*Batman, Justice League Watch Tower, High Orbit Earth
Following the statement from the messenger of the gods, everyone in the room was silent.
Wonder Woman spoke first, confused, "Lord Hermes, could you explain?"
Hermes had after his statement turned to look out the space station window where Earth gleamed in its glory.
"I am afraid I am limited by what I can say Diana," Hermes said, regret evident in his voice.
Turning around to face the heroes he said, "Knowledge of what I speak of is strictly forbidden by Zeus..."
"So why are you here warning us if you can't tell us!" Shazam broke in.
Hermes nodded at that, "Zeus feels that a warning is permissible considering the threat."
Shazam made a motion to argue but Batman held his arm up to stall the man. Staring at the god before him, Batman felt something else was going on.
"Lord Hermes," Batman said respectfully.
"We appreciate the Olympians giving us this warning. We also appreciate you gracing us with your presence and delivering this message personally."
Hermes seemed pleased and gave a slight smile at this. For Batman it was proof that based on the few interactions he had with these Olympians, they were horribly egotistical and any form of praise would feed said ego.
Batman continued, "But surely you can acknowledge that for us to handle this threat properly, one that Olympus itself has asked for us to be aware of, that we may need more information. Surely it would not be much to ask for direction where we could learn more about this threat, at least in such way it would not infringe on Zeus' orders?"
Hermes frowned at this, "You want direction?"
"Of course," Batman said meekly, surprising the rest of the League members. After all, Batman had mocked beings like Darkseid to his face. The fact he was acting so gentle and submissive to Hermes stood out to them, though they kept these thoughts to themselves as they talked.
Wonder Woman watching the conversation gave a small smile in his direction, she obviously understood what he was doing.
Turning to Hermes she said, "Surely even our father Zeus would not be remiss with you giving advice of where we can find information on this threat from a mortal perspective?"
"Ummm," Hermes stuttered and looked pensive.
The god stayed quiet for a second with a curious expression on his face before he smiled and said,
"Hahahaha, you mortals! Always know the workarounds that binds us gods."
With a wave of his hand a thick parchment appeared before him as he appeared to read down a list.
While reading he would mutter sometimes,
"Nope he is dead..."
"Cursed and stuck in Tartarus..."
"Retired, can't bother her..."
Until finally,
"Ahhh, here we go, these will work just fine!"
With a snap the parchment round back up and disappeared in a poof of magic. Hermes seemed pleased with what he had found. And straightening up he spoke in his official godly voice.
"I suggest Diana that you and your companions seek the magician known as John Constantine. Ask him to search his records for those known as the Precursors..."
For the briefest of moments the watch tower's lights flickered and a chill was felt by everyone.
"Ask him to search the prophecies and words of Abram the Mage, Myriddin the Britan, Cassandra of Greece, Lord Krishna and Amunet of the Pharaohs. The answers you seek will be there."
Finishing his statement he gave a wink to Batman. Apparently he was not so easily deceived by his flattery as he thought. With another exaggerate bow he disappeared in a breeze leaving the Justice League leaders alone.
"Ok, that just happened," Hal Jordan said amused.
John Stewart rolled his eyes as his fellow green lantern and resisted the urge to smack him behind the head.
Hawkgirl annoyed voice jumped in, "Can you please explain Batman or Wonder Woman what exactly in Thanagar's name is going on!?!"
Batman looked to Wonder Woman who glanced over at him before shaking her head. It was fair that she should explain, after all, when it came to the gods she was the most knowledgeable of about anyone in the League.
"The being before us was Hermes, the messenger of the gods." She explained.
Pausing as to gather her thoughts she said, "Olympus sending messages to mortals is not unusual, even in this day and age. What is unusual is the literal god of them being sent to deliver it, that only means one thing. That whatever is happening has even the deities worried, perhaps even scared."
"Beyond his bravado it did seem for a moment he got nervous mentioning the threat." Batman said, his mind was whirling with all the possibilities this warning brought.
A worst time the gods could not have chosen. The world was fractured and full of opposing forces that already stretched the League thin.
"Yes," Wonder Woman agreed with Batman, "Hermes for a brief moment was nervous."
"But if this is so bad, then why don't the Olympians just tell us exactly what is going on or even deal with it themselves?" Shazam asked.
Sighing, Wonder Woman said, "The gods while powerful are bound by certain laws that are in place. Direct interference into the affairs of mortals is strictly forbidden and they swore oaths to maintain such."
Seeing the confused look on Shazam she explained, "For gods, divine power does not mean permission to do whatever they like or ignore rules. They are also bound by cosmic laws by their own making or that of even more powerful beings. Making oaths and promises are inherently tied into their powers. It is not the same as with mortals. It is why in many myths the mortal heroes are allowed or even encouraged to intervene on behalf of the gods. Mortals are not bound in the same way and are free to choose their destiny. One of the few things mortals have that even the gods envy."
Hal Jordan spoke up, "So Hermes literally could not tell us because of some oath or rule they made?"
Wonder Woman nodded, "There are terrible prices that even gods will not pay to avoid breaking oaths."
Looking back to Batman she said, "Whatever is Awakening, we now know it is called 'Precursor'..."
Yet again the lights flickered and the chill they felt earlier returned.
"And what exactly is that," Black Canary said wide eyed, asking the question they all wanted to know.
Here Batman spoke softly, "Echoes... echoes of something."
Taking a seat he motioned for everyone else to join him which they did with a little less enthusiasm when they first started their meeting.
Taking a more serious and commanding tone Batman said, "Being contacted by the gods is something we can't ignore. But neither can we slack from our other responsibilities. Most of us are running ragged trying to handle the U.N. as well the growing threat of the Light. But we need to dedicate resources to investigating this threat with John Constantine."
"I agree," John Stewart said, "But who are you going to assign to this?"
Pointing to him and Hal he continued, "We are both bound to the Reach border by order of the Guardians for a few weeks at best. And everyone else is already assigned to patrol Kahndaq and the civil war in Kasni. That is not even mentioning the teams handling the Amazo robot destruction and the relief efforts for the hurricanes hitting the east coast. Even if we assign to the Leagues reserve members we are still too shorthanded, much less with members we could trust."
Across the table from Batman, Superman had stayed quiet the whole time. A recent fight with Metallo had the cyborg punch him in the throat, and while he was recovering, it had inhibited his voice.
But right then while the Lantern talked, Superman kept his gaze on Batman with a look of disapproval. They both had worked with each other long enough that he knew what Batman was leading towards. But the fact that he had not accused him of what he was trying to do was proof enough that he would reluctantly agree only because of the need.
"I agree Stewart," Batman said firmly, trying and failing not to notice Superman's disapproval.
Looking around the table Batman said, "The fact is we need more teams. In fact, we need the Team."
At this Black Canary shouted out, "No!"
Slamming her palm against the table she gave Batman a murderous look. He could not blame her, she was the team's trainer and counselor. The unfair pressure the League put them under as the fall guys to avoid the political consequences of their covert operations was quite severe. Even now, despite the successes the kids had he wondered if putting together such a young Team was altogether wise.
"None of you seem to be aware of what those kids have gone through, but I have!"
Black Canary's complaint caused many of the Leagues leaders to frown and some to look guilty. Batman though stayed stoic and firm.
Rising up like Black Canary he stared her down.
"While I agree with your concerns and assessments of the Team we are short on options. We need not only people who are competent, but also stay quiet from the rest of the world and even League."
Adding with finality he said, "And lastly... we need people we can trust."
The meeting continued for another half hour with a few members disagreeing with the idea of re-activating the Team. However, with a majority they soon all agreed with Batman's assessment.
Black Canary stormed out after the meeting followed quickly by the Lanterns who also shared her concerns.
Soon the room emptied to leave Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman.
Seeing the disappointed gaze from the silent Superman, Batman huffed.
"It had to be done Clark, the mission always takes priority."
With a grimace and a slight rubbing of his throat Superman croaked,
"I don't disagree, but when we start sacrificing children for it then the mission has already failed."
With that Superman left the the two.
Wonder Woman put a hand on Batman shoulder, "I am sorry Bruce, he knows it is not easy for you either."
Looking down Batman reflected back on the decision to push for the Team to continue its operations. The newspapers and their critiques may have a point. If the League needed to employ kids to fight their battles then maybe the purpose of the League needed to be rethought.
Sighing he said, "Thanks Diana, but they were right to state their concerns. I more worry for a time when no one argues with their use."
Pondering all that had happened so far he asked her quietly, "Diana... how bad do you really think this Awakening is?"
Noticing him avoid saying the name Hermes used she said, "I don't know. The last time Hermes came to me was when Felix Faust had usurped Tartarus from Hades. That was bad, but at least Hermes didn't seem nervous."
Both Batman and Wonder Woman found themselves looking out the watch tower window watching the Earth.
"Send the Team to John Constantine as soon as possible Batman," she said.
"I fear we are already out of time..."
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*Elsewhere
If the Justice League realized how serious the situation was, they would of dropped everything they were doing to hunt down and stop the Awakening.
Across the worlds many entities took notice of what felt like a pulse. It was like a single beat of a heart from something long thought dead.
Even after thousands, if not millions of years the sound was deathly familiar to the denizens of the universe.
The Olympians had been amongst the first to hear it as it occurred on Earth. But the Lords of Order and Chaos were swift to follow, summoning their champions and all vassals to their sides. All the while a older man living remotely on a island merely sighed at the signs of the times, soon it would be time for him to reemerge.
Even the heavens and denizens of the pits paused in their works to glance towards the Earth, wondering what was happening.
Even those not of the divine spectrum felt the disturbance. Magicians, warlocks, wizards, conjurers and all practitioners felt the strange beat.
Some who while not magical but sensitive to the forces of the world took notice of a change. It was as if a pressure had been released. Most did not know what to make of it.
On the galactic scale, Guardians, Warlords, and other beings felt the tremor, even if they did not fully comprehend what was happening.
Further out the Father of New Genesis found himself meditating non-stop near the Source to guide him while gripping his staff and hoping his trepidation was only that of a old man. The Tyrant of Apocalypse merely directed his burning red glare to the stars where the disturbance came from, not reacting in any way save for a tightening of his dark stone throne showing his discomfort and anger.
Even the Endless, beings none dared to draw attention to found themselves curious at this change. As they looked to their eldest brother for the reason he merely shook his head and with a smile told them to watch.
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*Krios "James," League Of Shadows Temple, Himalayas
Krios stared at the mountain peak he was ordered to move. To most eyes the peak was exactly the same with perhaps the snow drifts being shaken. But for his eyes, he who had spent weeks trying to move it he could tell. His most recent effort seemed to have proven successful, the peak had moved up a foot.
Maybe he was lying to himself, maybe it was only a few inches, or maybe it hadn't moved at all and his mind was playing tricks on him. But he felt certain, he had made progress.
Since waking up in the infirmary and being told by Ra's al Ghul of his impromptu earthquake he caused, Krios had returned with a renew vigor to the outlook. Now that he knew he could move it, he knew he could do it.
Smiling, Krios decided to have a easy night and laid down facing the night sky planning to relax before pushing forward.
The stars twinkled back to his eager gaze in silence.