When Captain America entered the room he already suspected that it would be one of those days. It was extremely rare that the leaders of all 4 big associations met. Tony, who walked next to him, seemed to know that too. The heavy steps of the Iron Man armor echoed in the long corridor leading to the main chamber. Reed Richards had called this meeting and that was bad enough. If it had been SHIELD or the JLA, they would have been able to handle it. But if Reed Richards called the council, it could only mean trouble.
When the heavy security bulkhead opened to the main chamber, the 2 Avengers entered the room and were probably the last of the members. Before them they saw the large round table on which all members had agreed at that time. A short look into the round showed Steve that already all were there. On one of the chairs sat the alien Kal 'El, better known as Superman. Steve had to admit that he liked this man. Even though he had no military training or sense for it, the Boyscout, as he was sometimes called, was a worthy and honorable man. Many beings with such an incredible power as his would perhaps be even more arrogant than Iron Man. Shortly he had to smile. Was that even possible?
The second man to speak for the Justice League was Batman. Steve didn't know much about him. He was regarded as the world's greatest detective and a top-class survival artist. Only a few could compete with him in close combat and he had already overcome opponents who were bigger, stronger and faster than himself. Rumor had it he had even sent Superman to the floor once. Unfortunately there was no record of it and Steve had to admit that he could hardly imagine it.
The third in the team's bunch was perhaps the most interesting one here at the table. Princess Diana of the Amazons. A semi-divine warrior princess who lived on a magical island and possessed powers beyond imagination. Almost as robust as Superman, she had extremely good combat training and was a melee champion. Armed with some magical weapons and armor allegedly created by gods, her fighting talent was outdone only by her beauty.
Next to them sat the representatives of SHIELD. Another sign that the situation was serious could be seen in who was sitting there. Not only Fury was present but also his direct deputy Maria Hill. When it came to Fury, Steve had mixed feelings. Although he understood that it was sometimes necessary to use certain methods, SHIELD was a little too deeply rooted in the agent business for his taste. They formally belonged to NATO but had far-reaching powers. In addition there were rumors about the suborganizations of SHIELD. While Star Labs was primarily concerned with research and development, Cadmus was a unit for Special Crises.
Reed Richards and Susan Storm sat in their seats waiting for everyone to sit down. The Fantastic Four were in fact researchers, but Reed had agreed to work for the Council as an external consultant. Because of his intelligence and experience with almost all aspects of science, he was the best choice. At his side, as always, was his beautiful wife Susan, who had crystallized as the heart and soul of the team. This woman had already ended countless disputes in the council by simply having a warm smile for everyone.
Then finally the meeting began. All eyes were on Reed and the holographic system in front of him.
"Thank you all for coming. I let them gather because I'm afraid there's an Omega level crisis." The scientist said almost emotionless. It was amusing how calm he spoke of a threat situation affecting the entire planet. However, he now had the full attention of the Council. "I did these scans 12 hours ago. They indicate that there was a rift in the space-time structure."
One could clearly see that Superman suddenly took a preventive approach and took a closer look at the technical specifications on the hologram. For Steve these were just completely incomprehensible symbols and pictures but the Kryptonian seemed to know them.
"That's..." he started and Reed nodded while he finished the sentence.
"The Phantom Zone. Or most likely the Phantom Zone. There is a strange fluctuation inside the Frequency of the Rift. Maybe it is some kind of alternative Universe but I have no better readings so my first guess would be the Phantom Zone."
Everyone in the room suddenly became a little paler except, of course, Batman. This man had his facial expressions under the mask always completely under control. But before Steve had to come out as one of the ignorant, Reed continued with his explanation.
"As everyone surely knows, the Phantom Zone is a kind of extra-dimensional prison created by the inhabitants of Krypton. That a portal has opened into this world could mean that some prisoners have managed to free themselves from it."
Fury looked at him long and hard with his healthy eye. "Are we talking about a second General Zod? How many inmates does this phantom zone have anyway?" The latter was clearly directed at Superman who crossed his arms and leaned back. With a serious expression he said.
"Since time in the Phantom Zone is completely different from the rest of the universe, it could be thousands. Unfortunately, there are no exact records of how many inhabitants of my world have been banished to the Phantom Zone. However, I would like to point out that my cousin Kara also came from the Phantom Zone. Nevertheless, I agree with Doctor Richards. If they are prisoners from the Phantom Zone, the world could be in serious danger. We must act immediately before they fully understand their new powers in this world."
"Do we know if anyone came out of the rift?" resounded the cold and eerie voice of Batman.
"No, we don't know. However, a Hydra squad moved directly to the coordinates after appearing on the sensors. According to the satellites there is now a preferred base of Hydra under the control of a high-ranking officer of Hydra. I have analyzed the situation and I am convinced that they have created an area there to analyze humanoid-sized objects. Also, the place seems to be guarded by a clone of the hobgoblin. Because of the fighting power of this clone, I have drawn up a preliminary plan. I suggest sending a mixed team. Due to the fact that it could be a Kryptonian, I recommend the following members. Superman as a possible opponent for an enemy escaped from the Phantom Zone. It would also be useful if it were another inhabitant of Krypton who landed in the Zone without any guilt."
Everyone nodded at the overwhelming logic of Reed Richards. He wasn't just some advisor to the council, he was one of the most valuable assets in the world. His intelligence could not even be appreciated and he was considered an expert in almost every field of science.
"As a second member of the team, I would suggest Hawkeye as he has the skills needed in the scenario. His observation skills are of great benefit and based on Superman´s information, I have created a special arrow that could stop a Kryptonian in an emergency."
"Kryptonite" the Amazon princess hissed furiously.
"A specially modified version of Kryptonite yes. It is not lethal and only has an anaesthetic effect on the physiology of Kryptonians. I don't create weapons for you. You should know that, Diana." Reamed Reed the fiery princess. To his relief, Diana's anger disappeared as quickly as it had occurred. He knew she had only been so angry out of concern for Superman. There was extremely little kryptonite on the planet and the thought that there were arrows of it was extremely scary.
"The third in the league is a special agent of SHIELD with the identification Mocking Bird. She specializes in infiltration and cyber security and these talents are of great importance to the mission as I wouldn't recommend a direct attack without first knowing the exact terrain."
"Why send amateurs when we can send the cavalry?" Tony asked and grinned towards Fury, who was just looking at him acidically.
"Because it would be illogical to bind all Class S heroes in a place we know almost nothing about. If there is a group of Kryptonians there who are all of the kind of General Zod we would lose many, if not all heroes at once." Smiled Susan Storm and nodded to Tony.
"Listen to Susan Tony. Maybe you'll learn something about tactics," Maria Hill grinned and nodded to Susan. "By the way, I agree with Mr. Richards. I will inform Mocking Bird immediately and arrange her transfer. However, I know her preference for teams of four. So who's the 4th in the league?"
Sighing Reed looked at the display in front of him and activated it. Immediately a murmur went through the round and some angry curses were to be heard.
" No way Richards!" whispered for example Fury and hit the table while Superman expressed a little more diplomatically. "You can't be serious! This man is crazy!"
"Yes, he is. But it's also not possible to stop him for a long time."
"If we could seal his mouth for a long time, that would be enough." Batman, of all people, took it and everyone looked at the dark knight amusedly. That he of all people had made such a good joke, with his typical cold voice.
"In the event that the team is eliminated, only Deadpool has a chance to inform us."
Unfortunately everyone in the room had to admit that this argument was valid. A threat that would be able to kill Superman would also be able to destroy everyone else in the team. All with the exception of Deadpool who was more or less immortal.
And so only a few hours later the 4 superheroes mentioned sat in one of Tony's quinjets to clarify the situation.