Absolute Justice

This still needs final proofreading

Clark: This is Clark. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.4CB91D48.JPG

[ Beep ]

Chloe: Clark, this is Chloe with message number one-too-many. I know trying to lead a contingent of Kryptonians looking for a new lease on life is putting a lot of weight on your shoulders, and I don't want to add to that, but I'm still trying to set up an official meeting with our supergang. Clark, we're playing too fast and loose. We need to start taking this more seriously.

[ Static, electronic beeping ]

[ Thud ]

[ Rustling ]

Chloe: Who are you?

Sylvester: My name's Sylvester Pemberton. You and I share something in common. We're both trying to bring a team together.

Chloe: I don't know what you're talking about.

Sylvester: You're the one they call Watchtower.

Chloe: Watchtower?

Sylvester: Technology today makes hiding a whole lot harder, Miss Sullivan. When someone like you reaches out and plugs into so many outlets, someone else is bound to pull out one of those cords and follow it back to the source. You're lucky a friend did it first.

Chloe: Friends? Friends don't sneak up on each other in a dark alley.4CB91DA3.JPG

[ Thunder rumbles, wind whistles ]

Chloe: [ Sighs ] Is it just me, or did it get really cold really fast?

[ Air whooshes ]

Chloe: Hey!

Sylvester: Stay down, Miss Sullivan.

[ Lid slams ]

[ Glass shattering ]

[ Gasps ]

[ Sylvester screams ]

[ Screaming continues ]

[ Man laughs evilly ]

[ Air whooshes ]

Chloe: [ Gasping ] Help! Somebody, help!

Sylvester: They came after us. They'll come after all of you.

Chloe: Wha--

Sylvester: Check.

Chloe: What? Check what? Check what?! Who are you? Who's coming?!

[ Siren wailing ]

Clark: Chloe, are you okay?

Chloe: Yeah. Just some moderate frostbite and a little sleep deprivation. Nothing a cup of hot cocoa and a nap won't fix. But the real question is, are you okay? I haven't heard from you in days.

Clark: Yeah, we've been playing phone tag.

Chloe: Uh, no, phone tag implies two people. I've been playing phone solitaire. Not nearly as much fun.

Clark: I'm sorry. I've been meaning to call.

Chloe: Clark, it's okay. No apology is needed. Protecting the streets of Metropolis and chasing down Lois Lane is more than enough to juggle. Add to that you're now leading 4CB91F3A.JPGthe secret city Kandorians

Clark: I'm only helping them find their place here. They're trying to make Earth their home, like J'onn J'onzz did when he got a job in the police department and became a detective.

Chloe: So, what? You're expecting the Kandorians to just become firemen and short-order cooks?

Clark: They need to make their own lives and then move on from there. Who was he?

Chloe: His name was Sylvester Pemberton, but other than that, I haven't got a clue.

[ Dialing ]4CB91F6F.JPG

Chloe: But I'm gonna get one. Hi, again. I just want to make sure you have all my contact info in case you need anything else.

I think I'm all set, Miss Sullivan. Thank you.

[ Beep ]

Courtney: No! What do you mean?! He can't be dead! D-don'T. [ Sobbing ] [ Sniffles ]

Clark: Are you all right?

Courtney: [ Sighs ] My friend was murdered.

Clark: I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Do you want to sit down?

Courtney: What is wrong with you people?

Clark: Us people?

Courtney: The press. Haven't you vultures done enough to Sylvester?

Clark: I wasn't looking for a quote. I --

Courtney: Just stay the hell away from me.

Chloe: What was that drama about?

Clark: She obviously has a problem with reporters. She's friends with Sylvester Pemberton.4CB91FC9.JPG

Chloe: Pemberton knew about Watchtower. He wore some kind of weird uniform. He had a weapon that could control light. He was killed by ice from someone or something. I'm getting some serious Wall of Weird flashbacks here, Clark. I know that you have a lot of things pressing right now, but this is a job for Clark Kent. His final phone call lasted 30 minutes. It was with a guy named Wesley Dodds. You need to go check it out.

[ Clock ticking ]

Wesley: [ Screaming ] [ Screaming ]

Icicle: [ Laughs evilly ] You dreamt about me, didn't you, Mr. Dodds? But that's what you do. You dream about killing. It's time for The Sandman to finally have a good night's sleep.

[ Wind whistling ]

Chloe: Oliver. You got my message.

Oliver: I got all 10 of them, Chloe. Where are the other Superfriends?

Chloe: Still waiting for them to ping me back. See, this is why I keep asking everybody to come up with some sort of standardized trouble alert. The team needs structure.

Oliver: Is that what we're lacking? You're really on a kick lately, Chloe. Personal phone conversations... bank records... Amazon Wish List.

Chloe: Big sister's watching.

Oliver: Is that my e-mail? Chloe, I'll have you know that those messages between me and Canary were purely platonic.

Chloe: Can we skip your virtual love life and actually focus on the job here?

Oliver: Gladly.

Chloe: Great. Our victim's name is Sylvester Pemberton, and he had a long criminal record.4CB92063.JPG

[ Beeping ]

Chloe: Fraud, embezzlement, and assault. He didn't have any family, but he did have a friend show up at the hospital.

[ Beeping ]

Chloe: Courtney Whitmore. She's a sophomore at Blue Valley High, and, uh, she gets a big old D-plus for her attendance. She hasn't been to school in the last three weeks.

Oliver: You don't think blondie's our killer, do you?

Chloe: No, but I do think she knows something. I want to take a closer look at this glowing staff the police have in evidence. We need to get it.

Oliver: "We" meaning "me," right?

[ Door opens ]

Oliver: Hello? Mr. Dodds?

[ Siren wailing ]

No bullets. Just residual ice again.

So, minus the patriotic hoodie plus one gas mask, and Dodds was killed the same way as Pemberton? With what? Some kind of ice weapon?

Evidence would suggest that weapon is more of a who than a what. The ice samples we pulled from the first victim's wounds have human DNA.

So the killer was some kind of meta-human with an icy touch?

Chloe: Well, that explains my arctic ride in the Dumpster of Doom.

Dr. Emil: Well, he certainly has interesting taste in victims. But Clark said that the assailant left the letters J-S-A. You have any idea what that means?

Chloe: Maybe it's a calling card. Our cold-blooded cryo-killer 4CB92256.JPGdefinitely seems to have a score to settle. What was Clark able to dig up?

[ Bag rustling ]

Nothing yet. When he checked in, he was still knee-deep in excavation at the Daily Planet archives.

Email: Right. Let me run a few more tests on this. And I'll see if I can help Clark unearth some answers about the elusive JSA.

Didn't think we'd have to dig this deep.

[ Blows ]

Chloe: Well, I couldn't find anything online beyond Sylvester Pemberton's rap sheet. Maybe they didn't want anyone else finding it.

They? "They" who?

Chloe: Sylvester Pemberton worked with 12 other known criminals, including Wesley Dodds. He mentioned bringing a team back together.

Clark: Back together? That means, at some point, they broke apart. They were systematically caught and taken down.

Chloe: For what?

Clark: The crimes don't match who they are.

Chloe: Yeah, but they were called "con men" for a reason, Clark.

Clark: That's Sylvester Pemberton. He was accused of embezzling from his own company. That's Wesley Dodds -- international business. He had no prior criminal record until he was arrested 4CB92302.JPGat a student demononstration that turned violent. A young woman was killed.

Chloe: Who's that?

Clark: Al Pratt. Physics professor at Calvin College. Arrested for assaulting police officers when they went after Dodds.

Chloe: Wait a minute. I know that guy. That's Ted Grant. He's a heavyweight champion, but... how is he involved with these guys?

Clark: Jay Garrick, a research scientist. He's charged with fraud and resisting arrest. Alan Scott, the C.E.O. Of a broadcasting company? Arrested for aiding and abetting.

Clark: Chloe, they have no connections besides their arrests. They don't even sound like criminals. And I got to say that Abigail Hunkel doesn't exactly strike fear in this hero's heart.

Chloe: Talking about these arrest reports, each one of them tried to take the fall for the other, and they tried to protect one another.

Clark: I guess during the golden age of robbery and racketeering, there was honor among thieves.4CB9368C.JPG

Chloe: This goes beyond honor. There were missing witnesses, circumstantial evidence, accusations of jury tampering. They stood by one another, and in the end, none of the convictions held up.

Clark: Almost sounds like you admire them.

Chloe: I admire their loyalty. Well, I'll stay here and finish downloading the 411 on the mystery men the old-fashioned way. You need to go and warn Carter Hall. He's the next name on Pemberton's call list. He called him over a dozen times in the last two days. What kind of a team was this, Clark?

[ Doorknob turns ]

Carter: The museum is closed... ...permanently.

Clark: The door was open.

Carter: Wasn't supposed to be.

Clark: Mr. Hall? Mr. Hall, I'm Clark Kent from the Daily Planet.

Carter: What do you want?

Clark: I came by to talk to you about a few of your friends -- Sylvester Pemberton, Wesley Dodds. They were both murdered.

Kent: Red, white, and blue. Two betrayed. Stars and Stripesy, stars and stripe. 4CB93700.JPG[ Breathing heavily ] Sandman doesn't dream anymore. Is Mister Terrific still terrific? I don't think so.

Clark: Who's that?

[ Indistinct whispering ]

Kent: Who is that? Who is that?

Carter: Kent Nelson. Dr. Kent Nelson.

Kent: But the doctor is out. He's gone bowling.

Carter: My friend is very sick. Now, I haven't spoken to Pemberton or Dodds in years.

Clark: Sylvester Pemberton called your phone several times over the last few days.

Carter: I didn't answer.

Clark: Mr. Hall, I understand that you'd be reluctant to talk to the police, given your past, but I --

Carter: You don't know anything about my past, kid.4CB93722.JPG

[ Whispering continues ]

Kent: He doesn't. Tick-Tock. The Hourman's run out. The Atom is split. No, he doesn't. He doesn't, Nabu, so stop whispering.

Carter: We have nothing else to say. Thank you for your time.

[ Door closes ]

Kent: The helmet has something to say. He whispers. He whispers. He could help.

Carter: We only help ourselves, Nelson. Like we've always had to.

Kent: Maybe... maybe... maybe not. Maybe not.

[ Siren wailing ]

Oh, yeah, I got a peek inside lockup. Pemberton's glow stick is M.I.A.

Chloe: Oliver, we have to track it down.

Oliver: Call you back. Excuse me. Miss Whitmore?4CB93776.JPG

Courtney: [ Scoffs ] Do know if I had to take a guess, I'd say that golden rod doesn't belong to you.

Oliver: [ Chuckles ] Well, it belongs to me now. Really don't want to get the police involved in this, do you? I mean, it'd be a shame to miss your Junior Junior prom. Breaking and entering into police lockup gets you more than a slap on the wrist.

Oliver: Whoa.4CB93796.JPG

Courtney: [ Chuckling ] Hey. Come any closer, and I'll give you my version of a slap on the wrist.

Oliver: Let me just cut to the chase, Lite-Brite. Two people were murdered, including a friend of yours.

Courtney: Two?

Oliver: I'm trying to figure out who's behind all this, but I need you to be straight with me. [ Gasps ]

Courtney: We help ourselves

Oliver: hey, wait!

Oliver: If someone's killing criminals from the past, why kidnap Courtney?

Maybe she knew what Sylvester Pemberton had hidden up his star-covered sleeve. His car received a handful of parking tickets in this lot, so it should be easy to spot.

Chloe: You could say that.

Oliver: All right. Just give me a sec to get this door open.

Chloe: Or you could just try the handle.

Oliver: Come on.

Chloe: Clark's at the Daily Planet trying to track down Pemberton's home address right now, but it looks like he may have been living here.4CB938CD.JPG

Oliver: Well, if he knew someone was after him, maybe he was on the run.

Chloe: Well, his choice of transport doesn't exactly blend in. "Star Rocket Racer." What do you suppose this was -- their getaway car?

Oliver: He knew about us. He knew our identities. That means Courtney probably does, too.

Carter: You shouldn't have dragged Sylvester's sidekick into this, Nelson.

Courtney: I'm not his sidekick. I'm his protégé.

Carter: You're a little girl. Your stepfather must be worried sick. Go home.

Courtney: I read Sylvester's coroner report. There was frostbite around the bullet wounds but no bullets. It's him, isn't it?

Kent: Jack Frost nippin' at our toes.

Courtney: Oliver queen said that there are two dead.

Kent: Wesley Dodds, the Sandman.

Courtney: We have to do something.

Carter: [ Sighs ] Look at Kent Nelson, Courtney. He spends most of his days wandering the streets, searching for the secrets to the universe at the bottom of trash cans.

Courtney: So, Doctor Fate is incapacitated. The Sandman and the Star-Spangled Kid are both dead. You were their leader. What's your excuse? Please don't make me ask another team for help.

Carter: Oh, the kids out there playing hero are hardly a team. 4CB93922.JPG[ Scoffs ] They don't know w to lace their own boots.

Courtney: Well, maybe if you had laced up your boots when Sylvester had asked you to, he might still be alive!

Carter: Don't waste your breath. I have enough guilt to last 20 lifetimes.

Courtney: What would Shiera have done?

[ Thunder rumbling ]

Chloe: Oliver's searching all over the city for any sign of Courtney.

Clark: How did they know our identities?

Chloe: I think they've been tracking us a long time, Clark.

Clark: Let's just hope the prime murder suspect hasn't.

Chloe: Did you find one?

Temperature dropped 404CB9397B.JPG degrees right before Pemberton was attacked. You said that the skin around Pemberton's wounds was covered with ice, just like Wesley Dodds'. This is what led me to joar mahkent. Back in Pemberton's day, he was a cryo-kinetic hit man that was called The Icicle.

Chloe: Where's The Icicle now?

He's still recovering from some serious injuries he sustained several years ago. He's in the psych ward at Metropolis General. At least he's supposed to be.

Carter: [ Sighs ] We're gonna need him, Nelson.

Kent: No. No. No, no. No. I'm not good enough.

Carter: My morality might have wavered. Yours never did.

[ Indistinct whispering ]

Kent: [ Breathing heavily ]

[ Whispering continues ]

Kent: You don't realize... how badly I wish I could remember, carter. I wish I could remember what my life was like before Doctor Fate. I think I had a wife. [ Chuckles ] Her name was Inza. And I had a family. But I don't know where they are anymore. I scared them away.

Carter: Not all of them, my friend.

Kent: Please, Nabu, don't whisper too loudly. Don't show me what can be or not be.4CB939DC.JPG

[ Indistinct whispering ]

Kent: Fate is a fatal thing. [ Screaming ]

[ Whispering continues ]

Doctor Fate: Greetings, Hawkman.

Carter: Doctor Fate?

It's been a long while since I made someone bleed. Time to go hunting.

Clark: I can't help but wonder what happened to these people. They were so close.

Chloe: They were criminals, and they were caught. That's what happened.

Clark: Carter Hall's definitely hiding something else in that museum.

Chloe: Reporter's intuition?

Clark: Clark Kent's. What is it, Chloe?

Chloe: Dead end. The Icicle's been in a vegetative state 4CB93B85.JPGfor the last decade.

Clark: If that's true, there's no way he can be our killer.

[ Indistinct whispering ]

Chloe: What are you doing to him?!

[ Whispering continues ]

Doctor Fate: Your fate is utterly binding. You are invaluable, Clark Kent. But you... you walk the same path I do, Chloe Sullivan.

Clark: Who are you?

Doctor Fate: Let me show you, my friend.

Chloe: Clark? Oliver?

Oliver: What's wrong?

Chloe: Clark's gone.

Oliver: What do you mean, "He's gone"?

Chloe: Like one of Pemberton's old gang somehow teleported him away. He said he had to show him something. Called him his friend. Where would they take him?

Oliver: I think the same place they took Courtney. Another twist to the mystery, Chloe. Satellites caught the glow of that staff over the Metropolis sky 10 minutes ago. I followed it. Wherever Goldilocks went, she got a change of clothes. It's getting stranger.

Chloe: Stranger how?

Oliver: Well [Sighs] It's in the middle of the night in Suicide Slum. She's standing under a streetlight. She's all dolled up with no place to go. Looks like she's making herself...a target.4CB93BEA.JPG

What the hell are you doing here?!

Me?! What are you doing?! Get out of here!

Oliver: Red, white, and blue. Loud and proud to be an American. Nice.

Courtney: Well, at least I'm proud of something other than myself.

Oliver: What's that supposed to mean?

Courtney: I know what kind of hero you are, Green Arrow.

Oliver: Is the masked cheerleader really talking down to me? Where's my friend? Where's Clark?

[ Wind whistling ]

Icicle: Anyone up for some ice cream? Who are you supposed to be, sweetie? The new Star-Spangled Kid?

Courtney: It's Stargirl. Say "cheese."4CB93C66.JPG

[ Ice shattering ]

Courtney: You jaded jerk! You've just ruined everything! This was my chance. I was supposed to get the first shot at Sylvester's killer! He promised me.

Oliver: He? He who?

[ Air whooshes ]

Chloe: Oliver?

Ugh! Oh! Oliver! Ugh! Ugh!

Chloe: You okay?

Carter: He'll live. Now, stay the hell out of our business. The next time, I won't ask so nicely.

[ Air whooshes ]

Oliver: It was a bit dysfunctional and hard to wrangle at times, but when the chips are down, we're always there, Chloe. They took Clark out from under our noses. And I took this off the winged wonder when he yanked me into the sky.

Chloe: Looks like an antique... from a museum.

Oliver: I say we get some reinforcements, get Clark, throw them through some windows.

[ Telephone rings ]

Doctor Fate: Detective J'onn J'onzz.

Clark: Ugh. Why did you bring me here?

Carter: Doctor Fate says you're a big deal. I don't see it.

Doctor Fate: Clark Kent is not like the others. His path is righteous.

Courtney: If Doctor Fate says he's okay, that means he's okay, right?

Clark: Why have you been watching us?

Courtney: Sylvester wanted to bring together a new Justice Society -- one with the surviving members and us new kids.

Carter: It wouldn't have worked, Courtney. People never learn. This generation will make the same mistakes the last one did... like the one before that. Obvious by how you've skipped your homework, you don't even know who we are.

Clark: You don't know who we are 4CB93EC6.JPGeither. But none of us here are the bad guys.

[ Arrow strikes ]

Oliver: You sure about that, Clark? The winged warrior here threw me through a window.

Carter: I hope I didn't make you cry.

Oliver: Drop the mace, Conan.

Carter: I will... on your head.

Oliver: Bring it, Big Bird.

Carter: Just for the record, you started it.

Oliver: I'll finish it.

Courtney: Hawkman, no!

J'onn: [ Chuckles ] I hope it's not too late to say, "we come in peace."

Lois: Then a bus ran through a mud puddle. Not that I don't mind a good mud bath, but I prefer mine without clothes. So by the time I got to Met U., I was interviewing the cleanup crew about how to get the stains out of this jacket. Clark?

Tess: Thanks, Lane.

Lois: What could possibly be more important than a morning date with the great Lois Lane? What is this?

Tess: Mud wrestling again, Lois?

Lois: Tess Mercer. What brings the big boss all the way downtown to the little newspaper that could? I thought the Daily Planet was slipping off your priority list.

4CB940BA.JPGTess: Print is dead. So is privacy. I'm expecting a package myself. And you know the mailroom here. They can get things a bit mixed up.

My name in print. I guess I haven't been having many problems.

No. Not yet.

[ Sighs ]

[ Door opens ]

Icicle: What they did to you was an injustice, Dad. They took the only family I have left away. I've only just begun to take away them.

Carter: The Justice Society of America was cleaning up the streets before you were in diapers. We tried our best to stay out of the public eye, but a government task force got wind of our extracurricular activities. They wanted us to work for them. They wanted us to unmask.

Clark: And you said no.

Carter: We refused to play ball, so they went after us hard. One by one, they uncovered our identities. They had us arrested... and institutionalized. They forced us out of the skies and off the streets. We were ripped away from our families... while trying to protect them.

Clark: Then why didn't you fight back?

We did.

Carter: For as long as we could. 4CB94118.JPG[ Sighs ] As I could. [ Sighs ] I wasn't the leader they thought I was. I made too many mistakes.

Clark: I've made mistakes, but I haven't quit.

Carter: Haven't quit? You haven't started. Not as a team, anyway.

Clark: You're making this too personal.

Carter: That is our strength, not our weakness.

Courtney: Carter, please. There's over a dozen members of the Justice Society still out there. Jay, Ted, Alan. If we don't team up and stop The Icicle, he'll go after them next.

Clark: It's obvious you still care about this team. If you didn't, you wouldn't have kept watch over all of this.

Carter: This is a temporary alliance.

Do you have any idea where we can find Icicle?

Chloe: I've got one or two. Unless this is costumes only.

Carter: Who's this -- your secretary?

Our eyes and ears.4CB9416B.JPG

Chloe: There's a couple possibilities where Icicle might show next. Security cameras caught him at the hospital, visiting his father last night -- target one. And if he's anything like his father, he's gonna need to replenish his abilities with some liquid nitrogen -- target two.

J'onn: Do you know where the nearest nitrogen depot is?

Chloe: No, but I can find it, J'onn. I just need to look at their computer. Got one?

[ Elevator bell dings ]

Courtney: Wow. So, this is where you guys operate?

Chloe: More or less. Mostly less.

[ Chuckles ] And I guess it's everything you could ever ask for to fight the good fight, right?

Courtney: It's missing something. Where are the pictures... or, you know, a place to sit down and eat?

Sylvester always told me that the JSA's brownstone was considered a second home for everyone. I mean, they'd even spend Thanksgivings there with their spouses and kids. It was like a family.

Yeah. I mean, it was a family.

Chloe: How did you get involved with the Justice Society?

Courtney: Well, my, um, stepfather, pat, was Sylvester Pemberton's sidekick years ago. The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy.

Chloe: Stripesy?4CB94274.JPG

Courtney: [ Chuckles ] It was like the worst codename ever. I found Sylvester's old equipment, and... well, at first, I put it on, you know, just to annoy Pat. But... I don't know. The first time I ever saved someone...

Chloe: You were hooked.

Courtney: Yeah. Line and sinker.

Chloe: Yeah. [ Chuckles ] So, you're not actually related to any of them?

Courtney: Well, family is not just about blood. And... watching people doesn't make them a part of your life. I don't know. I mean... maybe your team would operate better if you didn't get together only when there was trouble... and if you made it a little more "home, sweet home" and a little less nuclear war room.4CB942B0.JPG

[ Beep ]

Man: Incoming cnicati-

Oliver queen.

[ Beep ]

Chloe: Hey, Oliver, what do you got?

Oliver: I heard my wingman.

Did you put the call into the Snow Miser?

Chloe: I rerouted the call through the hospital and left a message that said that his father's taken a turn for the worst. If Icicle is checking in as often as he has been, we should be able to catch him at Met Gen.

Thanks.

[ Static ]

Oliver: God, I hate waiting.

Carter: But you love talking.

Oliver: Shut up.

[ Air whooshes ]

Oliver: Why did they have to team us up together?

Carter: I asked them to... so I could keep you in line.

Oliver: What are you -- my chaperone?

Carter: Think of me as your parole officer but with a mace.

Oliver: Well, I don't know what that means. But this whole thing is bad news. You want to know why? 'Cause no one's been able to answer "why."

Carter: Why what, Green Punching Bag?4CB942FA.JPG

Oliver: Frosty's Kid's going after you for putting dear old dad in traction, right? But why now? It's been decades.

Carter: Because revenge is a dish best served cold.

Oliver: We're telling jokes now?

Carter: Right.

Clark: Why did you ask me to stay behind? What is it we need to talk about?

Doctor Fate: The hope for tomorrow that your alien friend spoke of -- you are that hope. I have seen it.

Clark: Because you see the future?

Doctor Fate: I see everyone's fate... but my own. Sometimes that scares me. But when I see the future of someone such as yourself, I believe in tomorrow again.

Clark: When you saw my fate, what did you see?

Doctor Fate: You will lead this generation as Hawkman once led ours.

Clark: You sound like a group I met from the future. They hinted at my destiny, but they were as vague as you are.4CB9435E.JPG

Doctor Fate: Then let me be specific. Although Lex Luthor is your ultimate opponent, you will triumph over him.

Clark: Lex? Lex is dead.

Doctor Fate: And when you show yourself to the world, it will be a different age than ours, Clark -- a silver age of heroism that will start when they look up into the sky at you with hope for tomorrow. You will help everyone embrace it.

[ Knock on d]

Lois: Hello? Hello?

Clark: Lois? What's she doing here? She shouldn't be in the middle of this.

Doctor Fate: She is the key.

[ Air whooshes ]

Lois: Hello? Hello?! [ Sighs ] Careful, Lois. This is the part where the doomed girl runs into the guy with the hockey mask. Me. Aah! What the... what is this -- reverse Halloween? Nice helmet.

Doctor Fate: Thank you.

Lois: I was looking for Carter Hall.

Doctor Fate: He's not here.

Lois: Apparently, he was part of a group of masked mystery men that were railroaded out of business. I'm guessing you were one of them.

Doctor Fate: I see your fate, Lois Lane. You are the one he will need. He is the one you will need.4CB943C4.JPG

Lois: What?

Doctor Fate: The savior... the one who will lead us all... the sentient power.

Lois: [ Gasps ] [ Sighs ] I wonder if he does horoscopes.

[ Door opens ]

Amanda: You're taking this assignment too personally.

Icicle: That's because it is personal, Waller.

Amanda: Agent Waller.

Icicle: [ Sighs ] Hawkman and the Justice Society left my father brain-dead.

Amanda: And your mother died in childbirth from hypothermia. She froze from the inside out because you inherited your father's frosty touch. Who do you blame for her death?

Icicle: Don't try and twist me around, Waller. Maybe you pulled me out of juvie, but the only reason I agreed to go on these little missions of yours was to get a shot at the Justice Society.4CB94403.JPG

Amanda: [ Sighs ] I grew up in Chicago, Icicle. The cold doesn't bother me.

Icicle: I killed everyone you asked me to -- people I didn't know. Maybe they had families. Maybe they didn't deserve to die. But I did it anyway. I did you a favor.

Amanda: Let's be crystal-clear, Icicle. No one's doing anyone a favor. This is business.

Icicle: They took my father! If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have all this blood on my hands. This is personal. You don't like it, find someone else to clean up your mess.

Amanda: You're right. This job should have been finished years ago. It's a black mark on Checkmate's board.

Icicle: Then let me finish it.

Clark: How's everyone else doing?

Chloe: J'onn and Fate are scouring the nitrogen depots. Hawkman and Green Arrow, A.K.A. the new B.F.F.s, are looking for ice boy. Any luck on your end?

Clark: I checked Lois's car and apartment. Someone led her to the museum -- someone who wants her to get caught in the middle of all this.

Chloe: It's just a question of who.

Clark: Chloe, I'll call you back.

Tess: Should I even bother asking?

Clark: You can either hand those to me, or I can take them from you.

Tess: Well, it sounds like fun. But given our last few encounters, I should probably stay out of the sandbox.

Clark: Suspicious much?

Tess: Maybe you two really are perfect for each other.

4CB94570.JPGClark: You were smarter when you were leaving.

Tess: I always thought it would be hard for you -- you know, being boyfriend-girlfriend with someone so nosy. Maybe you're not the only one with a secret

Clark: What do you know about this?

Tess: Not much. Just that your girlfriend is in way over her head.

Lois: Clark Kent. And to think I was actually looking forward to breakfast with the Daily Planet's mild-mannered no-show. Late night?

Clark: I heard you were working on some kind of murder case.

Lois: Cases. Plural. And I've got my hands on a case full of classified intel -- double super-classified.

Clark: Mind if I take a look?

Lois: Usually, we're a great team, but you already decided to go it solo today, so I just followed suit.

Clark: I'm sorry that I was out, Lois, but maybe I can assist you.

Lois: We could be like Woodward and Bernstein. Clark and Lois. Lois and Clark.

Clark: If it's so double super-classified, how did you get on the case, Lois?

Lois: I was handpicked by an anonymous source. The two people that were murdered had criminal records, but it's all fabricated. Clark, they were vigilantes like The Blur. Part of an underground group of honest-to-goodness spandex-sporting superheroes. I met one of them. He was wearing a gold-plated 4CB945C8.JPGhelmet and axe, which actually looked pretty good.

Clark: And that's all you know?

Lois: No. [ Chuckles ] Their leader -- a man named Carter Hall -- almost killed one of their enemies... someone named The Icicle. He had a son, and here's the weird thing. They both have special powers, and he was plucked from juvie by someone very high up. Sealed records. Now, I'm not supposed to know this... but there were other bad guys that these underground heroes fought, and every single one of them was released from prison secretly. They and their records, M.I.A.

Clark: Someone's collecting them.

Lois: I appreciate the assist.

Doctor Fate: I'm interested in you. You are not a human, but you are forced to be.

J'onn: I used to have special abilities like Clark.

Doctor Fate: But you sacrificed them to save Clark Kent. You see what I see in Clark Kent but without the aid of the helmet of Nabu. Its magic reveals the fates of people around me. I look into the window of the future and witness what might be. But, eventually, 4CB94620.JPGit became much I saw too much. Before your people were destroyed, did you have a wife, J'onn?

J'onn: And a daughter.

Doctor Fate: You miss your family... as do I.

[ Thud ]

[ Indistinct whispering ]

J'onn: We're in danger.

[ Whispering continues ]

Doctor Fate: We're too late. He's already been here. It is not your fate to die this day, Martian.

Icicle: You've been out of the game too long, Doc. You're way out of practice. Oh! Your heyday...

[ Thud ]

Icicle: ...Is over. But I'm still in my prime.4CB9467B.JPG

[ Indistinct whispering ]

[ Whispering continues ]

Courtney: Clark?

Clark: Courtney, I'm sorry about Doctor Fate.

Courtney: I know. When Hawkman heard, he flew off. Green Arrow went after him.

Clark: And J'onn?

Courtney: This doctor named Emil had him transferred to a secured room.

Dr. Emil, what do you think?

Emil: J'onn seems to be undergoing some kind of incubation, but the end result, we can't begin to guess.

[ Beeping ]

Excuse me.

[ Beeping stops ]

Courtney: Part of me wishes Hawkman would find Icicle first. He'd do what I wouldn't. I know it's wrong.

Chloe: It is wrong, Courtney.

Courtney: Sylvester said that. The JSA has always done the right thing. And in the end, when everything got turned upside down, Hawkman began crossing the line so many times that the line disappeared altogether.

Then it's up to you to make it right. You're the next generation.4CB946E3.JPG

Courtney: [ Chuckles ] Sylvester said that, too. You're a lot like him.

When this is over, don't let the torch that he kept burning -- the one that he literally passed on to you -- go out. Keep his legacy alive, and you keep him alive.

[ Sighs ]

Amanda: Those are classified.

Lois: I was wondering how they got here.

Amanda: They were left for you, Miss Lane.

Lois: Who are you?4CB9474E.JPG

Amanda: If I'm going to give you a front-page story, does it matter?

Lois: Okay, then. Why me?

Amanda: I've read your work. You pull more skeletons out of closets than the organization I work for have hidden. You embrace the truth. And the truth will set you free.

Lois: Your point is?

Amanda: I'll be in touch.

[ Monitor beeping, ventilator whooshing ]

Icicle: This is it, Dad. This is gonna help me finish them off. Now I'm ready.

[ Indistinct whispering ]

Icicle: Goodbye, Father.

[ Whispering continues ]

Icicle: I love you.

[ Wire thuds ]

Icicle: Aaaaaah!

Oliver: I'm thinking we should regroup with the others before we go after Icicle Jr.

Carter: You go back to Sherwood, Robin Hood. I'll turn The Icicle into slush myself.

Oliver: You know, it's not what happened to you that destroyed this team, is it? It's what happened to her. Right? Hawkgirl? Who was she -- your partner?

Carter: My wife.

Oliver: You were married?

Carter: Hard to believe? What would someone like me know about love? Well, I only know it ends. But it always ends, in every one of my lives, past and present.

Oliver: Past lives?

Carter: Shiera and I were born over 1,000 years ago. We were cursed by one of our enemies. Destined to fall in love, only to watch each other die, lifetime after lifetime.4CB9485C.JPG

[ Knife scraping ]

Carter: Well, the sooner this life is over, the sooner I see my wife again.

Oliver: I've never had a connection like that. At least, not one that lasted.

Carter: Because you hide it.

Oliver: Hide what?

Carter: You don't want anyone to know how important they are to you, so you act like a jackass. I do know what it's like to feel like the only thing left to do with your life is throw it away.

Oliver: But you didn't, did you? You stuck around for Doctor Fate.

Carter: [ Sighs ] He needed my help.

Oliver: He did. He needed your help, and now there's a young girl out there, and she's counting on you. The rest of your team is out there. So why don't you take the death wish and shelf it? Thing's heavier than it looks.

Carter: You get used to it.

Oliver: You know, you really got to work on your landings.

Carter: It would have been a lot smoother if you hadn't thrown up.

Oliver: Send me your dry-cleaning bill. Send me your dinner bill.

How's J'onn?

There's not much more they can do for him.

Oliver: Then I guess we'll just have to wait.

Carter: No more waiting. 4CB948D4.JPGNo more pairing off. We should have stuck together from the beginning.

[ Air whooshes ]

Icicle: [ Coughing ] Your fate is in my hands. Or I guess I should say, it's on my head.

[ Air whooshing ]

Icicle: I killed you.

J'onn: I'm Mars' sole survivor. There's a reason for that.

Icicle: No! Aah!

I'm sorry about your friend.

So am I.

Carter: You're not like the others, are you, Clark? Kids who are in it for the thrills or because they have a chip on their shoulder? You don't do this for glory or vengeance.

Clark: I guess not.

Carter: Your team is better than I thought, too. Even I have to admit, Green Arrow has pretty good aim.4CB94A17.JPG

Clark: [ Chuckles ] We're not a team. Not like yours.

Carter: Why? Because of you?

Clark: They're the best friends that I have, Carter, but I don't know if we'll ever be what the JSA was.

Carter: [ Sighs ] You have to trust them.

Clark: I do.

Carter: You have to remember they're people, too. They'll make mistakes. We all do. We all have to keep trying. Isn't that what you said?

Clark: Yeah.

Carter: You know, I only learned to fly after my kingdom was attacked and taken from me. It was only then that I realized it wasn't the throne that was important. It was my people... ...my wife. You have the capacity to break the chains that are holding you down, Clark. And when you do, what Doctor Fate envisioned will come to pass. You will soar higher than any one of us.

Clark: What about you? You gonna keep your wings locked up?

Carter: No.4CB94A83.JPG

[ Inhales sharply ]

Carter: No. No, I am putting people under them.

Clark: Chloe helped Courtney and I locate the remaining members of the JSA, their children, and their protégés. I think the coming generation could stand to learn a thing or two from... from those of us that have done it before.

[ Chuckles ]4CB94ABF.JPG

Courtney: Some of us already have. [ Chuckles ]

Carter: Courtney. The Justice Society lives again. So, what do you call your team, anyway?

Clark: A work in progress.

[ Air whooshes ]

Clark. You know, those are some real party animals you have as friends.

Chloe: [ Chuckles ] If it isn't my favorite Martian. Looks like you're enjoying the return of your powers.

J'onn: At a cost. Doctor Fate's final act was to restore my Martian abilities instead of saving his own life.

Chloe: What happens to the helmet now?

J'onn: According to Hawkman, someone worthy will be drawn to it. They'll become the next Doctor Fate.

Chloe: What's next for you?

J'onn: My time as a detective has allowed me to protect humans on a very personal and individual level. I've enjoyed that. So I will continue to protect and serve, using every tool I've got.

Chloe: Me too.

J'onn: Doctor Fate was inundated with a constant flow of visions and information, but there is a limit to how much knowledge someone can have. It drove him to the edge of sanity, and he fell off. I don't need my telepathy to know you run that risk yourself.

Chloe: A golden helmet possessed by ancient spirits and the Watchtower are two entirely different things. I can handle it.4CB94B04.JPG J'onn: I I only say because I care. You and Clark, Oliver... ...you're my family here.4CB98A70.JPG

[ Door opens ]

Oliver: Anyone home? What's up?

Chloe: Nothing, actually.

Oliver: [ Chuckles ] I, uh, I thought I'd stop by and see if anyone was hungry.

J'onn: I could use some dinner.

Oliver: Chloe?

Chloe: Uh, sure. You're buying, Mr. Queen.

J'onn: Don't look at me. I'm living off a policeman's salary.

Ah, fine. Dessert's on you.

J'onn: On Mars, we never had dessert, but I have grown especially fond of cookies.

Lois: Front page, Clark.

Clark: Hey, congratulations.

Lois: It's hard to believe that a group of underdogs can be swept under the rug like that.

Clark: Well, at least, thanks to you, the world now knows who these heroes are. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more of them.

Lois: You know, the byline could have read, "Lois Lane and Clark Kent."

Clark: Next time. Maybe.

Lois: It's not every day that you get an exclusive with a helmet head that can tell you your fate.

Clark: So... he told you your fate? Huh?

Lois: Yeah. He was just babbling about how I'd be there for him and he'd be there for me. 4CB98AD2.JPGIt just sounded like a Valentine's card.

Clark: Who's the him?

Lois: It's ridiculous. I-I quote, "savior/sentient power."

Clark: Do you believe in fate, Lois?

Lois: Only the kind you make happen. [ Chuckles ]

Icicle: Ugh! I was already transferred to three different prisons before I got here today! Haven't eaten, haven't slept, and I'm burning up, damn it! I want to speak to her...now!

[ Door opens ]

Icicle: The helmet. It -- it messed with my mind. It screwed me up.

Amanda: I'm well aware of the capabilities of Doctor Fate's helmet.

Icicle: Let me go back out there after the Justice Society, Agent Waller. I can finish what 4CB98B30.JPGI started... what -- what Checkmate started. I can still take down the JSA single-handedly.

Amanda: You knocked on their door. You got them back into the game, back into the public eye. That's mission accomplished, Icicle.

Icicle: Ugh!

Amanda: That's all I needed you to do.

Icicle: What?

Amanda: You don't have the talent to take a team like that out.

Icicle: Ugh!

Amanda: There's an army of heroes growing. This generation and the last are coming together, and I'm gonna need them if we're going to survive the Apocalypse that's coming this way.

Icicle: Apocalypse? This is not what I signed up for.

Amanda: Oh, but it is.4CBB08D5.JPG

[ Gun cocks ]

Amanda: Welcome to the Suicide Squad. Come on, then.

[ Gunshot ]

Amanda: Well... Agent Mercer. It's been a long time. We have a lot to catch up on