Justice League Unlimited: A Saint in Paradise

[JME2]

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League Unlimited: A Saint in Paradise

Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Cadmus War, Amanda Waller prepares to face the consequences of her actions. Please r/r.

Historian’s Note: As indicated in the synopsis, his story is set before the end of “Divided We Fall”, shortly after the League’s Press Confrence.

***

"...since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."

-- Thucydides 5.89.1 (Melian Dialogue) --

***

Built in 1902, the Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States and is located within the West Wing of the White House. Every President since Howard Taft has run his administration from this Office and each subsequent president had, from their chair of command, had guided the country through times both good and bad. Deicisions had been made within these walls that had affected both the few and the many.

Point in case: The Administration had, in the aftermath of the incursion by the fascist-like Justice Lords, decided to formally unite the various R&D programs under a single banner: Project Cadmus. They had appointed Amanda Waller to head Cadmus, charging to research and develop methods and countermeasures to protect both the United States of America and the world at large from the menace of the Justice League.

Now, three years later, Amanda Waller found herself once again within the Oval Office, with the Cadmus Project at the center of discussion. However, Waller strongly suspected that this meeting would prove to be the reverse of that fateful one three years past. Just as Cadmus had emerged from that crucial meeting, today’s would likely see its end.

This time, however, it was different. The NSA Chief and National Security Advisor had both de-briefed and questioned her separately. President Samuel Chatterton had insisted on de-briefing her personally.

There was a part of Waller, though, that didn’t want to face her Commander-in-Chief, but it was not due to fear of him. Rather, she simply wished to direct the clean-up of Site B, the designation for Cadmus’s DC offices. But she was a patriot and like it or not, she would obey the leader of the nation she so loved.

Waller found Chatterton to be seated at his desk as she was ushered into the Oval Office by his secretary. His eyes did not make contact with her, his attention focused on a thick bundle thick bundle of papers. This was the first time she had been in the Oval Office since the San Baquero incident. The President had been furious at General Eiling’s unauthorized usage of a nuke. If it hadn’t been for Waller, Eiling would have been removed not only as the Air Force’s liaison to Cadmus, but from the service as well. It was a fact that she had continually reminded him of during the briefing sessions in which he had proposed courses of action she deemed…extreme.

For example, Eiling had wanted to blast the Watchtower with a full nuclear spread, but Waller had over-ruled him, sending in the Damocles-class missiles with the Ultimen. It was not only out of a desire to minimize bloodshed, but also that thanks to Eiling’s actions, the President had refused to give them clearance to the United States’ nuclear arsenal again after San Baquero.

“Take a seat, Amanda,” he said, gesturing to one of the posh chairs normally occupied by the president’s advisors or visiting dignitaries.

“Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee, juice?”

“Green Tea, if possible” she said. Since she hadn’t slept in almost two days, the coffee and its rich gift of caffeine looked appealing. However, her mother had been addicted to Green tea and had always said it would help you to live longer. And with the situation Waller was finding herself in, it was probably the best immediate remedy.

“Ms. Tessmaucher, one coffee, with cream, and green tea,” the President directed to his intercom as he set the report down.

“Right away, Mr. President.”

Waller was slightly curious why he hadn’t immediately launched into the attack. Some, including rival candidate Lex Luthor, had called Chatteron a softie, saying that he couldn’t react with grace and calmness to any crisis. Waller knew that that was a not entirely inaccurate statement. Yet, Chatteron was more than capable of bringing out the big guns when necessary.

At least when it wasn’t Election season…

The President waited until Ms. Tessmaucher had brought their beverages into the Office moments later before beginning.

“I have here,” he said as he took a sip from his coffee and gesturing to the report he had laid on the office table, “a psychological evaluation of one Alexnader ‘Lex’ Luthor as compiled by one Dr. Hugo Strange – it’s all really interesting stuff, especially where he explicitly notes that Luthor by his very nature is a manipulator and will not stop to get at what he desires.”

Chatterton set the report down on his desk and gazed long and hard at Waller.

“Did you read this report, Amanda?

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

“And yet you ignored Dr. Strange’s evaluation?”

“No. I knew going in that Luthor could potentially be trouble, but I felt the benefits outweighed the costs.”

“Benefits,” he repeated slowly before chuckling softly. However, it was not in the least bit amusing

“Here are your benefits, Amanda.”

And with that, he held up that morning’s edition of the Washington Herald as if he were Moses instructing the people to gaze up at the Ten Commandments handed down to him by the Lord from atop Mount Heron. The front page was lined with a shot of the battered Luthor being taken into custody by military police.

Waller silently cursed at the intrepid reporter who had managed to snag such an image and not get caught by the MP’s. That in turn raised up the fear of looters, of how there was no way to guarantee that the able had been able to make off with little bits of Cadmus tech plucked from the rubble before the arrival of the containment teams.

As with the Question’s forary into Cadmus’ computers, there was no way to be certain exactly what had been made off with; it could have been anything from simple lighting fixtures to Hamilton’s cutting-edge genetic tech. Lord only knew what would happen should it fall into the wrong hands.

“Mr. President,” she said at last, “I—“

“Luthor’s already pleading innocence, that Brainiac was responsible for his actions.”

“That’s not going to fly, not if I have anything to say about it,” Waller countered. “That snake tried to blow up Cadmus and everyone with it.”

“The courts will see to that – as will the media, who’s having a field day with this, by the way. Some of the more extreme right-wing networks are even claiming that this was all an elaborate hoax orchestrated by me to remain in office past my term. And this is just the beginning. Wherever there’s a question, people will be screaming for an answer.”

Or if you’re an Arkham inmate named Edward Nygma perhaps, Waller mused. Of course she knew of some as obscure as the Riddler. Just as Cadmus had dossiers on all of the Leaguers, so too did they possess files on each and everyone one of their documented adversaries. Why else had they brought a number of them on board with their operations?

This had been to the dismay of several in the higher echelons of the Project. They had compared her use of criminals like Achilles Milo and Task Force X to the United States’ enlistment of Nazi war criminals for anti-Cold War activities. ‘It’s hard to be a saint in Paradise,’ she had replied on numerous occasions and it was true. What steps was one willing to take to safeguard that which they loved?

“So perhaps you can supply an answer for me. You appreciate the chain of command, don’t you Ms. Waller?”

“I do.”

“Then perhaps you can explain why it is that I gave you a direct order not to activate any of the Project’s contingencies or safeguards until we were absolutely certain of the Justice League’s guilt or innocence and instead, you ignored those orders, Amanda. You launched the Ultimen without my consent.”

“For all we knew, the Justice League had incapacitated you and the rest of the government. We needed to take action and I made the choice. “Every moment we waited was another advantage for the League.”

That was partly true. The part she left out was that her Commander-in-Chief was a sniveling little, consummate politician who as too afraid to make a decision with the election so close.

“Well, your pre-emptive strike failed spectacularly. The League easily repulsed the legion of Ultimen, a legion that represents an investment of several billion dollars. Then, to make matters worse, had they succeeded, your team leader would have blown the Watchtower up.”

“My team leader ignored and misinterpreted my orders to neutralize the League’s base,” Waller replied, silently damming Galatea and all the trouble that the Project: Power Girl had brought to Cadmus.

“It seems the ignorance of orders runs in Cadmus. Amanda, do you realize what would have happened if Galatea had succeeded? We’re talking about a space station blowing up, a station that happens to be in a low orbit. Didn’t you realize that all that debris had to go somewhere? Christ, it would have been like the Kasnia Rail Gun incident all over again.”

He stood up and turned to face the windows of the Oval Office, gazing out at the grounds of the White House and trying to calm himself.

“The sum of it all Amanda,” he finally said at last, “is that Project Cadmus been one giant fiasco from day one. And most of this can be laid I am tempted. I am very tempted to have your removed from your post.”

So you can save your own ass, Waller thought bitterly.

“But I’m not going to.”

What?

“Let me explain, First off, the majority of the projects and operations connected to Cadmus will be shut down. Several are still of use to us, however, Task Force X especially. Either way, all these activities will remain classified at the highest level. Only a select few in all three branches will be aware of Cadmus’ existence. In the case of the Watchtower, the boarding party was compromised of Delta Force operatives.

“But what about the blast in New Mexico? Luthor could use Cadmus’ existence as blackmail or collateral.”

“The courts will find Luthor/Brainiac was simply operating on outdated intelligence against a government program tasked with tracking possible extra-terrestrial incursions.”

Inwardly, Waller groaned. The “Men in Black” defense had been done to death.

“As for Luthor opening his mouth, let me worry about that; he’s already got the full weight of the government weighing down on him for the stunt he pulled. Now, we come to your status. I take it you saw the League’s press conference?’

“Obviously.”

“Then you know that the League intends to establish an embassy on planet, so as to better serve and live alongside the very people they have vowed to protect. Obviously, the U.S. will be among those countries establishing a new liaison with the Justice League. I want you to be that liason.”

For a long moment, Waller was certain that her commander-in-chief was building towards what could amount to the most sadistic joke she had ever heard. His expression assured her, however, that it was no joke.

“You have got to be kidding.”

“I have never been more serious, Amanda.”

“With all due respect sir, I’m not an ambassador, I’m a projects administrator. And secondly, I just tried to kill most of these individuals. Isn’t akin to sending the hunter back into the lion’s den after kidnapping the cub?”

“I would make it clear that any harm to your person would result in severe repercussions from this office and the armed forces.”

The conversation continued along these lines of back-and-forth for the next hour as Waller attempted to remove the idea of appointing her to the position of US Government liaison to the Justice League, but with little luck. When Waller finally exited the Oval Office an hour later, she was certain that she was the highlight of the Almighty’s daily cosmic, gag reel.

No, it wasn’t right to think something like that; her mother had tried to instill in her the joy of spirituality. Yet despite that, she had never allowed her life to be dominated by religion, only her country. Now, while she had never asked for any real reward, her country was prepared to bestow upon her one. Should Congress approve an affirmation -- she had a horrible suspicion, giving the enemies she had made in the House and Senate, that they would find such an appointment poetic justice – then this reward woud likely become a curse.

But then it, it was hard to be a saint in paradise.

***

The End -- For Now...

***

Annotations and Author’s Notes
* Thanks goes out once again to Steve of Stardestroyer.Net for troubleshooting and inspiration and to actress C.C.H Pounder for bringing Amanda Waller to life in the DCUA.

* The DCUA President’s name was never given on-screen.

* Ms. Tessmaucher is of course an in-joke to the Christopher Reeves Superman films.

* The cosmic gag reel is a reference to Al Pacino’s rant in The Devil’s Advocate.

Episodes/Movies Referenced
Batman Beyond: “Return of the Joker”

Justice League: “Maid of Honor”, “A Better World”, “The Doomsday Sanction”, “Task Force X”, “Question Authority”, “Flashpoint”, “Panic in the Sky”, “Divided we Fall”, “Epilogue”

[Steve]

Very very good.

[LadyTevar]

Very nicely done.

[brianeyci]

Good, I'm looking forward to seeing Cadmus regain its influence and start Batman Beyond. Also looking forward to seeing how Superman dilutes the Justice League, and whether it will be as effective (they no longer will have the watchtower, so their response will be slower, less co-ordinated, there will be no chain of command and just a hotline, etc, etc, all of these will have repercussions).

Brian

[Shroom Man 777]

They WILL have a Watchtower, an unarmed one with earth-bound embassies.