Yes.

I don't deserve this.

Then I hope you have the decency

to do what's right...

...and suffer for your many sins.

You don't understand.

I've been a newspaperman for 40 years.

I started as a copyboy when I was 16.

Always thought I'd be doing it

until the day I died.

Heh, guess I got that part right.

There are other jobs.

Newspapers are dying.

I spent my life fighting for the little guy,

fighting for truth and justice.

It isn't relevant anymore.

That's what some people say.

But I've fought for the same things,

even when they don't seem fashionable.

It's a never-ending battle,

but we can't quit.

I'm not the man you think I am.

I'm too weak to fight anymore.

You're stronger than you know,

Mr. Ackerdson.

Kryptonite bullet.

Kryptonite heart.

No!

Hello, Bruce.

Sorry I couldn't be there for this...

...but I have a rather large check

to pick up.

Payment for dealing with you.

Oh, you were concerned

about where I put your parents.

Don't be.

They're very close.

Rest in peace.

It was easier than I thought.

To victory.

To victory.

To the Legion of Doom.

To the Legion of Doom.

Wait. A further toast.

I've been trying to kill Batman

for nearly 10 years.

Well, this time,

I did better than kill him...

...I humiliated him.

Hear, hear.

Each of us finally got the better

of our opposite numbers...

...and it's all thanks

to the genius of one man...

...Vandal Savage.

- Yes, he's the man.

- Ha, ha, to the man.

- And his checks clear.

- I love my money.

Our business is completed.

You are, of course, free to go.

You hinted at a larger scheme and said

there would be a place for us in it...

...should we so choose.

I did.

And the offer remains open to you all.

But I fear you may lack the vision

to go along with me.

The next stage of my plans

might be considered...

...genocidal.

What are you gonna do,

destroy the world?

Nothing so crude.

Half. Two-thirds at the most.

It's not a joke.

It's the next step in a plan

to transform the planet in a manner...

...that will render your $100-million payday

both trivial and meaningless.

What possible profit could there be

in destroying the world?

The first thing you have to understand

is that I am old.

Older than the human race.

I know that you believe this to be true.

It is true.

Eighty thousand years ago...

...I was living in

what is now the island of Sumatra.

One night,

the sky lit up with streaks of fire.

Meteors.

But my primitive mind thought the stars

were falling from the sky.

One meteor fell to Earth in my valley.

My compatriots ran...

...but it was very cold

and the glowing stone was warm.

I slept there...

...bathed in the meteor's

strange radiations.

And when I awoke the next morning,

I was forever changed.

The radiation mutated me, evolving me.

I was instantly aware

of my increased intelligence.

It was only with the passage of time

that I discovered the rest of my gift.

So far as I know, I cannot die.

Is that a fact?

Go ahead.

- Why'd you do that?

- Don't you realize what he's planning?

In his new world,

our money doesn't matter.

You are correct.

Money won't matter.

It's trivial in the long run.

Let me tell you about the long run.

I've lived thousands of lives.

I've been a laborer, a scientist, a priest,

an artist, a healer, a thief.

But most often a conqueror.

I'm still not seeing

how this makes up for my money.

Seventy-five thousand years ago...

...a disaster

nearly rendered humanity extinct.

I enslaved the survivors

and ruled with an iron hand.

In a few generations...

...my people were well under way

to repopulating the Earth...

...and becoming the planet's

dominant species.

I was happy then.

You're taking the world over

out of nostalgia?

I'm taking over because humanity

is prideful and belligerent...

...and once again

needs my guiding hand.

But before I take over,

I intend to soften them up.

By destroying half the world.

Those who survive

will happily follow a leader...

...who offers food, comfort and order.

That could work.

It will work.

To you, my warlords, I offer dominion over

as much of what remains of the planet...

...as each of you can hold,

second only to me.

Interested?

You haven't left us much choice.

Heh, how do you propose

to kill that many people?

Even without the Justice League,

they will fight.

They'll lose.

Why are you guys

attacking Wonder Woman?

Get out of my face, tin man.

I've had enough trouble with superheroes

today to last me a lifetime.

Not as much as you're gonna have

if you don't give me a straight answer.

She was fighting the Cheetah,

then suddenly started attacking everyone.

We got the civilians out

and the park sealed off...

...but we can't get near her.

Look at her.

She's having a seizure or something.

You could be right.

Her pulse, blood pressure and respiration

are off the charts.

If she keeps going at that pace,

she's gonna drop dead.

That's not the worst outcome

I can imagine right now.

I'm gonna talk her down.

Pull your men back.

All officers,

stand down and retreat to barriers.

Repeat, stand down.

You must be the real one.

Whatever that weapon is, Cheetah,

it won't work.

It's a scanner.

Something's happening to you.

Did you just call me Cheetah?

She thinks I'm Cheetah.

Wonder Woman,

just listen for a minute.

Whatever it looks like, I'm not Cheetah.

Think about it. All those dozens

of Cheetahs you saw, how is that possible?

I don't know.

I think I do.

My sensors have detected

a cluster of nanomachines...

...attached to your brain stem.

They're broadcasting

into your visual and auditory centers...

...making you see

whatever Cheetah wants you to.

- It could be.

- It is.

She knows you'll never quit a fight.

You're supposed to keep going

until your heart gives out...

...or you have an aneurism,

or a cop gets lucky and shoots you.

I've identified the frequency.

I'm gonna broadcast inter--

No!

I'm sorry you forced me to do this,

Cheetah.

Let's get you some medical attention.

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