A few minutes ago:
Leon was still on the internet when he felt a subtle shake in his windows. Focusing outside, he sensed something streaking past the sky of this town faster than a bullet. 'More like it's crashing down,' he thought, peering out the window.
As he'd suspected, it looked like a meteor from afar, but he could clearly see beneath the bright flames surrounding the object. 'Looks like a pod? Space-Ship?… What, another alien now?'
A distant boom resounded throughout the city. The object had crashed somewhere on the city's outskirts, where there were barely any houses- just open fields, forests, and a few farms.
Wearing a loose white shirt with dark-grey pants, Leon slipped on his leather shoes and shades, then jumped out the window, flying toward the crash site.
Even before the Justice League or Leon could arrive, the military was already there, with several armed trucks, tanks, and soldiers carrying heavy-duty guns. Red Tornado was nearby, evacuating people from the scattered farms and houses in the area.
A girl, who looked about sixteen or seventeen, with long blonde hair, knelt outside the open compartment of the small ship, barely covered by a white drape. When she looked up, her eyes glowed red.
She appeared to be in pain, and her voice worsened as an orange-red heat beam erupted from her eyes, hitting a nearby armored vehicle and melting its doors in seconds. She covered her eyes with her hands, clearly hurting.
"Open fire!" their leader commanded. The soldiers took their cue and started shooting. A barrage of bullets flew toward the girl. One hit her head, bouncing off into the distance, but it was enough to fling her back and make her wince.
She held out her hand, her eyes finally showing something other than pain, and spoke in a language no one understood. The soldiers, unable to comprehend her or see a reason to stop, kept firing. Her eyes glowed red again, and she mumbled something, covering them with her hand amidst the hailstorm of bullets.
"Code green, use it!" the captain shouted.
"But sir-"
"I said use it, goddammit!" he snarled. The soldier beside him swapped the magazine of his gun for one with bullets tipped with a green glow. He aimed and pulled the trigger just as the girl looked up, pulling her hand down, unable to hold back any longer.
At that exact moment, Leon blinked into existence between them. Raising his hand, he stopped all the bullets coming from behind a few inches from his back and halted the heat vision from the front just ahead of his head.
Some soldiers kept shooting. Leon cleared his throat and shouted, "Stop fucking shooting, or I'll whip your ass into the stratosphere!"
"Cease fire!" the chief yelled, then barked at Leon, "Mr. Blade! I'm sure you have other business besides interfering with the military's work."
Leon ignored him, raising a middle finger as he walked toward the girl. The bullets behind him clattered to the ground. He approached slowly, hands raised.
She was saying something, occasionally waving her hand, but he couldn't understand her. 'Judging by everything that happened, probably Kryptonian.' The S symbol on the pod's front was proof enough.
'Why were these idiots shooting at her, then? Those green bullets- it's like they were prepared and specifically ordered,' he thought, frowning.
To his surprise, the girl lunged, throwing a punch at his face. It stopped just short, but the sheer shockwave traveling backward was enough to push back the soldiers and shake their vehicles back. The ground behind him was completely shaved by the force.
'Damn, so all Kryptonians are just built like that, huh?' he thought, ignoring her words, mostly because he couldn't understand them. If what he knew about Superman was true, she'd only been exposed to Earth's sun for minutes, yet she was already punching as hard as he could.
'Why are they so late?' he thought, frowning as he glanced at the sky. He knew they were coming, but, '.... Sigh, not here when you need them the most.'
Leon could sense the girl's fluctuating emotions and understood she was in pain. The sensory overload alone was probably driving her mad. 'Satoru taught me how to do it, but I don't know if it'll work on her.' He casually pointed a finger at the girl, who was angrily trying to push past his infinity.
Confused, her blue eyes followed his fingertip. It was so non-threatening that it only puzzled her further. When he lightly tapped her head, her world blurred, and she slumped, closing her eyes. He caught her in his arms, properly covering her with the drape.
The army chief approached, likely to spew some nonsense, when everyone froze, eyes widening. Leon held the unconscious girl bridal-style, staring at the chief. Behind him, three figures appeared in the air: Wonder Woman and Superman levitating side by side, with Green Lantern holding Batman with his powers.
They landed near Leon, who turned and said, "You guys are late!" with a mocking grin.
"Here. She's probably your relative or something." He handed her to Superman, nodding toward the ship in the crater.
Superman took her, his eyes widening at the symbol. 'Is she from the House of El too?' His thoughts were interrupted by Wonder Woman's voice.
"What happened to her?" she asked.
"Just put her to sleep. She should wake up in a few hours."
"Yo, Batsy! Pleasure meeting you again. Did you guys take a coffee break on the way or something?" Leon asked as Red Tornado's robotic voice came from above, the android slowly landing.
"Batman, forgive me for the delayed transmission. I prioritized evacuating civilians first," Red Tornado said, turning to Leon, who waved.
"Leon Blade," Superman said, continuing, "I- thank you for helping her."
"Wow, so even Superman knows my name, huh?" Leon smirked at Batman.
"Batman, we should go now," Green Lantern said, prompting another voice to join the conversation- the army chief, of course.
"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but I think we've been ignored enough," he said, approaching with soldiers trailing behind. "Superman, we've been specially assigned to bring in the alien who attacked us. I'm sure the Justice League won't interfere with the government's official work." He flashed a shameless smile.
"What nonsense is this?" Wonder Woman asked, frowning.
The chief continued, "Am I to believe the Justice League has gone against the government?"
Batman and Superman were losing patience, and this guy was openly testing his luck. Leon spoke up. "I see. The government's official work includes raining bullets on a distressed teenage girl."
Superman's eyes widened, noticing the bullet shells where the soldiers stood and the deflected rounds scattered around. The chief replied, "She attacked us first," pointing at the vehicle, one side melted by the girl's heat vision.
"Alright, I've had enough of this bullshit," Leon sighed, tired of the nonsense, and dialed a call.
The call was answered in two rings. "I'm doing absolutely fine, Mr. Regan. How about you?" Leon said. "Yes, I'm sure you've seen the news already, but I'm also sure you trust the Justice League enough to let them handle this."
The others looked at him, confused. He continued, "Uh-huh. I see. There seems to be a misunderstanding here, then. I'm sure the chief will hear you out." He shoved the phone to the army chief's ear.
The chief held it, confused, his expression soon turning to panic. "No, no, it wasn't that, Mr. President. We only shot back in retaliation. Yes, I understand… Yes, we'll return immediately." He sighed in relief as the call ended.
"My phone?" Leon asked, hand outstretched.
"Tsk…" The chief clicked his tongue, tossed the phone back, rounded up his soldiers, and they drove away.
"Idiotic bunch, huh," Leon commented.
He looked back at the heroes, "You're welcome?" He shook his head as they silently stared.
"Wait, did he just call President Regan, just like that?" Green Lantern muttered, realizing what happened, sounding a bit jealous. His friends ignored him though.
Superman looked at Batman, urging him to say something to Leon, but the vigilante's scowl deepened. Wonder Woman sighed, not understanding why they were acting like teenagers.
She spoke up. "Young Leon, we've been observing you for a while. I must say, the Justice League could be greatly helped from someone of your capabilities."
Leon smiled. "Definitely flattered, my lady, but it's not really my style, you know. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for you guys, but I'll have to respectfully decline."
He added, "But you can call me up if you need any help. I don't work for free, though." He looked at Batman with a smirk.
"I see. I understand." She gave a faint smile, which he returned.
Superman, having his answer, focused on getting his probable relative to safety and helping her move forward.
"Bats, I've got something for you," Leon called out. And seeing the others looking, he added, "A secret? You know, mysterious stuff..." He motioned with his fingers.
Hal and Diana moved toward the crashed ship, and Superman stood back, holding the girl. When Batman approached, Leon handed him something that deepened his scowl.
A few Kryptonite bullets. "They were fully prepared," Leon said with a smile. "I guess you'll have to ask the commander what he meant by this," he whispered, certain that Superman heard, judging by his subtle, raging anger.
Batman replied in his stern, deep voice, "Thanks. I owe you one."
"Huh? Batman thanking someone? The sun must've come down to Earth or something. Oh no, the world's gonna be destroyed!" Leon said, overly dramatic.
Batman turned, mumbling, "Already regretting it." He stashed the Kryptonite bullets and clicked a button on his gauntlet. "Flash, we're ready."
A bright white light engulfed them, and they disappeared with a flash.
Back in the Watchtower:
The four arrived in the main hallway, in front of Batman's newest Zeta Beam transporter prototype.
"Whew, that went alright," Flash said, seeing his friends. Superman carried the unconscious girl, with Red Tornado behind.
"Don't tell me she just crash-landed on Earth," Flash joked. Seeing their silence, he added, "Wait, really? I was kidding."
Another voice chimed in. "Wow, what a view. Man, you guys sure enjoy being on top of the world." It was Leon, standing by the large window overlooking Earth.
"How did you-" Wonder Woman began, but he interjected, "Don't ask me. I just got dragged into whatever that light was." He shrugged. Not that he couldn't have escaped, but he'd rolled with it.
Batman turned to Flash, who just took a few steps back, raising his hand saying, "I uh, might or might not have increased the energy output in the last minute... Eh Heh..." He awkwardly scratched his head.
Green Lantern stepped forward. "We're really sorry for the inconvenience, but I'll have to escort you back. The teleporter needs time to recharge."
"Nah, no need. I can go back myself. Alright, see you guys later. Thanks for the view." Leon waved with a smile and vanished with a small implosion.
Oliver walked into the hall. "Ah, who the hell was that?"
J'onn, emerging with Aquaman, said, "Superman, is that-"
"I don't know exactly who, but yes, she's Kryptonian," Clark replied. They took her to the medical bay for care.
The next day:
Leon was going about his day, wondering what to do next, when his business phone- publicized as a sorcerer- pinged with a message. It was a single word "Help!!!" with an address of a condo in Gotham.
"Heh, I can smell the suspicious bullshit from the message alone. But whatever, I'll play along." He was bored anyway.
Around late afternoon- Gotham, near the harbor:
Leon, in his dark-purple outfit with glasses and shoes, stood before an old, run-down, abandoned building. The entire block was practically empty, likely slated for demolition.
He sensed a few life signals here and there, including one in this building. He walked in and climbed the stairs. On a higher floor, where he felt the life force, he opened a door to a room in a dark corner of the hallway.
'Now this is interesting.' Superman's clone stood by the window, looking outside silently. But this one was different from the one on TV. His sclerae were entirely black with golden irises, and he looked slightly bulkier.
Cadmus wasn't publicly operating anymore, and Leon didn't fully believe they'd shut down. They could've made multiple clones- who wouldn't, if they had the ability? This one felt different, with boiling, unfiltered rage beneath a calm façade.
After his bout with Deathstroke, another name had joined Leon's naughty list. 'I'm betting this has something to do with that Baldy with daddy issues.'
Superman's clone turned to Leon, his golden eyes glowing bright red.
…To be continued!
A/N: Alright, next chapter, Match vs Leon... be ready...