"Dane, Batman has already departed." Cortana, who constantly monitored every Justice League hero, detected Bruce's movement immediately.
Dane merely nodded at the news, saying nothing.
"Connect Amanda Waller."
Cortana nodded and performed dream magic.
In Gotham, Amanda sat in her business car, filled with anxiety.
Though she appeared calm and composed at Wayne Manor, she was truly on edge, merely putting on a brave face.
Lost in thought, Amanda suddenly noticed how quiet her surroundings were. She saw the car had stopped.
"What's going on?" she asked the driver, but received no response.
So she took a lady's handgun from her bag, opened the door, and got out.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she noticed more anomalies: everything around her was still, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
"What's happening?"
She could probably guess it was a supernatural event, but she didn't know who was targeting her.
"Amanda Waller."
She spun around, her gun instinctively raised, only to see Shazam standing there.
"Shazam..." She lowered her handgun.
"I heard you wanted to see me." Dane's expression was indifferent.
"The United States needs you all." Amanda tried to play the patriotism card.
But Dane chuckled: "Doesn't look like it. Don't you have the Suicide Squad and the Justice Society? I see them working quite hard."
Dane could honestly say there was no sarcasm in his words.
But to Amanda's ears, it clearly sounded like he was mocking her.
"We need more power, and... I heard you already knew this would happen."
Hearing that she was trying to shift blame and demand answers, Dane immediately said:
"If you can't correct your attitude, then this conversation is over."
Such an attitude when asking for help? Dane turned to leave.
"Wait!" Amanda quickly stopped him. "I apologize for my attitude."
Dane was no longer interested in playing word games with her. He stated directly:
"I can tell you explicitly that we have been monitoring this enemy all along. The reason we didn't inform you is because you are untrustworthy. You know what I'm talking about."
Whether it was the anti-hero sentiment that suddenly flared up in public opinion recently.
Or the covert actions of official organizations, all indicated that the U.S. leadership harbored ill will towards superheroes.
Dane could understand, but standing on a different side, he couldn't accept it.
And most importantly, the government's internal structure had already been infiltrated by "parasites," making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
Under these circumstances, notifying Checkmate would be tantamount to exposing themselves.
Amanda also understood this point, and she was very distressed.
Doctor Fate had already agreed to help Checkmate, and it would only take a little more time to completely root out all the "eyes" within Checkmate.
But she had been blinded by the news about Teth-Adam and had wasted this opportunity. However, this didn't seem related to the problem they were currently facing, did it?
Amanda had a bit of a headache. The alien infiltration hadn't ended, and now there was this demon situation. The U.S. was like a leaky house, with two leaks at once.
She even suspected that the Military might have already been controlled by the alien creatures, which was why they had been completely inactive during this incident.
Her guess was very close to the truth; she just lacked a bit of imagination and hadn't realized that the two incidents were actually the work of the same perpetrator.
"You want the Justice League's help? You can have it." Dane first gave her some encouraging news, but then continued.
"But before that, I want to meet the President."
"That's impossible!" Amanda subconsciously refused.
"I need to discuss the Justice League's positioning in detail with him." Dane ignored her refusal.
Although the President of the United States is merely a representative of capital, it doesn't mean he is entirely a puppet.
Undeniably, during his tenure as President, he could almost be called the most powerful person in the World.
Especially in a country like the United States, with its immense global influence, a single word from the President can have far-reaching effects worldwide.
"The President won't see you." Amanda frowned.
Although the United States doesn't have the saying "a gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall," it has a similar meaning. Is the President of a nation someone you can just demand to see?
"I think it's more appropriate for the President himself to tell me that." Dane smiled meaningfully.
He was not just Shazam; he was also the capitalist Dane Davis.
It is well known that capitalists are the fathers of the United States, so he was also one of them.
Vanguard Technology also had its supported politicians in Congress, and even its protégés in the Military.
However, their official positions were generally not high. It wasn't that they couldn't be bought, but rather that politicians who reached a certain level were all master 'fish farmers,' and Vanguard Technology had no interest in becoming a fish in such a politician's pond.
After completing the mission assigned by General Lane, Amanda had been promoted to one of the Checkmate chairs, with the authority to directly contact the President.
Dane believed that the President was currently overwhelmed with problems and would be willing to meet him.
Although he could go directly, it would seem like bullying, and the Justice League couldn't give off that impression.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be the Justice League, but the Crime Syndicate.
Seeing his insistence, Amanda had no choice but to call the President's office.
To her surprise, the President agreed very easily, without any hesitation.
She didn't know, but Dane was very clear: Shabak had already brought the war to Washington, and the White House was now in jeopardy, yet the Military still showed no movement.
Under the diligent infiltration of the "parasites," the United States, militarily speaking, was now completely paralyzed. The President needed to secure any available power at this moment.
After hanging up the phone, Amanda still looked a bit dazed. She knew that from this moment on, the Justice League was no longer just a civilian organization.
When she looked up again, Shazam had vanished, and time had resumed its flow around her.
Gotham felt like a paradise. After seeing so much chaos in the outside World, Amanda actually found this place beautiful.
She shivered, immediately got into the car, told the driver a certain address, and the car started moving again... Meanwhile, Dane teleported into the White House, meeting the current President at the Resolute Desk.
They talked for a while, and eventually, Dane left satisfied.
After he left, the chief of staff asked the President worriedly: "Mr. President, this kind of thing..."
The President raised a hand to interrupt him: "If it were the United States of the past, I certainly wouldn't agree, but now the United States no longer has the ability to stop them, and..."
"We now need the power of the Justice League."
The chief of staff remained silent. Ultimately, it was their own weakness, being caught by the enemy. Now, with the Military's situation unknown, they were completely unresponsive.
However, the President's thoughts ran deeper than what he told his chief of staff.
Checkmate had previously reported to him about the enemy's infiltration of their internal ranks. At the time, he thought it was only a small part.
Now it seemed the extent of the infiltration was far greater than imagined.
There was even a possibility that the entire upper echelon of the Military had been replaced, which would mean the U.S. Army was now an enemy of the United States.
And nuclear weapons were in their hands!
This was the most severe problem.
Fortunately, after the Coast City incident, they had implemented strict institutional reforms regarding the use of nuclear weapons. The Military alone could not obtain the right to activate nuclear weapons.
Now, nuclear weapons required the President, most members of Congress, and the entire Military to agree before activation. Without even one condition, the activation code could not be obtained.
But the President didn't know how much longer they could hold out. He could only pray that the Justice League could truly solve this problem perfectly... After returning to the Hall of Justice, Dane immediately contacted Martian Manhunter, telling him to act at once and root out the spies hidden within the Military.
The President knew about the nuclear weapons, and of course, he did too.
Most Justice League heroes did not have the ability to deal with nuclear weapons, so this issue had to be addressed first.
At the same time, he sent a message to the other Justice League members, telling them to be ready for battle at any moment!
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