After the banquet had ended, several people greeted the cool evening breeze as they got into the car. Lex expressed that this was an internal matter for the Justice League and he would not get involved, while Arthur prepared to drive to pick up the last person, Oliver.
Oliver was currently working at a bar in Metropolis. When Arthur arrived, he saw him mixing drinks at the bar. He went up and greeted him, to which Oliver responded with a bit of surprise, "What brings you here? Finally got some time to grab a drink?"
"We need you for something, can you take a leave?"
"No problem, the bar owner is an acquaintance of mine. I saved his life from a drug dealer once, so he's quite approachable. Wait a moment, I'll make a call."
"Oh, by the way, we might need to stay overnight there, so bring a few bottles of liquor, some snacks, and do you have ice? Bring a bucket..."
Soon, the two of them left the bar laden with big and small bags; it was just the two of them in Arthur's car. Arthur put the stuff in the trunk and got into the driver's seat, then said, "It looks like you've been doing well recently. Are you still chasing that group of drug dealers?"
"No matter how many I kill, I can never wipe them out completely." Oliver sighed and said, "Their lair is in Mexico. You kill one batch, and another pops up."
Arthur nodded, and they talked about the bar work and other matters. Oliver said, "I'm glad you didn't talk about Mexico. Everyone keeps asking for my take, as if I couldn't live without being there. But it's only a part of my life."
"Sounds like you've found another part," Arthur teased. "Is it that girl I saw last time?"
"Which one?" Oliver rolled his eyes and said, "There are plenty of girls where I work, and they all like me because they think I am someone with a story."
"Don't beat around the bush. I'm talking about the blonde girl you saved back in Mexico. You two had quite the adventure on some cruise. After all the times you've saved her, she must surely have pledged herself to you, right?"
"Are you talking about Dinah? I'm not into her." Oliver shook his head and said, "I still think of her as a young girl."
"Don't act like you're so old," Arthur said. "Mera says Atlanteans live way longer than humans. So, I'm still a kid now, even younger than Bruce."
"You're a half-breed; don't get too cocky." Oliver bluntly teased, then pondered and asked, "Are you and Mera getting married then? Is it decided? Isn't that a bit hasty?"
"If I'm to inherit Atlantis, I must marry Mera." Arthur said. "She is the queen of Zebel, the strongest tributary nation of Atlantis. The union of the king of Atlantis and the queen of Zebel will stabilize the undersea world situation and also enhance our combined power."
"I'm not talking politics with you. Do you love her?"
"I think she's quite alright; she's beautiful, powerful, and opinionated. When I am on land, she can fully help me govern Atlantis. Our mutual success and failures tie us together, which is the perfect marital relationship."
"I didn't expect you to be so mature about this. I thought you'd talk about following your heart or something."
"Love has always been unreliable. This has proven true with my parents. Only equals in strength and interests bound together are stable enough; one-sided charity won't last long."
Oliver seemed to ponder something deeply, then he noticed that the car was headed towards Gotham.
"We're going to Gotham? What for?"
"Bruce secretly built a base on Mercury, and the teleportation portal is in Gotham. Although we could all fly there, I'm concerned about your safety, so we're taking the portal instead."
"Mercury?!" Oliver raised his voice, "The planet closest to the Sun? How did he manage that?!"
"He got a hold of some alternate universe's equipment through Battleworld, heard it's foolproof, just launch it and don't worry about anything, as it'll all be automatically built, but I am skeptical about the quality," Arthur explained.
Oliver nodded, feeling that Arthur had a point. Human technology clearly wasn't yet capable of mining Mercury, and a fully automated system didn't seem reliable.
However, when they boarded the Mercury Base, they were stunned; the place didn't look like Mercury at all.
"God, did you hollow out the entire crust of Mercury?!" Clark said to Bruce, "I feel it's not three-fourths but nearly two-thirds gone. How did you manage that?"
"I told you, it wasn't me. Tim brought in the equipment from another universe. Humans there have reached the era of Cosmic Colonization. Never mind, let's check if there are any issues with the base and make adjustments accordingly."
The Mercury Base in the Marvel Universe had undergone several refurbishments and was not just a simple surface facility anymore; about two-thirds of Mercury had been thoroughly transformed and was faintly beginning to resemble a Planet Warship.
Beneath the surface of Mercury, almost everything had been hollowed out to form a huge industrial base, with a residential base just a little higher up. The residential area alone covered several square kilometers, where ordinary personnel lived.
For just these five people, such a base was a bit too large, but it also stirred their ambition; such a great base would be a waste not to bring more people over for training.
Diana and Clark enthusiastically began drafting a list of candidates, while Bruce and Oliver started testing the network. Arthur wandered around the base.
Not long after, they convened and began to vote on the selection of the advisers. Not surprisingly, Shiller was the first to be nominated.
"Since we lack the Martian Manhunter, we indeed need a psychologist to help us with some psychological analyses," Oliver stated objectively. "However, I've heard that Professor Shearer's field isn't behavioral analysis. His insights can't offer objective evidence, which makes our decision-making tend to waver. Blindly trusting those could also be considered irresponsible."
"I can provide evidence regarding behavioral analysis," Bruce said. "After all, I've spent many years studying, luckily managing to avoid my advisor's research area, and I'm fortunate to have achieved good results in a totally unconnected field."
"You seem pretty proud of yourself," Clark remarked, patting the back of his head.
"I think Professor Shearer's opinions are very valuable," Diana contributed, tapping her chin. "Even if he can't provide evidence, he can offer plenty of inspiration. Besides, he has close contacts with people from other universes. In a critical moment, he might turn things around."
"I have no objections," Clark said. "I think Professor Shearer is knowledgeable and trustworthy. As long as Bruce doesn't anger him, he would be the best teammate."
Everyone looked toward Bruce.
"Why are you looking at me?" Bruce countered defiantly, then added, "We just had some minor disagreements in the past, but those have been resolved. Do you see me as someone who would disregard the greater good?"
"You are," Diana stated bluntly. "Never mind, I'll handle communications with Professor Shearer from now on, Clark, you keep an eye on Bruce. That's decided then."
Oliver, looking down at the list, inquired, "Who suggested Professor Victor Fries? Could you explain the reason?"
The meeting lasted about half an hour, and they nearly finalized the list of advisers, including not only scientists like Shiller and Victor, but also magic consultants like Zatanna and Constantine, specialists for different worlds and alien species like Lady Shangdu, Hell consultant Beelzebub, and Heaven consultant Michael, among others...
Then, they also finalized the first batch of trainees, listing people like Robin, the Magic Twins, Raven, and the Flash.
Indeed, Flash Barry was now a member of the Young Justice League, as he was indeed younger than the others, still in school, and didn't have much time for fighting crime. So, he couldn't be a full member and was only a substitute for the time being.
They also included talented young individuals from the Amazon, Atlantis, Gotham Magic Academy, and the Mexican Revolutionary Army, people who would be the future pillars of the Justice League.
For some reason, in this universe, no one wanted to transform the Justice League into a superhero organization; they preferred to create an agent organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. instead.
Meaning these diverse superheroes weren't actually the main force, they mostly held leadership roles. The real work was done by young agents from various powers, capable of handling problems on land, sea, or even magical different worlds.
After making these decisions, they proceeded to send out emails in an orderly fashion, and then everyone went back to their respective bases to pick candidates. They planned to utilize the vast space of the Mercury Base for a three-month intensive training program to further select and allocate talent.
Before leaving the Mercury Base, Diana found Bruce and said, "I almost forgot to tell you, one of the reasons Professor Shearer wanted to see me is because the curse Circe had placed on him has recurred, and he isn't in the best shape. You might want to see him."
"Not in good shape, what do you mean exactly?"
Diana explained to Bruce how Shearer had been cursed into a snake, thinking the curse had been lifted but alas, it had returned. Bruce, surprised, said, "Turned into a venomous snake? He really didn't bite a few students who didn't submit their papers?"
"If he could, you'd be the first he'd bite," Diana replied irritably. "Have you written your PhD dissertation? If not, just wait for him to poison you."
Of course, Bruce hadn't written it, but he wasn't fearful because he was now immune to all poisons.
There's always this progression when writing a dissertation: initially, one feels sad when scolded, then doubtful, followed by pressured, and finally, one just wants to laugh.
Bruce was now in this phase of being ridiculed by his own incompetence.
So, unburdened, he arrived at Shearer's new home, knocked and found no one until he called Shearer and discovered he was hospitalized again, in the bed next to none other than Killer Croc.
"See, professor, I told you you had ancestral blood," Killer Croc said, crossing his legs and dropping a card. "But it's okay, isn't it? I'm here with you. You should know that scales are quite fashionable; at the comic convention, everyone was asking where I got this realistic skin suit done…"
Shearer's spirits were clearly not at their best, and he seemed rather listless as he replied, "Do you really think you could adapt to being a cold-blooded animal needing to sunbathe for hours every day? I hardly want to move without sunlight."
"Of course, I can't," Killer Croc said, pressing a button on the adjacent wall, and immediately, a warm beam of light shone on Shearer. Shearer looked up to see a high-powered ultraviolet lamp above his head.
"This hospital is quite professional," Shearer stated, somewhat ironically.
"Of course, it was my suggestion. This is one of the survival benefits for cold-blooded creatures. We don't shed hair, saving them a huge cleaning fee, so installing a lamp for us is quite normal, right?"
What could Shearer say in response? He could only give a thumbs up.