Brave New World: Black Lightning

Chapter 18

"Are you sure you don't want me to send someone to bring you Akashic Valley? Argus is going to be searching all of Freeland for you once they discover that you left the Pit after you got Director Michaels' transmission." Maya Odell asked her father over a video call as he sat in the backseat of a car that was being driven out of Freeland.

"Except I'm not in Freeland. I'm currently en route to a safehouse in Gotham. Last place anyone would think to look for me." Odell said.

"It seems like Gotham would be the first place they'd look for you after Freeland." Maya said.

"Which is why I'm planning to lay low for a while, let the heat die down and I don't want to draw any of that heat to you. Stay in Akashic Valley and do not contact me, wait for me to contact you. When things calm down, then I'll join you in Akashic Valley." Odell said.

"Good luck dad." Maya said as she hung up.

"What's the ETA to the safehouse?" Odell asked his driver.

"About half an hour sir, including a pit stop to change vehicles in case we're being followed." the driver said.

"Good. Take all precautions." Odell said.

"Yes sir." the driver said and Odell was grateful that at least a few of his agents were still loyal to him like this.

However, he was pulled from his thoughts when the car screeched to a halt.

"What's going on?" Odell asked.

"Sir, there's someone in our way." the driver said.

"Then run them down, it's not like we have anything left to lose." Odell said, only for a blast of electricity to fry the entire car.

"You were saying?" Black Lightning asked as he walked up to the vehicle.

"How?" Odell asked.

"The Tailor sends his regards and says next, check yourself for trackers before you try to escape." Black Lightning said as he pulled the door off its hinges and pulled the older man out of it.

"You won't kill an unarmed man." Odell said as Black Lightning threw him to the ground.

"That's true, I won't. But I will make sure a criminal faces justice." Black Lightning said as Argus vehicles pulled and Lyla got out of one of them with handcuffs.

"Percy Odell, you are under arrest on numerous charges of violations of human rights. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Lyla said as she hoisted Odell up and locked the handcuffs on him while she read him his rights.

"You won't get away with this." Odell said.

"Oh, you're the one who won't get away with anything. All your assets have been either frozen or seized, literally everything you had is gone. You're gonna spend the rest of your life in a cage. It's better than you deserve." Black Lightning said.

"You really think that prison will hold me for long. I have friends with deep pockets who will ensure my release." Odell said.

"Not likely since Argus is currently working with the DOD to take out all Shadow board members around the globe and Amanda Waller is dead. Anyone with any connection to you is going to be hunted down and put under surveillance. The president assured me herself that she'd make sure you never saw the outside of a prison again. Take him away." Lyla said to her agents as she shoved the former ASA leader towards them.

"Yes ma'am. We'll make sure he doesn't escape custody." the agent said.

"Good. It's time for him to pay for his crimes." Black Lightning said as he glared at Odell angrily.

"You have no idea what you've unleashed on this country without the ASA." Odell said.

"You mean Markovia?" Black Lightning asked with a smirk.

"How?" Odell asked.

"We have our ways. And we are working on a solution to Markovia now, too bad you won't get to see it." Lyla said as she signalled to her men to load Odell into the car before driving off.

"We do need to discuss what to do about Markovia before you go." Black Lightning said, since it was a genuine concern.

"We'll talk at your house tomorrow." Lynn said and Black Lightning nodded as he flew away.

"So, you really think that the Markovians would try to invade the US?" Lynn asked Lyla as they, along with Jefferson and Gambi, sat in the living room of Jefferson's house.

"I don't know. I doubt it right now. There's no way they could justify an unprovoked attack on American soil, especially since their attack would be like a child throwing rocks at a tank. They'd need some pretty intense firepower to be able to overcome the US military." Lyla said.

"That's what they're making metas for. But they still don't have a way to stabilize them." Jefferson said.

"Which is why they may try to abduct American metas that are stable to fight for them. Lyla, you need to issue a warning." Lynn said.

"Without proof, it would just be baseless accusation. And the Markovian government would not be able to just abduct American citizens. This is an operation that requires patience. In the meantime, Argus will be taking the meta kids in pods and keeping them in there until we can find a way to stabilize them." Lyla said.

"I think that would be best, but if we're wrong and Markovia does attempt to attack." Lynn asked.

"Then they'd also be dealing with a fight from not only you, but also Superman, Supergirl, the Flash, Batwoman and the Green Arrow. America has too many super powered protectors to be considered as a target any time soon. But I will keep you guys posted on any developments, since I am going to be sending a team there to run recon." Lyla said and Jefferson nodded.

"Thank you for your time Lyla." Jefferson said.

"No problem." Lyla said, right as Gambi got a text from Jen.

"What's up?" Jefferson asked.

"It's an SOS from Jen. Apparently two guys are trying to force their way into the Sanctum and they're shouting about Khalil." Gambi said.

"Tell Jen to screw it and restore his memories, if he knows them, we need him to trust us so he can call those guys off." Jefferson said and Gambi nodded as he sent the text to Jen before all four of them headed out of the house.