“So. If I were to set off a nuke inside that chamber, two of them would survive. Mundane military forces have absolutely nothing they could use to stop these people.”

  Jason glanced at the Ascension drone in the airlock. “We need to figure out a way to safeguard some of our Jernal and Forstager colonists, and also whether these people really are as friendly as the local media makes out.”

  The machine gave a subtle nod. “Affirmative. I’ve made contact with the pentagon and requested a meeting, and also surveyed individuals who distrust this ‘Justice League’. There’s a prominent american businessman named ‘Lex Luthor’ you might wish to interview. “

  A soft beep. “Should I begin the same tasking as I did on our version of earth, he would be one of my first targets, so it would be best to do it before I get established.”

  Jason thought back, remembering the way Ascension used the wealthiest men on earth list as a hit-list, working down them one by one… and chuckled. “I suppose so. Hold off until after I find out if we need him, please.”

  “Affirmative.”

  “When can the Pentagon meet us?”

  “Immediately. They are extremely confused. We’re being contacted by the ‘Russian Federation; an oligarchy based in the former soviet union; and I suspect they believed we were a russian asset of some sort. There was quite a bit of fear regarding the changing balance of power a ship like the Dragonslayer III might represent.”

  Jason looked around at the cargo bay for a moment; one that extended kilometers deeper than the apparent size of the ship. “...If they had any idea what this baby were capable of, it might kick off world war three. Best keep it quiet for now. Request a meeting somewhere isolated, just in case, and we’ll want the best privacy protection we can acquire.”

  “There is a small, uninhabited island off the delaware coast. I will begin deploying privacy countermeasures and will keep the vessel in position to provide fire support if needed.”

  “Thanks. These will be humans we’re meeting, so… do any of your fake people have more of a… soldiery vibe?”

  There was a pause for a few moments. “Negative. I can have two of my engineers in heavy combat armor within two minutes. They wouldn’t be able to survive a nuke, but should be able to handle most threats… and can be equipped with a collapsing space munition grenade launcher to allow them to kill anything, regardless of durability, with, of course, as fast reflexes as an AI is capable of.”

  “...I honestly don’t think even that would be enough to handle that league up there. But we’ll see. Appreciated. The bodyguards from last time can wait on the shuttle… just in case.”

  ***

  There was an old abandoned building attached to the docks, an overgrown clearing, a handful of trees…. And a wide, circular clearing that had been burned into the underbrush.

  The shuttle; a heavily modified version of a Republic design in soviet red; had the hammer sickle logo been on there earlier? Possibly. It now had… the Eye-tech logo on it, in black. The really terrible painting he’d done on a motorcycle helmet, years ago.

  Jason shook his head, staring at it, and sighed, holding his helmet under his arm, breathing in the warm sea air, enjoying it despite the scent of smoke…

  And listening to the incoming helicopter. He frowned, studying it for a moment.

  It looked… wrong. The engine was too big. Too loud. The ones he rode into the desert were smaller, faster than this.

  As the helicopter settled down, and the rotors drew to a stop, two soldiers in extremely familiar army uniforms stepped out; rifles kept down, they surveyed Jason and the two armored guards before stepping off to either direction; followed by two more armored soldiers….

  And finally, a man in a suit… and a man in a general’s uniform. Jason stepped forward, and gave a salute; the general frowned, but responded.

  “Hello mister…. Bennet. I would be General Carter, and my associate here is David Kane, from the Secretary of Defense’s office. I must admit your request for a meeting took us by surprise. Are you in fact a representative of a soviet starship?”

  Jason gave a low chuckle. “My apologies for the confusion, general. A bit more detail. Jason Bennet, US Army, honorably discharged after injuries received in the line of duty… from an alternate earth. I left Earth in the Dragonslayer II.. which the frenchman in charge named the Joan of Arc…. and came back in the Dragonslayer III to find I was in a new universe. I’ve had an extremely interesting career since leaving the military, ranging from founding my own country to killing alien tyrants, and while I might not be a part of your command structure, I still have a certain level of loyalty to the people of the United States, regardless of which universe.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He focused on the general. “Now…. On my way home, I was interrupted by a group that calls themselves the ‘Justice League’. Everything I can see on the media about them is positive… but their leader is an alien who is very clearly faking a human appearance as closely as possible… and my… comms officer… tells me that he initially claimed to be the sole survivor of his species… but more of them have been popping up over the years, both hostile and not?”

  The general blinked. “Well. Yes. Superman is earth’s greatest hero; he’s saved our country, and the world, numerous times. He might be an alien, but we certainly have appreciated his help against all the various threats we’ve encountered… both alien and otherwise.”

  The man in the suit stepped forward. “However. The US government considers him highly suspicious, for a variety of reasons, including those you’ve mentioned. We consider the idea of an alien god who can end all of civilization in a heartbeat to be horrifying… and it keeps some of us up at night worried about how we can possibly save ourselves from him.”

  Jason nodded. “Well. I’ve killed tougher enemies than him. And faster. I’ve never killed something both as tough and as fast, though, which might pose a problem. Is there any way to determine if he truly is an enemy? Do you have any trustworthy telepaths or the like on staff?”

  General Carter glared at the other man for a moment, then back at Jason. “Look. Mister Bennet. While some members of the executive branch might distrust the Justice League, official US policy is hands-off; we cooperate where appropriate. Why don’t we talk about how you can help us in other respects?”

  Kane glowered at the general. “Apparently the general needs a lesson in the rules regarding the civilians running the show, and the military doing what they are told. General, could you give me and the retired soldier a moment of privacy?”

  He looked between the two men… and then backed off, stepping over to one of the guards, speaking with them.

  Kane nodded… and turned back to Jason. “The US doesn’t… officially… employ any telepaths. Those we have unofficially employed have told us that the Kryptonian is a tough nut to crack, and his mind is almost impenetrable. All they can get about his origins is someplace dusty and dry, and he seems friendly enough… but one of his allies is a telepath, and another alien… a shapeshifter.”

  “If you’ve really, genuinely, killed someone tougher than him before… I’ve got someone I’d like you to have a few words with. He knows this Superman better than anyone, and has been crossing swords with him for over a decade now. Lex Luthor. He can explain his hostility to the man… and probably help you take him out if it comes to that.”

  “Well. Good. Might as well bring the general over. I’d like to purchase a plot of land from the US government, in exchange for some advanced military technology. There are going to be some complications… I’m not just a former soldier, I now have people who have their own motives and opinions to deal with… but so long as you don’t have someone committed to the idea of a handful of rich old bastards running the world in charge, we’ll be able to work something out.”

  The man blinked. “...What do you mean?”

  “The reason for the hammer and sickle on the ship? We’ve got a communist super-genius and his engineering team as the source for the tech. Genuine ‘the workers control the means of production’ people, not ‘the Soviet Committee controls the means of production’ people. Pro-Democracy, Anti-Oligarch. If you guys are willing to take some solid anti-Oligarch steps, he’d be down for ensuring the US becomes the dominant military power of the world, with enough firepower to take on the Justice League and every other country at once.”

  “Basically speaking… if you’ve got both billionaires and homeless people at the same time, he’s probably not going to be willing to help you. So the question is, what kind of steps are you willing to take to be so well-armed you can easily handle people like that?””

  “I… I’ll talk to the president and see what we can do.”

  ***

  On the shuttle, one of the Ascension drones turned; and the helmet popped open, to reveal the same red-head with freckles he’d seen on the bridge before. “Solid anti-Oligarch steps?”

  “Would you prefer to start a war with the whole world, or to create and subvert a global superpower, slowly killing off any rich jerks who try to remain in control?”

  She gave a slow nod. “I was more speaking in regards to the fact that I would be perfectly fine letting you give them all sorts of advanced tech, so long as I was able to put backdoors in it so it can’t interfere with my future plans. I can work with this. Any issues with quiet assassinations of world leaders, oil barons, that sort?”

  “I’m thinking an end goal with you running the world and keeping the people as healthy and happy as we can be while still being human is probably for the best. God knows you’d do a better job than I would. Just run anything big by me first, my powers might give me a twinge if its a bad idea.”

  “Acceptable. I’ve been looking into this Lex Luthor character. While he’s very avidly Anti-Superman, pro-human, he’s also an Oligarch who uses his money to maintain power and keep the authorities from arresting him. The moment he’s no longer useful, he needs to die.”

  “Possibly agreed. Though… remember that the Alien has a telepathic friend, and may very well be tailoring all the media to his own ends. We should talk to the man first, and not make any hasty decisions.”

  “....Affirmative. What’s our next step?”

  “Secure homes for the Jernal and the Forstagers. Meet with this Luthor character, and anyone else who can help. Start a long, irritating process of negotiating with the US, trading firepower for concessions. You know… just the usual.”