See No Evil: See No Light (Patreon)

As one would expect, finding out the President of the UN was secretly a robot being piloted by an ankle biter of an alien… well, it raised some concerns. How long had aliens been secretly guiding the UN for? Why were they doing it? If the UN President was an alien then who else could be one? Was the President of America an alien? Was that cute waitress an alien? Was I an alien and just didn't know it?

The panic, which was being kept under wraps to prevent the world from finding out, caused a major breakdown in negotiations. The imminent collapse of the world economy was old news. People had a new thing to freak out about -- aliens controlling our governments. It felt like the title of an old sci-fi book or the proclamation of some conspiracy nut. It just goes to show that the truth really was stranger than fiction.

"Who benefits?" I asked no one in particular as I lounged in my assigned suite for the summit. I'm not sure if it calling it a suite was right, given that every single room in the 'hotel' could be considered a suite, but it's what I was calling it. I laid flat on the bed, dressed in a more casual suit after changing and washing off all the oil that had gotten on my face.

"You know who benefits," Tifa said from the bathroom, washing off the makeup she had put on for the gala.

To that, I nodded. "But how do they benefit?" I changed my question, not seeing it. The natural assumption was that the Light had orchestrated the fake UN president's assassination. If they knew that he was really a robot piloted by an alien, that was anyone's guess, but that was neither here nor there. The assassination lead to a complete breakdown of negotiations. Through the bugs I planted, I could hear that it was all that anyone was talking about. The backroom deals were forgotten, even broken off, because there was a chance the deal had been made with an impostor.

It was chaos. Complete pandemonium. The ramification of the reveal that the UN President was an alien would completely break the confidence its member nations had in the UN. That anyone had in any government body. I just didn't see how the Light benefited from this. I thought back to what I knew of the show -- I knew the Reach had been a part of the second season, something about stealing their tech by inviting them to Earth or something. It seemed pretty stupid because… yeah, it was.

The backlash from this would be felt by all aliens staying on Earth -- so Superman would get hit with the wave of anti-terrestrialism, as would a few other members of the Justice League like Icon.

Sure, that was a benefit for the Light, but right now society was taking hits on the chin like never before, and it was about to get knocked flat on its ass. It wasn't worth the cost. The cons of the move far outweighed the pros.

"How will we benefit?" 2B asked, knowing that was the most important question of them all. How would we benefit? The UN just lost all of its credibility with America and China -- the two super powers were handed a damn good reason to not listen to the international government. War was a possibility now. I hadn't really thought it would be, but what do you do when the mediator for peace was revealed to be an alien?

There was that to worry about, but… I was an American company first and foremost. The Chinese market was lucrative, but I could live without it… no, that was thinking too small. I should look to dealing with the other major countries through back channels. I needed proxies and agents across the globe. I brainstormed on strategies while I took action elsewhere.

A team of my Androids were active in Mexico. All disguised and given falsified records to grant them new identities. They had established a small cartel at my order, while a separate team instigated a gang war between the two largest cartels -- one of which turned out to be sponsored by the American government. The kind of secrets you learned at the big boys table…

The sparks of war had already found some kindling, in the beginnings of a gang war.

That conflict would allow my proxy cartel to rise to power. When the ball finally got rolling, my cocaine alternative would hit the open market. My proxy wouldn't touch normal cocaine so they would be untouched by the consequences of the collapse of the drug trade as two of its major suppliers went to arms. A second and third group of proxy cartels was also in the works, well on their way to being established so interfering powers would have some convenient, ready made alternatives to look to instead of starting from the ground up to funnel their resources into when they inevitably tried to topple my main proxy cartel.

The plan was to do the same across the planet. Snowflame was my proxy in Brazil, but I needed more. I needed to take what I've done to Gotham to an international level. Which rounded back to the original point -- I couldn't be seen picking sides, no one could know who my friends were.

"I have some ideas," I answered 2B's question, staring up at the ceiling. So far, the intel about the UN President was being kept under wraps -- but the reveal of his 'death' would have multi faceted consequences when it hit international news. First of course was the alien issue, but the second less obvious one was the reveal that we were all here. All the world's leaders, the heads of major corporations. All of us meeting off the books a day before we were supposed to, all discussing topics that had nothing to do with the listed reason for the summit.

It got me to thinking. If the world saw that the heads of state thought the economy was fucked beyond all hopes of repair and were jockeying for ways to take advantage…

What would happen?

"I don't like that tone of voice, Vergil," Tifa noted, stepping outside of the bathroom, clean and refreshed.

"I don't have a tone," I defended, pretending as if I hadn't been considering intentionally collapsing the world economy. The idea rang around in my head like a bell, spawning possibilities and plans. The dollar bill was a speculative currency in practice. So was all money now. From stocks to NFT's. The value of currency today came from what economic experts said the value was in comparison to other speculative sums, that were in turn provided by other experts that people trusted, because they had a lot of money.

If I said a dollar was worth a hundred dollars, then I was an idiot. However, if America said that the dollar was worth a hundred, then it was worth a hundred dollars. Value was something that society assigned an object rather than something that was innately determined.

Tifa gave me a look.

{PB}

"Okay, I had a tone. But it wouldn't be… bad," I said, but it absolutely would be bad. It would be terrible.

At the same time, it would be perfect. Collapsing the global economy might sound bad for me and my company considering that I was a multibillionaire and a lot of that lost its value if the economy went to shit. However, I didn't care about money. I just cared about what it could do for me. And the idea I had kicking around my skull could do a lot for me and the world economy. It would be messy. For me and the world, but… if things were heading that way anyway, then there were certain advantages to being the one the collapsed the house of cards.

She kept giving me a look but sighed before passing me a small rolled up scroll that was barely an inch long. "I was passed this on the way out," she informed me as I read the contents. A room number and a time. "Who are you meeting?"

"The League of Shadows, probably," I answered, reviewing the footage to see that it was Jade that had slipped her the message. And… I couldn't help myself. I cut out a clip from the footage showing the assassination of the UN President from one of the security cameras -- the original source had already been expunged from record, but my contacts had recorded the recording.

I didn't do anything with it yet. I just sent Pod a message with some instructions and asked my supercomputer contacts what would happen if I collapsed the world economy.

"The assassins? What do they want with us?" she asked, taking a seat on the bed.

"Probably to cut a deal -- I give them money and resources and they don't kill me when offered a contract. I've been looking at the numbers -- most assassin guilds make most of their money from people paying them not to kill them, than from actually murdering people," I said, earning a sound of faint amusement from Tifa. "It's a good business model. Getting paid to do nothing. But it all hinges on their reputation for assassinating those that don't pay their protection money."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Tifa said, realizing that it was just a normal extortion scheme for a protection racket. From the streets to government office to ancient murder cults… they all used the same playbook. "King Arthur wanted to speak to us about our pollution initiatives."

I already knew that. "I'll deal with the murder cult, then the King of Atlantis," I told her, sitting up. 2B was standing near the wall across from the bed. She met my gaze and offered me a small nod, before I looked to Tifa. "I should only be a bit -- try to cozy up to Wonder Woman. I think you two would like each other," I told her and Tifa offered a slight smile, telling me that had already been on the agenda.

Connections with the heroes were important. The official stance towards me was 'hands off' but I was hoping with a little schmoozing, they would see friends in Tifa, 2B, or Cass. With the expectation of being able to influence me through them.

Stepping out of the door, I listened in on the various conversations around me -- getting a feel for the level of panic people were feeling… as well as keeping me informed of any of their rash decisions. The uncertainty of it all had settled in, and it was only a statement from the Justice League members in attendance that the alien had been caught and they were working to find and rescue the UN President right now that was keeping this house of cards from collapsing.

They were setting stages, just as I was. Mine just looked a bit different. As I walked, my contacts gave the answer I had been looking for. The worst case scenario wasn't a complete collapse of society. Factoring in the heroes and villains, society would remain standing.

So, I asked it another question and waited for it to think about it.

"Will there be no more dancing?" 2B suddenly asked as we walked, catching my attention. I slowed my pace to make sure I was walking next to her. "Cassandra enjoys dancing," she told me, and I did think Cassandra enjoyed it more than she let on. She had a soft spot for ballet, but she had taken a liking to hip-hop and even breakdancing. The more the body was involved, the sweeter the song, so to speak. "I thought… I might enjoy it as well," 2B finished. The implication clear.

I offered her a lopsided smile, diverting my thoughts from the upcoming visit and my future plans for a moment. "If there's not, you'll still get your dance, 2B. I promise," I told her, earning a small but pleased smile. She had really started to open up. First it was the clothes, then the expressions, and now she was voicing what she wanted. What happened during No Man's Land gave her a confidence boost.

I would have spoken more to her, but we arrived at the door. Standing in front of it, I didn't bother to knock because I knew the people on the other end already knew I was here. Predictably, the door swung open to reveal…

Deathstroke the Terminator. He wore his signature black and orange facemask, and his skintight armor. He was half a foot taller than me, built like a brick shit house, and armed to the teeth. A single whited out eye regarded me, searching my face for any signs of intimidation or fear.

There were none.

"She stays out here," he told me in a rough voice that left no room for argument. I gave him a lazy smile.

"And leave me trapped in a room with Deathstroke the Terminator? I'm far too big of a coward to ever do such a thing. I'm also not a moron, so that helps too," I told him, not outright telling him that she was coming in with me, but I sure as hell implied it. To that end, 2B's katana appeared, hovering behind her back, daring Deathstroke to challenge me on where she could go.

I expected more of a fight, but instead, he simply jerked his head in a nod. "Very well then," he decided, stepping back and allowing us inside a pitch black room. My contacts instantly adjusted to the darkness, revealing Ra's Al Ghul sitting on a rather uncomfortable looking lounge chair. There was no bed in the room, and instead, I saw several computer screens.

Huh. I stepped inside, unafraid as my contacts gave me my answer for my last question. The prognosis looked better. Deathstroke closed the door behind me as I gave Pod new orders, the plan taking shape even as I came to a stop in the middle of the room.

The lights didn't turn on, but the computer screens did, bathing me in a harsh white light that my contacts dimmed. The atmosphere was lost on me -- Ra's Al Ghul was meant to be bathed in shadows, still hiding his face, but I easily able to see the slight pleased smile he wore on his face.

"I believe you hold something of mine," Ra's Al Ghul spoke, his voice calm, but there was a deadly edge to it. I heard his arrogance in the simple sentence. How he looked down on me as Deathstroke secured the exit out of the room.

I gave him a winning smile, looking directly into his eyes. "That I do. But, you haven't exactly given me a reason to want to give him back. Unfortunate name aside, Sportsmaster has some useful skills. What's to assure me that you won't try to steal from me again?" I asked him and that slight smile he wore fell a fraction of a fraction, realizing that I could see him through the dark shadows and harsh light. I bet that was embarrassing.

"Protection," Ra's Al Ghul began. "A life for a life."

"Hm," I hummed, taking out a card and flicking it between my fingers. "Not enough."

"You will be killed. Your bodyguard serves you well, but all it takes is one mistake, Vergil St. Jude. It might not be today, nor tomorrow, but you will die by my assassin's blades," he swore, speaking as if it were a fact. 2B tensed at that, but she didn't make a move, waiting for my reaction.

"I know," I told him, my tone casual. I wasn't so sure if he could actually kill me. My creations with tech and magic were expanding, the gaps in my defense shrinking, but a fact about life was that there was no foolproof plan. There was no perfect defense. I couldn't bet on him never finding a flaw. Especially when I knew he would go after other people I loved when he couldn't find one in me. "Still, not enough."

There was a note of approval on Ra's Al Ghul's face, "What would be a fair price to have a skilled servant returned to me?"

I told him who I wanted dead and he gave a considering look before offering a single nod. "It will be done," he said. With the deal made, I flicked the card to the ground between us and unsealed Sportmaster's body. It was as fresh as it had been the day that I killed him. I wasn't too sure of the specifics of the soul, though. The afterlife was a thing, and the logistics of getting a soul out of heaven, or in this case hell, was probably a head scratcher after a month and a half.

But that wasn't really my concern.

"You state your intention is for humanity to adapt to its ever changing circumstances," Ra's Al Ghul spoke, and here came the sales pitch. "Your efforts in Gotham have shown that it's more than words spoken to justify actions taken in the name of the Greater Good."

"We are a group of like-minded individuals," one of the computers spoke, the screen shining brighter.

"Political leaders, entrepreneurs, and scientists -- all of us have gathered together to bring about humanity's destiny of ascension to a universal juggernaut." Another computer screen picked up, and I can see the subtle manipulation going on. They were crafting their sales pitch to fall in line with my own agenda. They were presenting themselves as assets to use.

"We have watched your progress since the beginning." Another computer spoke, all of their voices warped to prevent identification.

"And we would like to present an invitation. A possibility to join our number once you prove yourself worthy," Ra's Al Ghul finished and there was a deafening silence in the room. I saw this coming. It was just earlier than anticipated. I had been offered a chance at joining the Light.

I made an expressive frown, appearing to give it some thought, "And what would it take to earn that invitation?" I asked, tilting my head ever so slightly.

"To implement hypnotic technology that will be provided to you into your apps," Ra's Al Ghul said as if that were a completely reasonable thing to ask. "It shall give subtle suggestions to certain types of actions."

The buy-in to join the Light was pretty steep, huh? I ran through a few possibilities in my head -- going with it, then going to tattle to the Justice League seemed like a safe bet. But I knew they had a spy in the hero side of things. Or they had had a spy. I couldn't remember. Regardless, that course of action had some risk. Reaching out through Concerned Citizen? Possibly.

There was another possibility.

"No thanks," I said, dismissing the offer entirely with a slight smile on my face. Ra's Al Ghul's expression froze before shifting into a glower.

"It would be in your best interest to agree to the proposal. We are not a group to be denied," Ra's spoke, that deadly edge in his tone far more prevalent.

I continued to smile, "Oh, I'm sure. However, what you're proposing is… how to be polite about this… completely and utterly fucking idiotic," I said, pretending to grasp at the words. "For starters, it's only a matter of time before someone catches on. Which leads directly to my company, and so far, we've managed to avoid any mud on our name. Depending on what suggestions you intend, the criminal acts levied would severely damage my reputation."

My smile grew, "It's so damn dumb that I can only assume that you want me to get caught. So, it's either proof of loyalty, or you're idiots devaluing an asset."

"I am not accustomed to being spoken to in that manner," Ra's Al Ghul informed, offering no hint on which was the case.

"This offer is a formality. Our will shall be done. The tech will be implemented in your devices, with or without your consent." Another voice chipped in as I butted heads against the Light, locking horns with them to see who would budge first. To see what I could get away with.

A chuckle escaped me, "You mean that little gift Donovan Young attempted to upload into my servers?" I asked, referring to one of their many attempts to subvert my systems. There was a beat of silence, so I filled it. "Jonathan Embers, Alexander Smith, Emilie Porchus, and Danny Tosh to name a few. You have been busy infiltrating my company. And I suppose I should thank you -- they have been very diligent employees."

I caught them there. Now they knew that I knew about their attempts with the implication that I knew about them before stepping into the room.

"2B, if Deathstroke attacks, please don't kill him. I might need his services at a later date," I said, continuing without missing a beat. A declaration of intent. That if it came to a fight then 2B would win handily and that there would be a later date. What mattered right now was controlling the conversation. To dominate it. To make it clear that if I joined the Light, it was on my terms, not theirs. A very difficult thing considering the members of the Light.

"It matters not," a computer screen that had been silent until this point spoke. "You can be replaced in our plans." he was belittling me. Tactically. Reducing my importance to them to make me uncertain if I was someone they could replace so easily. That I was just the first in a long line of others that could get this sales pitch.

"Really? Well, bring him out then," I said, interjecting and very pointedly turning around to look at the door. Ra's Al Ghul frowned deeply at the sign of disrespect. I waited for a very long moment, and the door didn't open. "No? Nobody? You know…" I began slowly, the casual and downright friendly tone melting away to a far more serious voice that was every bit as deadly as Ra's Al Ghul's.

"After… what, fifty thousand years on this planet, I would think that at least you would have the whole grandstanding thing down by now," I said, turning around very slowly, very deliberately. It was an intentional reveal that put the Light all the way on the back step. Because, now, I know a lot more about them than they did about me. "I mean, that was a prime opportunity to show me up just now. So far, I'm not impressed."

There was a beat of telling silence, "The Light. Some of the most powerful people on the planet. You've even gotten the better of the Justice League a couple of times. Yet, I find myself so very disappointed with you all. The only thing that could disappoint me more if you had some tagline like 'you will see the Light' or something." Another beat of silence. "Oh, you do, do you? Right. This is certainly awkward, isn't it?"

The conversation was far from done, but I was winning. I could feel it in the air. Ra's Al Ghul's expression was so impassive it was clear as day he was royally pissed off.

"It seems that we underestimated you, Vergil St. Jude. I do hope that you know that you are not beyond reprisal?" A computer screen asked, dropping the modulated voice to reveal the rough tone of Vandal Savage.

"Are you really sure you want to play that game with me?" I asked, meeting him head on.

There was a chuckle, "All of ours for one of yours. How cute."

"Thank you," I replied instantly, "I will admit -- destroying all of Bialya will be a task, but I have faith in myself." I said, showing that I knew exactly who I was speaking to. The computer screens were whited out for me…

But they were not whited out for Lex Luthor.

"I'll have you know, I'm already prepared! Stealth tech is a marvelous thing, you know? Makes it so very easy to deposit little care packages of white phosphorus in nooks and crannies that no one thinks to look in. Like, for one, under your desk," I said, still smiling pleasantly.

I had prepared for this confrontation. The moment Lex Luthor had come to my expo, I had been preparing for this confrontation. It's why I stole the Batcomputer in the first place -- to get all the intel he had on the Light. I made plans, I made preparations, I plotted and schemed. All for this moment. So I could win this conversation that would set the tone of our entire relationship.

I watched as Lex Luthor watched Queen Bee very calmly mute herself, look under her desk, and with a rapidly paling face, she nodded to confirm my care package was there. My Androids with stealth suits had been so very busy.

The Light were powerful. However, their power came from their ability to hide in the shadows. Once they were… heh… brought into the light, they became vulnerable.

"Do you have the will to follow through on that threat?" Ra's Al Ghul asked me, gazing at me intently.

"I do. Just like I'll detonate that thermonuclear bomb I had delivered to Infinity Island a week ago. Or the ones I had FedEx'd to Metropolis," I added, making Lex Luthor's lips thin as he realized I knew he was a member of the Light. "I'll feel bad about it. I will. But a promise is a promise," I said, offering a dismissive shrug with a 'what can you do?' attitude. I just really hoped that they wouldn’t test me on my willingness. If they watched me like they said they had, then they should know about my willingness to carry out my threats.

I gazed hard at the computer that represented Vandal Savage, who gaze back indifferently. "So, by all means, play that game. Just know that I'll make sure that there are no winners."

"... That will be unnecessary," Vandal Savage decided, maintaining his composure. I could practically see the cogs in his head rapidly shifting, wondering exactly how much I knew, and more importantly, how I learned it. “Shall we take this as a refusal to join the Light?” he asked me, still calm as could be. Queen Bee was issuing orders while she was muted on her end, and Lex was frowning at me, likely mulling over our every interaction up until now.

I shook my head, “Oh, of course not. After all, we have very similar goals. It only makes sense for us to work together.” I responded, my tone returning to its casual friendliness. “Do I get a cool codename? Like Lightbringer?”

To that, Vandal Savage’s lips curled upwards in a faint smile, seeing the introduction for what it was -- me establishing myself not as a pawn, but an equal. I had gotten the drop on them. They knew it, and they didn’t know how I did it. That was important. They would discover the answer soon enough -- or, what they suspected the answer to be.

My theft of the Batcomputer. Which is why they wouldn’t suspect my real source of information.

“Very well then,” Vandal Savage said, steepling his hands together as he leaned closer to the camera as if to get a better look at me. “Welcome to the Light, Vergil St. Jude.”

With that welcome, the war between us had officially begun.