Mission Log
Date: Apr. 10, 2012
Report Number: 0055
Filed By: Agent Cameron Chase
Mission Location: Fawcett City
Mission Target: Gorilla Grodd
Mission Details: In another attempt to subjugate an entire town’s will for villainous means, Gorilla Grodd arrived in Fawcett City, formerly the home of Captain Marvel, and exerted his mental powers over the populace. The compulsion sent out to their minds was apparently to bring the children of the city before him in the town square. The exact reason for this compulsion is unknown at this time, due largely to how Grodd was apprehended.
The Justice League arrived on the scene in the Phoenix, Jonathan Else’s flying headquarters, as has become expected at this point. What was not expected was their means of combating Grodd. Two of their number, Zue and the Traveler, rappelled down to Grodd’s location, the former to secure the area and the latter to tag Grodd with what we understand to be some s
ort of targeting beacon. Sufficiently tagged, the Phoenix charged up its primary weapon batteries and focused fire of its lasers down on Grodd himself.
It is worth noting here that, until now, we were unaware of the full destructive capability of the Phoenix’s weapons batteries when focused on a single targer. In an instant, the laser fire had devastated Grodd, breaking his mental control over the crowd and sending him into critical condition. He was then airlifted into the Phoenix for medical attention and, presumably, to assess whether or not he was actually Grodd (see JL Alternates file #0011).
At this point, the populace gathered in the town square had witnessed this outside of mental control and one of the civilians present questioned what the Alternates had just done. This had apparently triggered some sort of negative response in the Traveler, who unholstered a weapon to interrogate the man. When he proved unwilling (or, perhaps more accurately given his frightened state, unable) to answer him, Traveler tackled the man and pinned him to the ground. It is at this point that D.E.O. agents and Knightwatch troops arrived on the scene to secure the area.
The Traveler relinquished his hold on the civilian at our request, but ignored our repeated requests to speak with him, instead opting to leave the scene of the crime. When we insisted with armed Knightwatch troops to secure him, the team on the ground (which now included Hyper Hamster) moved to intercept to protect their teammate. A brief skirmish broke out between the Alternates and the D.E.O., leading to the Traveler’s “death” and detainment.
While Fawcett City is safe from Grodd, we have a new problem on our hands. The Traveler is in D.E.O. custody but refuses to speak. I have been denied access to him, to see if I can get answers where our interviewers cannot. I presume this has something to do with Director Bones and his apparent lack of faith in my assessment of the Justice League Alternates at this time. Even given this recent development, I maintain the belief that the Alternates are working for the protection of mankind, and the entire team’s loyalties should not be called into question by the actions of one seemingly renegade member. I would implore the Director to reconsider his stance on this issue and approve my request to speak to our guest,
to properly sort out how this situation went so wrong, and to defuse a potentially volatile situation before we have another Cadmus incident on our hands.
That being said, I do believe it would be wise to speak with the Alternates and request that the offensive capabilities of the Phoenix are dismantled, or at least redesigned to look less like a laser attack from the sky, for the very reason that the Cadmus incident still sticks in people’s minds. This is especially true in the case of government officials who should be aiding the Justice League in their efforts instead of finding ways to hinder them. It is my belief that lines of communication should be established with them now before things devolve and history repeats itself, but my requests to do just that have been denied as well.
I do hope that saner heads prevail in this, or the government will be directly responsible in turning the remaining heroes of the world against them, and such a senseless conflict will cause irreparable damage to both sides.
And this is what happens when good guys have bad days.
A new chapter begins in my ongoing DC Adventures game, and this one is poised to be the Empire Strikes Back of my superhero saga. What happens when a hero snaps and makes a mistake? Why don’t heroes take the easy way out when it comes to subduing supervillains? Why is it a bad idea to get on the governments bad side when you’re a superhero? We’re going to be answering all these questions and more as the Traveler’s actions cause tension and animosity between the Alternates and the D.E.O.
Stay tuned for the fallout of this confrontation in the coming weeks, especially if you’re a fan of the Suicide Squad… See you in 7!
