Checkmate was an organization formed by President Maxwell Lord with one mission, to police the world’s greatest heroes. But, during the ‘Justice League versus America’ incident, the ugly truth had been exposed. Checkmate had been infiltrated from the inside by Lex Luthor and the Society and President Lord was being controlled by an alien being, Starro the Conqueror. In the end, justice prevailed, but not without causalities. Jeb Stuart assumed the role of President of the United States of America when Maxwell Lord was left in a coma after being forcefully released from Starro's control. Stuart contemplated the future of Checkmate, deciding that for it to survive there needed to be restructuring and a new directive…Fourteen months ago…Washington D.C.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building-“Sorry I am late.” King Faraday announced as he walked into the room and sat down across from President Stuart. He glanced over at Sarge Steel who was calmly seated next to him.
Smug bastard.
President Stuart sat there for a moment before he finally spoke. “Gentlemen, I don’t have to tell you that this country has been tested like no other in its short history and only time will tell if we ultimately passed. But, no matter how history chooses to judge us in the long haul, there are immediate issues to address so something like this can never happen again. In the last several weeks there has been a lot of finger pointing and scrabbling for position by the two of you and it ends here,
today!”
Sarge Steel shifted uneasily in his seat as Faraday looked Stuart directly in the eye when he spoke. “Mr. President. I know that mistakes were made and I am willing to answer for them.”
“And answer for them you will. Despite your ability to ‘save the day’ in the end, your actions reflected negatively on this country and this administration. This entire crisis could have been avoided if you two had worked together instead of trying to undermine each other every chance you had.
“I’ve already read both of your reports in detail and see no reason to continue to listen to either of you fail miserably at trying to justify yourselves.”
Just outside of the office, Steve Trevor sat and waited. He could hear the President raise his voice again. Given who he had in there with him, Steve wasn’t the least bit surprised. But, given the fact that he was summoned here by the President himself, he was certain he would be on the receiving end of his own lashing soon enough.
A few minutes later, the door swung open and both Sarge Steel and King Faraday made their hasty exit out of the office. As Faraday passed by Trevor, he forced a smile and mouthed ‘You're next.' After both men were gone, Steve heard the President call out to him. He walked over to the doorway.
President Stuart walked around from behind his desk and reached out for Steve’s hand, “Come in and shut the door behind you.” Steve followed him back over toward the desk where the President motioned him to sit down across from him. “Thanks for meeting me. I am sure you're wondering why we are here instead of across the lawn at the White House. I guess I haven’t gotten used to doing business there and I keep waiting for Lord to wake up from his coma and kick me out.” Stuart chuckled under his breath.
“How is President Lord?” Steve asked.
“No change. But he’s under around the clock care so all we can do is hope and pray that he comes out of the coma soon.” Stuart shook his head before sitting up straight, “President Lord recruited you didn’t he?”
“Yes Mister President.”
Stuart leaned forward a bit. “We are both military men, Steve, and I know you must be on edge after what you just saw go down here, but I brought you in here to talk with you for a bit and perhaps gain a little insight. So let’s dispense with titles and formality for a couple of minutes shall we?”
“Yes sir.”
Stuart chuckled a bit as he flipped open a file in front of him, “I regret that we haven’t had a chance to meet face to face before now. I see here that you are a highly decorated officer and a veteran of the first Gulf War. It seems though that you ruffled some feathers when you voiced your opinion in front of Congress about our involvement over there.”
“I was young. And, looking back, perhaps I was a bit foolish as well. I have learned a bit since then.”
“Perhaps, but Lord must have seen something back then to appoint you as Special Diplomatic Liaison to Themyscira. It was during that time that you were also recruited into Checkmate as well?”
“Shortly before, yes.”
“And, given recent events, what are your thoughts about the future of Checkmate?”
That question caught Steve by surprise. “I am not sure what you mean, sir?”
“It’s a fairly direct question. I’ve already shown the door to the two men responsible for allowing Checkmate to be corrupted. And, since you were part of the organization from the very beginning, I want you to give me your perspective on what should be its future.”
Steve attempted to weigh his words carefully. “I believe that President Lord had good intentions in the beginning, but, somewhere along the line, something happened. I don’t want to speak ill of someone…”
Stuart jumped in, “We both know that President Lord isn’t a saint by any stretch of the imagination. Him and I, we rarely saw eye to eye on many issues but one of his strengths was to surround himself with people who weren’t afraid to speak their mind. I hope that I can emulate that as long as I hold this office.”
Steve Trevor sat back and thought for a moment. “It was during the Apokolips Invasion when I first saw the change begin. Something happened after that. Our directive began to shift and it seemed that we focused a lot more energy and resources on the costumed individuals then we had before.”
Stuart shook his head and sat back. “I believe you're right. I recall a time during the clean up stages after the invasion. I went to him to discuss his ordering of FBI resources to wiretap thousands of phone lines. The economy was up, unemployment was at record lows and the country was mourning its losses, recognizing its heroes and all he could talk about was one thing - finding out the real identity of the Batman. All because of the speech he made during the invasion.”
“Why? It was Batman’s speech that united the entire world when we needed it most. Hell, that was perhaps the biggest turning point in the war.”
“Exactly. And to know that a man behind a mask could invoke that kind of power, the likes that haven’t been seen since Kennedy, frightened him. I talked him out of the wiretaps then but he never gave up his obsession. And now here we are dealing with the fallout of the whole Justice League fiasco because of this fear and mistrust with the hero community.”
“I’ve spoken with Di…Wonder Woman; she agrees with me that there were a lot of things that should have been done differently, on both sides. But we can move past it and learn from our mistakes.”
“And where does Checkmate fit into that?” Stuart asked looking Steve Trevor directly in the eye.
Steve again thought for a moment before responding. “I believe under the right leadership Checkmate can be part of the solution.”
Stuart smiled as he sat forward, “I couldn’t agree more.”
Three days later…Marine One landed on the south lawn of the White House. Once the secret service agents cleared the area, President Stuart was promptly escorted across the lawn toward the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Once inside, he excused the agents and made his way toward the west pavilion. He again chose to take a meeting away from the White House. But, given the circumstances, perhaps it was best that he kept this as low key as possible. He reached the door and hesitated a moment before entering. To fix a mistake was he prepared to possibly make a bigger one?
He opened the door and sat down at the table. He looked up at the four people who sat across from him. “Ladies and Gentlemen, despite what you may have heard to the contrary, Checkmate no longer exists. We will not be meeting again nor will I at anytime acknowledge the positions you now hold. So, if we’re all clear on that, let’s begin shall we?”
President Stuart formally introduced the four individuals that would soon be unofficially known as the ‘Court of the Royal Family.’ Across the table from him sat Valintina Vostok, Black Queen. To her right sat Neptune Perkins, the Black King. On the other side of the table was Catherine Cobert, White Queen, and, finally to her right, sat the White King and new head of Checkmate, Steve Trevor.
With that, the board was back in play.
Two weeks later…“…Live from downtown Metropolis where a failed bank robbery has left at least ten hostages inside. We are attempting to contact the lead officer on the scene to find out if any demands have been made as this has quickly escalated into a hostage situation…”Lex Luthor reached over and hit a button and the video monitor went blank. He looked up and saw a man standing nervously in front of him.
The man cleared his throat, “Sir, there is a robbery downtown at …”
“A bank? Yes, yes, I am already well aware of that.”
“Don’t you own…that bank sir?”
Luthor looked up at him with disgust, “Don’t be ridiculous. I own the entire block!” The man quickly looked down at the floor. “But relax, you were right to bring this to my attention. Have someone sent down there immediately.”
“Someone is already on their way, sir.” The man beamed, “I believe it’s your new security adviser.”
“Excellent. When he arrives there, have him go to the building across the street.”
The man suddenly looked confused “What about the bank?”
“Let that idiot Superman take care of that. It’s more his
style. And, besides, the bank is insured. What’s in the building across the street is not.”
Downtown Metropolis…There are advantages to dealing with people that are more arrogant than paranoid. The woman thought as she quickly moved through the dimly lit hall. She paused before rounding the corner and glanced up at the security camera on the ceiling. It wasn’t the camera that gave her concern; they had already been taken care of before she got there. It was the fact that, the deeper she went inside, the further she would have to crawl back out.
She continued down to the end of the hall until she reached a elevator that only went down. The doors suddenly opened, making her jump slightly. She quickly went inside as the doors closed behind her, past another security measure that was already bypassed before she got there. She was almost impressed at how easy the tech team behind the scenes had made it for her. But she knew that the hard part was still ahead and she would only have one chance to get it right.
The door opened once she reached the bottom floor. She stepped out into a large open area that took up the entire floor.
“I am in the lab.” The woman dressed in black whispered.
A voice in her ear immediately chirped back at her,
‘The large terminal in the north corner. And hurry, Black Knight. Target approaching your sector.’“That’s the plan right?”
‘Not if he gets here before the task is completed.’“Chill out, boys.” She said as she moved toward the large computer terminal. “Have a little faith. She pulled out a flash drive and inserted it into the side of the computer. “But I do have to ask, should this part be so easy, guys? Shouldn’t there be better security measures, a firewall, or something?”
‘The entire network's security is run by a program that constantly teaches itself to adapt and reinforces its protocols. We created those protocols and Luthor doesn’t even know…’She looked down on the screen. The download was already at 52%. “It was a rhetorical question! Geez, you ‘geek squad’ guys really get all hot and bothered. Don’t…” She quickly turned as she felt a large figure looming behind her.
“You aren’t supposed to be here.” He said.
“Wow! I mean really, wow.” She said, moving closer to him. “The big bad Bronze Tiger all cleaned up and in a suit. I am impressed.”
He took a step back. The black-clad woman had a hood over her head that masked her features. He stood there with a puzzled look on his face trying to figure out who she was. “Eve?”
She laughed. “Really? If I was Miss Nightshade do you think I would ever hide my legs?” She glanced back at the screen. The download was at 68%.
He noticed what she was looking at and smiled. “Whoever you are, neither you or that file is getting out of here.”
She had to stall him just another minute longer. “Why’s that? From the looks of it, it doesn’t appear that your new
master has cracked the code yet so the file is useless to him at this point.”
“ENOUGH!” He moved so quickly that she never saw him coming. She fell back on her heels and was able to lessen the blow of his fist as it struck her on the side of the head. The room began to spin as she slid across the floor.
Okay. Fun's over Elizabeth. Black Thorn thought as she slowly stood back up. He was toying with her, she knew that. But, luckily for her, she wasn’t here to go toe-to-toe with him. Just stall him.
“Well that was rude.” She tried to maintain her balance.
“Shut up!” Ben growled as he took a step toward her. “Tell me who hired you and Luthor might let you live!”
She began to laugh. “It’s a shame really. I used to like you but now you’re kind of… pathetic.” She fell back as he lunged at her. His arm was a blur as he reached out and took hold of her throat. She was shaking and scared, at least she wanted him to think she was so he wouldn’t anticipate…
“AHH!” He quickly let go of her and jumped to his feet as the room begin to spin. He looked down at the small dart that was stuck in his side. “You bit…” He slurred before falling flat on his face in front of her.
She slowly stood up and rubbed her neck. “Tiger's down and the files are secure.”
‘Stand by, Black Knight. Sixty seconds before we can reset the teleporter once we’ve extracted our pawns from the bank across the street.’“Yeah, bank robbers.” She grumbled, “Hopefully they got some money.”
When Ben Turner awoke, he found that he was flat on his back on a stone slab. As his eyes adjusted, he took note of his surroundings. He was in a small damp cell, but he was fairly certain that he wasn’t in a ‘prison.’ The stout woman who stood on the other side of the bars confirmed that suspicion.
“Why did you do it, Ben?” Amanda Waller asked peering in on him. He slowly turned and sat up on the slab.
“What do you want Waller?” He asked groggily. He quickly confirmed that the woman he encountered in Luthor’s building had drugged him.
Amanda Waller asked him again. “I want to know why you did it. What made you turn just like that?”
“Turned just like that?” He groused, “You were gone. Mari was distant. I was tired of being used. Take your pick.”
Waller snapped back. “Cut the crap, Ben. I was in a coma for a year but I’m sure as hell not brain dead! Why Lex Luthor?”
“Working for you, working for Luthor, what’s the difference? You both use people, he just pays better.”
“Not anymore he doesn’t.” She sang out. “Not to you anyway.”
Ben looked up at her. She was smiling at him. He always hated the way she smiled at people just before she took advantage of them. “What are you going to do? Send me to prison? Belle Reve? Offer me a ‘mission’ that reduces my sentence to time served?”
Amanda laughed. “No, no Suicide Squad this time. But you are on the right track. I was sent here to offer you a chance to redeem yourself.”
“Whatever you're selling, Waller, I’m not buying. Not anymore.”
“Oh, I think you might want to place a bid on this.” She said as she pulled a small device out of her pocket and held it up to the bars. Ben stood up and walked over toward her. She reached through the bars and handed it to him. The digital screen began to glow as a recorded scene began to play out. It showed him dismantling the security at the Luthor building and then stealing the Justice League files from the computer. It looked real. If he didn’t know any better, he would have been convinced that this scene really took place.
“It’s a fake!” He said as he tossed the device through the bars at her.
“Clearly. But does it matter? I’m sure that when Luthor discovers the files are missing he will be looking to blame someone. Why not you?”
“And if I agree to this ‘mission’?”
“Well, assuming you survive.” Ben’s eyes widened. “What? Just because it’s not with the Squad doesn’t mean it won’t be dangerous. So… do the job and this recording goes away. Or you can walk out of here and take your chances with Luthor.”
He stood there for a moment before finally asking. “What’s the job?”
“How much do you know about a man named Professor Ojo?” She asked as his eyes began to burn at the sound of his name.
That name. He knew it well. It was the man who ruined his life, who trained him to be a killer, and who brought him into the League of Assassins. That was the man who turned him into the Bronze Tiger. Ben turned to Waller and narrowed his eyes.
“I’m in.”
A few minutes later…
Amanda Waller walked down the long corridor and stopped when she saw Valentina Vostok leaning against the wall. She looked up at her and spoke with a hint of disdain in her voice, “It is done. He will do it.” With that she continued to walk down the corridor looking for the nearest exit.
Vostok quickly followed behind her, “Good. We will make the arrangements for him to fly out in the morning. You did good with this, Amanda. I don’t think he would’ve agreed otherwise.”
Amanda stopped abruptly and looked up at Val with disgust, “Not sure I agree with the
good part.”
“It had to be done,” Val responded.
“Did it? To throw him back into a life he worked so hard to break free from and for what?” Waller shook her head and spoke under her breath “What happened to you, Ben, while I was gone?”
“He is a tiger, Amanda, and you caged him. What did you think would happen?”
“And now you’ve come along, the
oh-so-powerful Black Queen of Checkmate, and freed him, is that it?”
“He is who he is. Who’s to say he isn't free now?”
“Cut the sanctimonious crap, Val. You didn't free him! You’re using him and, when you’re finished with him, you will toss him aside like trash.”
“And how am I any different than you, Amanda? You came along, rescued him, and then used him as muscle for your precious Suicide Squad! At least some good may come from this.”
“Yeah. You keep telling yourself that.”
New York City-
3 a.m.“Impressive,” the man muttered as he watched the scene unfold on the street below him. In less then ten seconds three potential muggers had been neutralized. The young man that had taken them down was smooth talking the girl he just rescued in even less time. The man shook his head as he headed down to the street below.
When he reached the street, the woman was talking to a police officer and her young rescuer had slipped into the alleyway. The man began to follow behind him from a distance. Without warning, the man dropped to the ground as he narrowly avoided an arrow that whizzed past his head.
“Do you want to tell me why you’re stalking me or should I keep shooting until I hit you?” He plucked an arrow out of the quiver by the nock, holding the small round point up for the man on the ground to see, “Not sure how well you’d fare with one of these in your gut.”
The man slowly stood up and winced, “That won’t be necessary. I doubt you’d miss on purpose again. I just want to talk.”
“Why don’t you start with who you are and why you're following me?”
“You can call me Manhunter,” Paul Kirk said as he slowly stood up and brushed himself off. “I am here to make you an offer.”
“Somehow I don’t see myself entertaining offers from some creepy dude named
Manhunter in a dark alley at three in the morning.”
“I am from Checkmate. And we need your help, Roy Harper.”
Roy stood there twirling an arrow in his hand, “Oh, now you’re
really selling it, my man! You want me to help the organization that framed the Justice League and started a war with an alien starfish all because you know who I am?”
Paul Kirk began to chuckle, “Okay, you're right. It isn't much of a sales pitch but Checkmate has changed, the world’s problems haven’t. I have it on good authority that, in the past, you’ve been
intimately involved with one of those particular problems. Does the name 'Cheshire' ring a bell?”
Roy Harper slowly placed the arrow back in his quiver, “Yeah, actually it does.”
Caissa Industries- Shelby, Virginia
Headquarters to the Checkmate Royal Court-The White King, Steve Trevor, sat in his office so lost in thought that he never heard Catherine Cobert come in.
“Sir. Sir?”
“What? Sorry, Catherine. I’m not used to being called sir.” He looked up at her standing in the doorway and smiled.
“Well, get used to it because you may be a King, but I will never refer to you as your
highness, okay?”
“Fair enough, your
majesty.” He stood and gave her a mock bow as she sat down across from him. “What’s on your mind, Cat?”
“You’ve been locked up in here all day so I thought you’d like to know that Kirk managed to bring Roy Harper into the
game.”
“Good. Very good. This organization needs as much credibility as it can get. Harper will make an excellent Knight,” The White King said as he leaned back in his chair. Catherine could tell he hadn’t gotten much sleep these past couple of weeks. He had put a lot of undue pressure on himself to bring Checkmate back up to speed after its recent ‘fall from grace’.
“Well you won’t be pleased when I tell you that Black Thorn quit shortly after returning from Metropolis. She decided that she wasn’t a good fit.”
Steve sighed. “She was only filling in as a favor to Val anyway. We’ll need to fill that spot soon.”
“You look tired, Steve. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? Everything will still be here when you wake up. Hell, after a few hours sleep, things might not look as bad as you think.”
He looked at her wearily for a moment before responding, “What are we doing here, Cat? Taking charge of an organization that was probably corrupt from the start. I mean, look at what happened to Diana and the rest of the League?”
“But it never corrupted you. Through it all you did the right thing. Diana and the League know that.”
“I am not so sure. What if something like that happens again? What if things are worse next time?”
“The President put you in charge to ensure that it
won’t happen again.” She gave him a reassuring smile.
“You're right,” He said rubbing his eyes before sitting up at his desk, “But I am sure you didn't stop in here just to give me a pep talk right?”
“No.” She shook her head, “Not really. I do have an update on the
rogue Royals. It appears that Lady Shiva wasted no time and is already stirring up trouble in China.”
“I am aware of that situation. The President prefers Checkmate steer clear of China for now so he’s authorized Harry Stein to form a separate team to deal with that. But I want to be kept in the loop on that every step of the way, understood?”
“Way ahead you on that already.” The White Queen smiled.
“Good. What else do you have?”
“We’ve also tracked down Scandal Savage but she managed to lose our agents in Mexico. They are certain they will be able to pick up her trail again in Brazil.”
Steve Trevor sighed. “If she’s on to us I doubt she will let herself get spotted again but have them keep trying.”
Catherine nodded her head. “And still no word of Cheshire. But it appears we have a non-playing piece who has been actively seeking her as well.”
“Flagg.” Steve said under his breath, “I’m not sure I like the idea but I certainly understand and, given what she did to his father, I don’t blame him. Let’s see if we can bring in Rick Flagg to work with Harper and Kirk. If not, keep a close eye on him and let me know the minute Cheshire is located.”
“Yes sir.”
“Cheshire is dangerous and Richard Flagg Senior was a friend of mine so that makes it personal for me as well.”
“Speaking of personal… what about Luthor?” The White Queen said, unable to hide the trepidation in her voice, “I noticed that we haven’t dedicated any of our resources to tracking him down. I can have a team prepped and look into a few leads…”
“We already lifted the Justice League files from him. And, when the weasel decides to come up for air, I am sure Superman will be there waiting for him.”
“And if Superman doesn’t take care of it?”
He looked up at her and smiled, “Like you said, its personal. If we are going to make this work we have to clean up the mess we inherited. And I won’t rest until every single one of
them are dealt with.”
