We hide the armada of ships a mile from the attack site, lowering ourselves into a sandy dune. The military's storage area was built in a desert landscape so far from humanity that it would take days to reach any form of civilization. The base itself was surrounded by a chain link fence, but it was old, so patches of it were missing here and there from trespassers who had miraculously found the place. 

After landing, our army formed into tighter clumps of 30, silently heading into our positions at the base. Everyone seemed to flourish in night's darkness, and I could tell that a lot of the people here had a new sense of pride as the moonlight trickled onto the warehouses we could now see in front of us.

Inside the fence, warehouses stretched in parallel lines toward the horizon. In the center of the base, a large cobblestoned plaza broke the pattern of rows, revealing our future battlefield. The sight of the dull storage spaces gave me a feeling of relief in a way. Everything here is quiet and has a sense of age. 

But something inside me cringed, so I tried to ignore what I knew. In a couple hours, the League would lie here. Dead. With nothing. The stone plaza wouldn't be silent anymore.

You can still turn back, said the conniving voice. 

No.

I hid behind a building that led to the big courtyard. Upon further examination, it seemed to expand for miles, making me realize how big this facility was. 

But then I felt the back of my neck buzz. I turned around to see the Commander eagerly staring at me.

"Tempest." His voice was dark and gruff.

"Yes, Commander?" I did my best to hide my hesitation for the fight.

You killed once before you know. This should be easy.

I hated it.

Well, you better learn to love it because blood is all that you'll see now.

"Put everyone into a mind link," the Commander directed, "and when the Justice League comes, block their telepathic and communication signals." 

I nodded and turned back around so I wouldn't have to look at him anymore. 

This was it.

 I started to focus on a hero that had strong mental abilities. I thought of Martian Manhunter and Me'gann. Their eyes flashed red when they used telepathy. I take a breath in and feel an invisible force project outward. I stumble back as I hear hundreds of whispers echo in my mind. It was our army. I knew that they could hear my thoughts so I tried to block them from mine. I clench my jaw as the voices grow louder. Focus.

I soon felt the presence of the army disappear, and the Commander surprised me by laying his hand on my shoulder.

I kept my back to him.

"We are the heroes, the angels." 

I replied as calmly as I could, "And we will reshape the Earth."

*********

The Watchtower

As soon as Batman returned to the Watchtower, he saw the zeta tube's light from the corner of his eye. He guessed it was a deployment team that launched right before he got there. Curious, Bruce stalked over to Manhunter near the observation monitor.

Sensing Batman's presence, Manhunter advised, "You shouldn't be here. This isn't your shift."

Bruce stood next to Manhunter and crossed his arms. "It's always my shift." 

The two glanced upward to the giant screen before them. Red dots were flashing near the map of the abandoned Gotham City Storage Facility. 

"Looks like a weapons heist. Who's going?" Questioned Batman.

"The best members qualified to handle this are Captain Atom, Zatanna, Plastic Man-"

"Plastic Man?" Batman scoffed. 

"You sound surprised."

"He's new, and he has the brain of a pigeon. I don't think he's ready for these kinds of missions yet." 

Manhunter gave him a look full of scorn. He always did that when he was angry, but without further stalling, he continued on with his list.

"Green Lantern, and Black Canary."

"That many?" Batman began to press all kinds of buttons continuing looking into the heist.

There was a silence between them, but Manhunter knew he had to ask the question Bruce would never mention.

"How did it go?" Asked Manhunter. 

Batman ignored him. 

"And Me'gann?" He got the same response and sighed, "They're really starting to get to you."

"They're getting nowhere." Batman changed the topic back to the heist. "Did you zoom in on them to see who it was?" Batman's eyes were still locked on the screen to observe the deployment team's dots that were moving to the storage area.

Manhunter shook his head, "Bruce, did they rea-" 

But he stopped when Batman whirled around to stare into his eyes. They were burning with a subtle rage. Bruce pointed to the screen. Manhunter slowly moved his head to the monitor to see what Batman was angry about. 

On it he saw white uniforms plagued the scene. Each of them moving with a precision never seen in a strike force before.

Batman pressed the radio in his ear while clutching the edge of the monitor. "Canary! Can you hear me Canary!"

Static.

With guilt ridden eyes, Manhunter focused on sending a telepathic message. Canary, get out of there! 

But as soon as he sent the message he felt it bounce back with a powerful force. He tried again, but only felt an ache start to swell in his head. How could it be?

Batman's frantic movements stopped when he looked at the screen. The dots on the map were gone. It was like they vanished and that's not possible...

Unless they were dead. 

They're gone. Batman felt a weight in his conscious drop.

His hand burned as he hit it on the monitor's keyboard. Manhunter looked at the screen and looked in disbelief. "That can't be."

"Yes, it can." Batman was staring at the monitor, but his stare was like staring into the void. His voice was cold, "Because that's the Complex. That's the Complex we fought fifteen years ago. It's the one that got Aqua Man killed."

Manhunter froze. If only he had looked at the surveillance. Then he wouldn't have sent his friends to their... 

He was interrupted in his thoughts when Batman spoke to him again with the same broken tone. "And now five members of our team are dead."

Manhunter stared back with a beaten demeanor. "I-," he didn't know what to say, "I killed them."

Both men looked at each other in silence until Wonder Woman called to them from the top of the stairs. 

"There a problem?" She gave a motherly stare, but both men continued to be silent. Her eyes glanced to the screen and back to them. She gasped. 

Superman, hearing the commotion, flew to the second floor of the plaza to join the conversation. "What's going on?" He repeated what Wonder Woman had done and saw the images of white flashing before the screen. His face gradually changed into a monster as he continued to watch the figures. 

"How?" Superman paused, and then grabbed Batman by the collar. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Wonder Woman sped over to them and put a hand on Clark's shoulder. She tried to remain calm as she saw Superman grit his teeth. "Clark."

Superman kept his stare on Batman as he let go. "What now ?"

"We," Bruce paused and then looked at his teammates around him. Say something. "We have to learn about them."

Everyone eyed Batman with confusion.

"We can't," Superman said as he gazed at Batman. A war began to brew between the men as they vilely stared at each other.

"We must."