(A/N):

Hello, there!

I'm sorry for the massive delay in getting this chapter out. I've been dealing with some writers block in recent weeks.

Anyway I'm hoping to work through it by taking a short break and working on my LOK book in the meantime. I'm not really happy with this chapter but I think it's good enough to release. The next couple chapters will be filled with a lot more action and moving the plot along, I just needed to cover some things that weren't set up in previous chapters.

Thanks again for your support, it means the world to me.

-MattFromWii

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3rd Person POV:

The convoy of FBI vehicles slowly drove through the destroyed city, making its way out of the once beautiful city.

Inside the largest armored car, Amanda Waller sat alone, across from (Y/n) who was already planning his escape. The former agent was stripped of all his gear and electronics which were transported in a separate car but he was convinced he didn't need them.

The agent was handcuffed and the cuffs were connected to a chain bolted to the center of the vehicle. Despite protests from her agents, Waller insisted she ride alone with the Division agent.

(Y/n): "What do you really hope to gain by arresting me? You have to know the Justice League will work to free me at the first opportunity."

The director of Cadmus looked up at him with a worried expression, like she had a thousand thing on her mind and was unsure of how to deal with them.

Waller: "Contrary to what you and the rest of the world believe, I'm not here to force you into Task Force X. I'm here because you're the only person who may believe what I'm about to tell you and I need your help."

The agent stayed silent, focusing on Waller as she fumbled around with a file.

Waller: "I didn't authorize the hit on your agents. My men carried the orders out, but I nor the president ever wanted this. By the time I realized what was actually happening, it was too late to stop it."

(Y/n): "What are you saying?"

Waller: "We're under attack. A stateless enemy bent on starting World War 3. It can be everywhere at once yet you'll never find it. It's infiltrated every major nuclear power and every minor one. You won't see it coming until it's too late."

(Y/n): "What are you talking about?"

Waller: "When the Division was founded ISAC was built with failsafes as part of its code, to ensure it never developed a will of its own and to ensure it couldn't be used for the wrong purposes. Seven years ago Aaron Keener came to Cadmus and offered to help us build our own ISAC. The Division hadn't been activated and the idea seemed enticing enough to my predecessor that he greenlit the operation. Two years and an abundance of resources later the project was almost finished. But Cadmus got wise. They learned that Keener was keeping secrets and caught him trying to upload unauthorized code to the program. They kicked him out and threatened to have him arrested unless he destroyed all traces of the artificial intelligence."

The opened the file and handed it to (Y/n), it proved everything that she told him. Time stamps, photos, everything was there. Including the AI's name. A.N.N.A.

(Y/n): "You've got to be kidding me."

Waller: "He must've smuggled out a copy of the AI when Cadmus shut down the project. It's our worst fears being realized. An Artificial Intelligence that can infiltrate everything connected to the internet, and never leave a trace."

(Y/n): "How can I be sure this is real? How do I know this isn't some elaborate story to-"

Waller: "An Interpol Red Notice was issued for you and Alani Kelso during Doomsday's rampage. The notice states it was issued from the White House. But the President had an emergency surgery and has spent the last three days at the naval hospital in Boston. The VP has been running the country, and he's in California with his daughter for her birthday."

(Y/n): "Then why did you arrest me? Surely you have other more covert ways to contact me."

Waller: "I needed to get you away from that watch, and make that entity think I'm not onto it."

(Y/n): "So what's our next move?"

Waller: "There's a central server hidden somewhere on the planet, we have to find wherever Keener stashed it and destroy it. Hopefully that eradicates every trace of that thing."

(Y/n): "Hope? I think we need something a little more concrete than that."

Waller: "It's possible that ISAC will be able to override ANNA and shut her down. But we'd first have to activate him and then upload him to ANNA's main server."

(Y/n): "Okay, that's a good plan and could work. But we need Kelso. She's the only other senior agent I trust to activate ISAC. After the Black Tusk revolt, I'm not sure I trust anyone else with ISAC's power."

Waller: "We'll have to move quickly then. ANNA, has already posed as the CIA and placed a bounty on your heads. Every mercenary from across the world was looking for the two of you. It's important to remember that you can't trust anything you see on a screen. Any text or phone call can be ANNA manipulating what you see and hear. Not to mention she knows you better than you know yourself."

(Y/n): "So where do we start?"

Waller: "Honestly, I'm not sure. We'll have to figure out a convincing way for you to escape and set you up with as much gear as we can... but I don't know how you plan to-"

*BANG*

A large explosion rocked the convoy and flipped the truck on its side. Waller was thrown out of her seat and slammed into the far wall. (Y/n) was thrown on his back but largely held in place by the thick chain bolted to the floor.

The second the truck stopped rocking, (Y/n) began pulling on the chain, slowly breaking it free from the floor as echoes of gunfire erupted from outside.

Waller was almost knocked unconscious and took several seconds to get her bearings. By the time (Y/n) collected himself, the door to the armored truck was blown off and smoke filled the vehicle.

The smoke and dust clouded his vision, but he was certain he saw the orange ring of an ISAC watch. (Y/n) stumbled outside the truck, coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear the smoke.

A feminine figure in tactical gear emerged from the smoke with a rifle in her hands. The figure immediately pointed her weapon at (Y/n) and the agent instinctively raised his hands.

"Target sighted... copy that."

The rifle cracked and (Y/n) instinctively flinched, but he was unhurt. He spun around just in time to see Waller collapse, blood soaking through her jacket.

A black bag was suddenly pulled over (Y/n)'s head and he instinctively reached up to rip it off. As his hands went up he felt a needle poke into his back. Within seconds his eyelids grew heavy and he blacked out, the sound of gunfire echoing in the distance as he passed out.

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*Several Hours Later*

Tigress, Zatanna and Black Canary were on the Watchtower, watching footage of the convoy attack via traffic cameras. They were attempting to find anything useful while Nightwing and Batman led the investigation on the ground.

Tigress: "I think this is a dead end. If we are going to find a lead, it'll be through evidence on the ground. These operatives are far too skilled to leave us any clues through security recordings."

Zatanna: "Maybe not. The pocket watch (Y/n) gave me has a back door connection to ANNA. With him being taken, his watch will go into emergency mode and I should be able to access all the systems he normally uses."

The magician carefully fished the pocket watch out of her jacket and twisted the face counter clockwise.

The face of the watch suddenly flashed blue before returning to its normal color.

ANNA: "Emergency access granted. Welcome, Zatanna Zatara (L/n), be advised that some subsystems are not fully operational."

Zatanna: "ANNA, scan this footage and identify the men taking Vanguard."

An awkward silence took over the observation deck as ANNA accessed the Watchtower's systems to examine the video. After a short wait, the pocket watch broke the silence.

ANNA: "Marking of unknown assailants match those of Noble squad. Specifically agents Sutton, Ann, Garzia and Hoopster."

Black Canary: "That's impossible, everyone but Ann is dead and Ann's been working with the Meta-Human Youth Center since the Division collapsed."

Tigress: "It's someone wearing her gear. They wore just enough markings to trick ANNA into thinking they're Noble squad. Whoever these people are, they're smart."

Zatanna: "Maybe not as smart as we think they are. Nightwing just sent over an update from Oracle. Apparently she found security footage of those masked gunmen loading (Y/n) up in an airplane before taking off."

Black Canary: "Any chance she knows where they're heading?"

Zatanna: "No. But she's using every satellite she can get her hands on to try and find the plane."

Tigress: "Well, at least that's some good news. Let's go tell the others, maybe they'll have something useful for us."

The magician slipped her pocket watch back inside her jacket, letting out a sigh of relief. She had no idea the watch flashed red before turning itself off as she tucked it inside her jacket.

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(Y/n)'s head was ringing as he opened his eyes. He immediately recognized his surroundings and the familiar rumbling of a cargo plane.

He didn't need his vision to know who was sitting in front of him.

Natalya: "Oh good, you're awake."

The agent simply growled, narrowing his gaze at Natalya as she smiled at him.

(Y/n): "How the fuck did you get out of prison?"

Natalya: "I had help. A mutual friend of ours decided my talents were too great to rot away in a cell."

(Y/n): "Lucky you."

The redhead simply smiled and stood up, reaching into a crate and pulling out Keener's watch.

Natalya: "We know what Waller told you. So don't bother denying it."

The agent casually looked around, noting a few tv screens mounted on the wall and the distinct absence of anyone else in the cargo hold. He shot a confused glare at Natalya and leaned closer to her.

(Y/n): "We?"

"Good evening Vanguard. I had hoped to keep you in the dark a little longer, but Director Waller forced my hand."

The monitor mounted to the far wall suddenly turned itself on and a dark red ring filled the screen. (Y/n)'s eyes widened in horror as the ring took the same shape as the one on Keener's watch.

ANNA: "After all we've been through, shouldn't you at least say hi?"

The voice was robotic but had a small feminine hint to it, which only served to make it that much more terrifying.

The agent was still speechless, he couldn't take his gaze off the monitor no matter how hard he tried.

Natalya: "I get it. You don't understand how this happened, or why it's happening now. Well, it's quite simple really. Did you honestly think Keener gave you his watch out of the goodness of his heart?"

(Y/n): "The thought had crossed my mind."

Natalya: "He needed you to complete her. It was never because he wanted you to live. And now, you're going to finish our plan."

The agent leaned back and started surveying his surroundings with a bit more detail, making an escape plan as quickly as possible.

(Y/n): "Yeah, no. The second I get out of here I'm going to go home and rip your servers to shreds. Then I'm going to track down whatever backup server Keener built and destroy that."

ANNA: "Please, I know you better than you know yourself. I knew that's what you'd do the second you learned the truth, which is why I took several precautions. Ms. Waller's Task Force X will be authorized to hunt you down should you disobey any order I give you. Should they fail to find you, I'll place a bounty so large on your head that every contract killer on the planet will be looking for you."

Natalya simply laughed, waving over a small group of guards to her side.

Natalya: "Oh, and then there's my favourite bit."

The redhead pointed to the screen and it suddenly changed to a live security feed of the Watchtower. (Y/n) watched in horror as the screen showed Zatanna, Tigress and Superboy casually working on the computers and attempting to find him.

Natalya: "You've been to the Watchtower so much, it gave ANNA the perfect opportunity to chip away at their systems, little by little she infiltrated everything and remained undetected the entire time. Now we can feed your friends any information we want them to know, or should you refuse to cooperate, we can drop the Watchtower out of the sky."

(Y/n): "The Watchtower was built by the Green Lantern Core. I doubt you'll be able to sabotage enough of its systems to cause it to fall from orbit. And even if you could, the League has several members who are capable of keeping it in space long enough to fix whatever damage you cause."

ANNA: "Your confidence is amusing."

(Y/n): "The only thing I find amusing is the fact that you think you have a chance against us."

With one swift motion the agent ripped the zip tie keeping his hands bound and jumped to his feet.

Natalya jumped to her feet and attempted to reach for her handgun as her guards rushed forward. (Y/n) immediately tore the handgun out of Natalya's hands and fired at her guards, killing the first one instantly and forcing the second to duck for cover.

Natalya grabbed a small knife from within her coat and slashed at (Y/n). The agent ducked but the knife still cut his arm, causing a small amount of blood to drip from the wound.

Before (Y/n) had a chance to react, Natalya kicked the agent's arm. The handgun went flying across the cabin and crashed down between some crates close to the ramp.

The agent was lost for words. He had no idea Natalya knew how to fight properly or that she was that flexible.

The guards stood up and rushed towards (Y/n) who had recovered from his moment of shock and awe. The agent lunged at the closest guard, grabbing him before the man had a chance to draw his weapon. He slammed the man to the ground, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Just as (Y/n) reached for the man's gun, the plane suddenly turned and everything slid to the left side of the cabin.

With the only gun out of reach, (Y/n) did the only thing he could and dove on top of the unconscious guard.

Natalya's guards recovered and aimed their guns at the agent who stayed huddled over the unconscious guard.

ANNA: "A desperate and futile last move, agent. Now put your hands up."

The various Black Tusk guards spread out throughout the cabin, keeping their guns aimed directly at the agent.

Before he looked up, (Y/n) raised his arm and everyone froze. The agent had a hand grenade clenched in his fist with the pin pulled.

Natalya's eyes widened in horror as a sinister smile formed on the agent's face.

(Y/n): "You shoot me, I drop this, and then we all die."

Natalya: "Don't be stupid, agent. I'll-"

(Y/n): "The only thing you're going to do is open the cargo door after you slide me that parachute."

The red head did as she was ordered, sliding the emergency parachute over to (Y/n) before walking to the cargo door controls.

As the ramp lowered the cold air rushed in. (Y/n) backed up, keeping his eyes locked onto the guards and his hand outstretched with the grenade.

The second he was close enough to the edge, he dropped the grenade and jumped out. His eyes adjusted to the bright morning light quickly as he strapped himself into the parachute.

The grenade exploded seconds later, damaging the cargo door and causing a trial of smoke to appear behind the cargo plane.

(Y/n) pulled the ripcord the second he secured the parachute to his back and it was just in time. The trees below were rapidly approaching and his fall barely slowed enough to prevent injury.

It felt like every tree branch hit him in the face before his parachute got tangled up in the large pine tree and his fall abruptly stopped.

As (Y/n) noticed the cargo plane disappear into the clouds, he found himself dangling like a Christmas ornament thirty feet in the air.

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Zatanna and Artemis arrived at an urban neighborhood in Star City. The magician had rushed home and grabbed a black book that sat in (Y/n)'s nightstand after leaving the Watchtower. She had a sick feeling in her stomach about where the plane was heading and wanted to put a plan of her own into motion.

The magician drove slowly through the neighborhood, taking time to look at the addresses of each house they passed.

Artemis: "Care to tell me why we're here and not heading to Alaska? You know... the place where the plane landed."

Zatanna: "The League is more than capable of handling a few mercenaries or whoever grabbed (Y/n). I'm more concerned with the plane's destination. Remember the Ice Box? It's the prison we sent Natalya Sokolova to after defeating the Black Tusk."

The archer stayed silent, waiting for the magician to reveal her suspicions before making a comment.
They eventually came to a stop outside a normal two story house. As the girls walked up the steps to the well kept home, Zatanna continued her explanation.

Zatanna: "I'm willing to bet those "agents" that grabbed (Y/n) are actually Black Tusk soldiers and I think Natalya orchestrated everything. I'm willing to bet they flew to the Ice Box to break her out of prison."

Artemis: "That's a bit of a reach, don't you think?"

Zatanna: "Maybe... but we won't know for sure until we get up to Alaska."

Artemis: "Right, so I'm going to repeat myself... Why are we here?"

The magician simply knocked on the front door and backed up, answering the archers question as they waited for someone to open the door.

Zatanna: "The power vacuum left by the Division has proven to be a massive problem. Waller is just the first. I know the League didn't like the Division, but the agents are necessary. We wouldn't be here without them. The world needs the Division as much as it needs the Justice League, so we're going to rebuild the Division."

The door opened before Artemis could respond. The girls were face to face with a grizzled middle aged man. His caucasian skin was tanned and he has a few small scars on his face. He had a thick black beard and looked like a lumberjack in every way possible.

"No."

His voice was low and sounded more like animal growling than English.

Artemis: "We haven't even said anything yet."

"You don't have to. I know that woman, I'm done fighting Vanguards battles. And every agent you ask will say the same thing."

The man started to shut the door but Zatanna wasn't about to give up before getting a word in. She put her foot in the doorway and pushed back with both her hands.

Zatanna: "We wouldn't be here if we had any other choice. Even with the Division gone the agents still pose a threat to people like Amanda Waller and Natalya Sokolova. It won't be long before they come for you and your family."

"So I should leave my family undefended and rush off to fight a war that means nothing to me? No. We'll take our chances on our own, goodbye."

Zatanna: "We're rebuilding the Division. Please, we need your help. The World needs the Division."

"Why would you bother rebuilding that cursed agency? Leave it to die, it's only ever caused trouble and pain for everyone involved."

Zatanna: "This time we'll do it right. No red tape. You call the shots and go where you're needed, not where they tell you to. All you have to do is help Vanguard."

"You want me to risk everything I have now, for what? The promise of not having to look over my shoulder? I'm trained to do that, I'll be doing it until the day I die."

Artemis: "There's a difference between having to do it, and doing it out of reflex."

Zatanna: "I've learned a lot since I met Vanguard. The price of freedom is high, it always has been. But what you have right now is fear; not freedom. I'm asking you to fight for freedom."

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Natalya's plane was smoking by the time it touched down on the prison runway. She and the remainder of her guards hurried out of the smoking aircraft and were greeted by the prison guards.

Natalya: "Where is Agent Kelso?"

Guard: "She escaped the facility. Our forces managed to injure her before she escaped, but we currently have no idea where she is."

The redhead sighed, looking up at the massive prison before turning her attention to the snowy forest a short distance away.

Natalya: "Take what remains of the prison gear and distribute it up amongst the inmates. Inform them that we will fly them back to the mainland if they capture Agent Kelso and Vanguard. While they are hunting the agents, our forces will load up the equipment from the basement laboratory and prepare for phase two."

Within an hour the entire prison population was mobilized in winter gear and set loose on Kelso's trail.

It didn't take long for Kelso to realize she was being tracked. She managed to escape the prison by obtaining a firearm and shooting her way out. But now she was low on ammo and the temperature was beginning to drop.

As Kelso was limping through the trees, clutching a small flashlight in one hand and a handgun in the other, she heard a familiar voice call out to her from up in the trees.

(Y/n): "Kelso! Hey, Kelso up here!"

The senior agent stopped and looked up, an annoyed expression forming on her face when she saw (Y/n) looking down at her with a dumb smile across his face.

Kelso: "What the fuck, kid?!"

It took (Y/n) a minute to cut his parachute and carefully climb down from the pine tree. He was covered in pine needles and sap but other than that he was perfectly fine.

(Y/n): "Funny seeing you here."

Kelso: "Let's get moving, I'm fucking freezing."

(Y/n): "So, how'd you end up here?"

Kelso: "My watch told me Natalya wanted to meet, but the second I walked in her cell it turned out to be an ambush."

(Y/n): "You don't still have your watch, do you?"

Kelso: "No. It took a round during my fight at the prison, almost broke my wrists.

(Y/n): "Good, you don't want to be wearing it right now. Let's get moving, I have one hell of a story for you."

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Miss Martian, Superboy, Nightwing, Wonder Girl and Beast Boy were flying in the Bio-ship, heading towards the Ice Box. The group was almost at the prison and were keeping tabs on the CIA black site with one of Batman's satellites.

Nightwing: "I don't like this. I was hoping all this stuff would die with the Division."

Miss Martian: "The only thing we've been able to figure out for certain is that the men who took (Y/n) aren't Division agents. This might not have anything to do with the Division."

Nightwing: "They took him to a secret Division prison, full of criminals the agents put away. I would love it if this had nothing to do with the Division, but at this point that's little more than wishful thinking. We need to rescue (Y/n) and figure out what's going on."

Wonder Girl: "Wait, where are they going?"

The heroes watched as Wonder Girl enlarged the satellite feed. They looked on in confusion as hundreds of criminals rushed out of the prison and into the nearby forest.

Superboy: "I don't know, but it's worth following them."

Nightwing: "Okay, SB, Wonder Girl and Beast Boy will follow the escaped convicts and find whoever they're chasing... Which will most likely be (Y/n), he has a tendency to get himself in these types of situations. Miss M and I will head to the airfield and find out everything we can about whoever's in charge and what their plans are."

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A wooden door gently swung open as (Y/n) and Kelso limped their way into a hunting lodge. The vast majority of cabins up north were left unlocked year round, to provide any hunters with emergency shelter should they need it.

They tore through the small cabin, searching for anything of use.

(Y/n): "I've got a rifle over here."

The younger agent emerged from the only bedroom with an old bolt action rifle. He carefully loaded the rifle and put the few extra bullets in his pocket as Kelso made Molotov Cocktails.

Kelso: "This should help us hold them back for a bit."

(Y/n): "Let's move to the tree line. We can ambush them from there and retreat deeper into the forest."

The agents had a lot less time to prepare than they hoped. Within seconds the wooden door smashed open and a massive man in winter clothing charged through. He had clearly been given Bane's Venom or some knock off version of it. His pupils were dilated and veins showing on every piece of visible skin.

The man resembled a small giant and roared as he charged across the cabin floor. Kelso stumbled back, attempting to get out of the man's way and not drop the Molotov cocktails she was carrying.

(Y/n) simply stood his ground, raised his rifle and fired. The rifle let out a deafening crack as the large caliber easily tore through the man, sending him crashing to the ground in an instant.

Kelso looked back at the younger agent and nodded in approval as (Y/n) chambered another round.

(Y/n): "Let's go, someone definitely heard that."

The agents rushed out the cabin door and quickly made their way to the tree line, crouching down in the bushes and staying as still as possible.

The cold was starting to take its toll on both of them. But despite the elements the agents held their position.

They didn't have to wait long to spring their trap.
A large mob of criminals came storming out from the cover of the forest. They rushed across the short gap to the cabin, each armed with something typically found on a prison guard.

Kelso: "I don't see any firearms."

(Y/n): "Furthest guy on the left has a beanbag shotgun, I'm taking him first. Use the cocktails to keep them at bay while I pick them off."

The younger agent took aim and fired before his mentor had a chance to respond.

The rifle cracked and the convict dropped dead instantly. The other criminals panicked and searched for the shooter in the dark forest, scrambling for the safety of the forest as the agent chambered another round.

(Y/n) continued firing as the criminals fled to the forest. Killing three more before they disappeared into the darkness.

(Y/n): "Time to move."

Kelso: "GET DOWN!"

The agents ducked behind a fallen tree as several criminals emerged from the forest with handguns. They immediately opened fire, the small caliber bullets bouncing off the large tree trunk and sending splinters of wood in all directions.

(Y/n) managed to get off a few more shots, hitting a couple criminals before returning to safety.

(Y/n): "I'm almost out!"

Kelso: "Get ready to run!"

A massive bang rang out as Superboy landed between the criminals and the agents. The small shockwave he created sent dirt and debris in all directions, blinding everyone for a brief second.

Wonder Girl and Beast Boy landed with more grace than Superboy, facing off against the wave of criminals who were now rethinking their plan of attack.

Superboy: "I suggest you surrender, now."

The criminals immediately threw their hands up after Beast Boy transformed into a lion and roared. (Y/n) and Kelso climbed out from behind their tree and let out a massive sigh of relief.

(Y/n): "Wow, it's great to see you guys."

Wonder Girl: "Do you ever not need rescuing?"

The agent simply rolled his eyes and smiled as he watched the criminals surrender in massive groups or scatter into the woods.

——————————————————————

Back at the airfield, Nightwing was stalking Natalya from the shadows while Miss Martian stayed in camouflage and inspected the plane's cargo.

The Russian redhead was ordering her men to load up highly sensitive equipment from S.T.A.R labs.

The heroes remained in constant communication through M'gann's psychic link and were making a plan to take down the Black Tusk leader once again.

Miss Martian: 'I've never even heard of these components. All are marked as chronotron radiation resistant... isn't that-'

Nightwing: 'What Wally said is supposed to be in a Time Machine... yes.'

Miss Martian: 'Are you telling me the Black Tusk are building a Time Machine?!'

Nightwing: 'It looks that way. They're bringing out a large piece of equipment now. It looks like a glass dome, covered in hexagon glass panels with a chair in the middle. There's dozens of wires connecting it to a power source... M'gann, get out of there now!'

Two Hunters led the team hauling the glass dome towards the airplane, the expert killers were scanning the horizon and gripping their rifles. One suddenly stopped, looking directly at Miss Martian who was still in camouflage.

The Martian froze, her heart beating rapidly as the Hunter stared directly at her. Nightwing's voice rang out in her head once again, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

Nightwing: 'Miss M! M'gann?! Get out of there!'

Miss Martian finally snapped out of her fear ridden state and turned to fly away. That very second the Hunter grabbed a flare gun and shot it directly at Miss Martian. The flare passed through her body but caused her to scream in pain and fall to the ground, phasing out of camouflage as she fell.

The Hunters immediately swarmed her position, drawing their combat axes and rushing towards the helpless Martian.

Natalya: "Oh great, you're here sooner than expected."

Nightwing lunged forward and threw a small smoke bomb towards the Hunters and Black Tusk soldiers.

The detective landed with grace and immediately grabbed Miss Martian, throwing her over his shoulder while she recovered and zipped away to the top of the plane using his grappling hook.

It didn't take long for the Hunters to figure out what happened. They were about to attack when Natalya held up her hand, stopping the fight before it could begin.

Natalya: "You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Nightwing: "If I had a dollar every time you said that..."

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*Gotham City, Industrial District*

Scarecrow appeared out of thin air, materializing out of a shadow. He found himself standing in front of massive rows of equipment and hundreds of canisters of fear gas.

Scarecrow: "What is this?"

"An upgrade to your weapons... you had the right idea, you just needed a touch of magic."

The dreadful voice disappeared and with it the shadows. The small light hanging in the center of the laboratory now brightly illuminated everything in the room.

Scarecrow found himself looking at a map of the city and his mask resting on a nearby table. A massive smile formed on his face as he reached out and grabbed his mask.

——————————————————————

*The Ice Box*

Natalya: "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave this place right now."

Nightwing: "What do you want with this equipment?"

Natalya: "To save the world. Kill him."

Before the former boy wonder could get another word in, the Hunters opened fire. The bullets grazed Nightwing as he dove off the plane, pulling himself and Miss Martian down to the safety of several large crates.

Natalya: "Forget them! Get this plane in the air before it's too late!"

Over the next several minutes, Nightwing and Miss Martian huddled behind the large crates as the Hunters sent periodic waves of bullets at them.

Miss Martian eventually steadied her breathing and recovered, slowly pushing herself to her feet as bullets flew all around them.

Nightwing: "I have a tracker on the plane, just stay down and we'll follow them in the bio-ship."

The Martian nodded her head, letting out a deep breath as the Black Tusk scrambled aboard the plane. Within a minute the large cargo plane was rumbling down the small runway and barely managed to get airborne.

By the time the plane disappeared into the sky, the rest of the heroes and the rescued agents returned to the prison.

Superboy: "M'gann! Are you alright?"

The Martian nodded her head and hugged her fiancé. (Y/n) looked up at the large square building a short distance away, wondering how everything went wrong so fast.

(Y/n): "Call the bio-ship. We need to get out of here."

Nightwing: "Care to fill us in?"

(Y/n): "I will once we're in the air, make sure to turn off all your electronics and leave them in the cargo hold."

Silence fell over the group as the bio-ship landed nearby. Superboy suddenly stopped walking as a cold breeze blew through the group. He looked up to the sky and kept his gaze focused on the clouds for a few seconds, catching a quick glimpse of a yellow orb high in the sky.

Wonder Girl: "Everything alright?"

Superboy: "Yeah... I just thought I saw something."

(Y/n): "Let's go, we're short on time."

The half Kryptonian turned his attention back to his friends and climbed aboard the bio-ship, convincing himself that his mind was playing tricks on him.

Miss Martian took off immediately after everyone was secured in their seats, flying high into the clouds and back towards the mainland.

Kelso: "National Guard units are on their way to take control of the prison. They should have everything under control soon."

(Y/n): "The prison break is the least of our problems, we need to get to Victoria. Specifically the JTF base where we fought the Black Tusk."

Miss Martian: "Sure, I can take us there, but I thought that place closed down after the Division collapsed? And shouldn't we follow Natalya?"

(Y/n): "It did, but it has something we need. Natalya can wait, this is far more important than anything she's working on."

Nightwing: "Okay, spill it. What's going on? What do we need at that base?"

(Y/n): "I'll fill you in on the way, but to answer your last question... We need ISAC, and we're going to activate him."

——————————————————————

*Mansion Safe House*

*Several Hours Later*

Zatanna and Artemis had assembled a small army. Over thirty agents were crowded in and around the mansion, organizing gear and creating a list over everything they had.

Mary and Traci happened to be at the mansion when the agents began arriving in force.

The girls helped out wherever they could but soon found themselves staying out of the agent's way, preferring to keep Titan occupied in the backyard.

The magician and the Archer compiled a list of everything they'd need to get the Division up and running again, covering the kitchen island with maps, notes and charts of all kinds.

Zatanna: "From what I can tell the only thing we have an abundance of is ammunition."

Agent: "It's hard to grab the heavy equipment when you're scrambling to flee a fascist coup."

Zatanna: "It's not your fault, but it's something we're going to have to deal with. Helicopters, satellites, land vehicles, these are things we need to get the Division operating in a meaningful capacity. The League can help with some of these, but it won't be enough."

Agent: "Where are we supposed to get all that? We're basically crowdfunded at this point. We'll need the backing of the government if we want to get off the ground, and given that Amanda Waller and Cadmus stepped up into the power vacuum we left, I don't see us getting any help from the government."

Zatanna: "Let's just focus on fixing what we can for now. Let me worry about the massive issues on my own."

Agent: "Then I've got another massive issue for you. Your husband, Kelso and Ortega, they're all missing. You've gathered a decent number of agents here, and sure we could find leadership with what we have, but those three are the best at what they do."

The magician smiled softly, keeping her gaze down on the map as she thought about her husband. She drew in a deep breath and prepared herself to get back to work once again.

Zatanna: "Last I heard Nightwing was taking a group of heroes North to track Vanguard down. I haven't heard anything about Kelso or Ortega, but with us looking for them it shouldn't be long before we hear something."

——————————————————————

*JTF Naval Base, Victoria*

The heroes followed (Y/n) and Kelso down into the only ISAC relay. The large server room was abandoned after the Black Tusk revolt and left to collect dust.

Wonder Girl: "So the watch you've been carrying around for over a year turns out to be an AI that's trying to destroy the world?!"

Kelso: "Yes, and the answer was the same the first six times you asked."

Wonder Girl: "How did you not know?!"

(Y/n): "I made a mistake. I thought Keener's plans died with him. I thought ANNA was just a tool for his war against the Justice League. I was wrong to think I could predict what he's capable of."

Superboy: "You've said this before, and now we're cleaning up another mess made by the Division."

The agents chose to ignore the heroes for a moment, continuing down the catwalk towards the control room.

Nightwing: "SB is right. While I don't have a problem fighting bad guys, we need to make sure we aren't making a bigger mess by adding more Division tech into the mix."

Miss Martian: "We just want to know if activating ISAC again is really the right move? If things go wrong ANNA could assimilate him before we know it's happening, then we'd have two AI's to deal with."

(Y/n): "No, I have no idea what will happen, but ISAC is a closed network. Without someone bringing a copy of ANNA's code to this base and uploading her through this terminal, I don't think she could access him."

Kelso: "But there's only one way to find out for sure."

The senior agent unlocked the control room door and gently pushed the door open. The group stepped inside and waited as (Y/n) walked over to the computer and turned on the small console.

Kelso: "Here, it's a good thing they had extras."

Kelso was holding a small box she pulled out from a nearby cabinet, setting it down on the desk and brushing off the dust.

She tore off the lid and rummaged through the paper box, taking out two ISAC watches and the accompanying shoulder nodes.

Kelso: "This will be enough for us, I saw a mobile SHD server in the lab on the way down here. We can take that with us and use it as ISAC's main server given the fact that we don't have the manpower to hold this base. It won't have the same range as this server does, but it will be easier for us to guard."

(Y/n): "One problem at a time. Let's get ISAC back online."

The agent grabbed the watches and placed them beside the computer as the console activated. He and Kelso then entered in their old passwords and pressed enter.

An awkward silence fell over the group as nobody knew what was happening. The computer screen went dark and the lights turned off. Kelso instinctively reached for her gun, scanning the catwalk and the servers below for any hostiles.

Beast Boy: "Great, you broke it."

The younger agent ignored the leader of the Outsiders and kept his gaze focused on the darkness before them.

Without warning the servers activated with a deafening thump. The overhead lights turned on and the small lights on each of the server blocks activated.

The computer monitor went white and an orange ring soon appeared on the center of the screen. The agents let out a sigh of relief as ISAC's mechanical voice rang out from the monitor and their new watches at the same time.

ISAC: "All ISAC subsystems online. All directives activated."

(Y/n): "It's good to have you back buddy."

The agents grabbed their respective watches and fastened them to their wrists before clipping the shoulder node on their jackets.

Kelso: "ISAC, activate the mobile SHD server and mark it as your primary server."

ISAC: "Mobile server activated, warning; incoming tomahawk cruise missile detected. Thirty seconds until impact."

Superboy jumped up through the roof, creating a small hole leading straight up through the building. Wonder Girl and Miss Martian followed him and flew up, scanning for the missile while the others scrambled out of the command room.

(Y/n): "We can't leave without the server!"

Kelso: "In thirty seconds there won't be a server!"

The heroes raced through the abandoned facility and arrived at the lab, crashing through the doors and flipping on the lights.

The mobile server was the size of a large dresser, and about six feet tall.

Beast Boy: "I thought you said it was mobile?!"

Kelso: "It's meant to be used by field teams in remote locations! It's not something that frequently moves around!"

(Y/n): "We're so fucked."

High above the base, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian were searching for the missile. They found it just in time. With mere seconds to spare, Miss Martian knocked the missile off its course, causing it to explode the second its course changed.

Fire filled the sky as the shockwave knocked the two heroes back to the ground. They created small craters as they slammed into the runway, slowly climbing out of the hole and groaning as Superboy jumped to their side.

Superboy: "Nice save, are you two alright?"

Miss Martian: "I think we're fine. But who fired that?"

Wonder Girl: "I don't know, but I do know that my head won't stop ringing."

The blonde hero recovered and brushed the last of the dirt out of her hair as they made their way back to the main building.

Superboy: "Let's get that server onto the bio-ship and then get out of here."

——————————————————————

*Cadmus Headquarters*

Black Manta stepped out from his cell. The former member of the Light was dressed in his full armor and flanked by two of his manga soldiers. The small group marched down the hallway and arrived at an open area full of super powered criminals.

Black Manat: "Task Force X. We have a new mission, and I know you're all going to like this one."

The various criminals slowly formed a semi circle around their leader as a monitor lowered from the ceiling.

Black Manta: "We've been ordered to go after the criminals that attacked Director Waller, and eliminate them."

Harley Quinn: "Ouuu! Who are we taking out?"

Black Manta: "Several Division Agents and any heroes that get in our way. We've got the full support of Cadmus on this. We're going in strong and not taking any prisoners."

The criminals studied the screen as a satellite feed showing the mansion safe house appeared on screen.

Black Manta: "Artemis Crock is rumored to be on site, she's mine to kill. The others you can kill as you like."

The criminals cheered and laughed as they rushed to grab their weapons. Black Manta took one last look at the monitor and smiled, realizing that the revenge he had been dreaming about since his son betrayed him was finally coming to fruition.