Inside the Pentagon, the atmosphere was heavy.
Gathered around the long conference table were the nation's highest-ranking military officers, senior intelligence officials, cabinet secretaries, and representatives from every major federal agency. At the head of the table sat the President of the United States.
The massive screen behind him cycled through reports from the past few months.
Metahuman Sightings: Increasing. Property Damage: Rising. Public Confidence in Government Response: Declining.
The President broke the silence. "Gentlemen."
He folded his hands on the table.
"Does anyone in this room have a realistic plan for dealing with the growing number of super-powered individuals appearing across the country?"
"Because from where I'm sitting, every month another person shows up who can ignore our laws simply because we lack the means to enforce them."
No one answered immediately.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs finally cleared his throat. "Mr. President, our military was built to deter foreign nations and conventional threats."
He gestured toward the screen as footage of Superman, Daniel, and several other metahumans appeared one after another. "We weren't designed to fight people who can level mountains or outrun missiles."
Another general nodded. "Our entire doctrine assumes technological superiority. That assumption no longer holds. We can deploy tanks, aircraft carriers, strategic bombers — none of those guarantee success against individuals who ignore the laws of physics."
The Director of National Intelligence spoke next. "The public has noticed. They're beginning to question whether the government is still capable of protecting them."
A Homeland Security representative continued.
"The Joker Virus accelerated that loss of confidence. Gotham required Batman and other metahumans to prevent the outbreak from becoming worse. People are starting to ask whether superheroes are more effective than the institutions funded to protect them."
The President leaned back and rubbed his forehead.
"That's exactly what concerns me. If people lose faith in their government, they'll put that faith somewhere else." His eyes settled on Daniel's photograph on the monitor.
"And lately... that 'someone else' seems to be Daniel Haken."
No one objected.
The President tapped the table. "Tell me we've at least built a comprehensive file on him."
An intelligence officer stood and activated another presentation.
Name: Daniel Haken.
Residence: Private estate outside Central City.
Species: Unknown. Human status unconfirmed.
Occupation: Owner of a private medical clinic.
"Our surveillance indicates Mr. Haken leads an unusually quiet life. When there are no major incidents, he spends most of his time at his residence or his clinic."
Another slide appeared.
Known Associates: Numerous metahumans and superheroes.
Relationship Status: Intelligence strongly suggests he is married to five women, although we have not been able to legally verify all marriages.
The President blinked. "...Five?"
The officer gave an awkward nod. "That's our current assessment, sir."
A few people around the table exchanged amused glances. Nobody interrupted.
"Aside from responding to large-scale disasters, he's essentially a model citizen. No criminal record, pays his taxes, owns registered businesses, and has never been linked to terrorism, espionage, organized crime, or political extremism."
The President nodded. "So when the world isn't ending... he's just living a normal life."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Has anyone attempted to establish contact? I'd rather have someone with that level of power cooperating with us than acting completely independently."
The officer sighed. "We attempted diplomatic outreach after the Superman incident."
"What happened?"
"The delegation returned within the hour." He opened another page of the report. "Mr. Haken remained polite throughout. He declined every proposal." He read directly from the report. '
Stay out of my personal life, and we'll never have a problem.' "He also stated he had no interest in joining any government, military, or intelligence organization."
"You didn't try again?"
The officer slowly shook his head. "No, sir. We still don't know the limits of his abilities."
He changed the slide. Footage from the Kryptonian invasion played — Daniel destroying a massive Kryptonian warship with a single attack, then effortlessly stopping a tsunami in Central City that should have wiped out the coastline.
"At this point, our analysts believe Mr. Haken possesses one of the broadest known power sets on the planet."
Confirmed Abilities: Flight. Superhuman Strength. Extreme Durability. Energy Manipulation. Spatial Manipulation. Unknown Regeneration. Multiple Unidentified Abilities.
"And that's only what we've confirmed."
A Defense Department scientist spoke up.
"We're not looking at a stronger metahuman. We're looking at someone whose abilities don't appear to follow any consistent scientific model. Our best assessment is that he possesses multiple unrelated powers rather than a single source." He paused.
"There is no existing weapon system we can confidently say would stop him."
Silence filled the conference room.
The intelligence officer finally said what everyone had been avoiding. "If I had to summarize our assessment..." He looked directly at the President. "...he is effectively an invincible god on Earth."
The President slowly repeated the word. "A god." He looked around the table. "Does anyone in this room have a strategy for dealing with a god?"
Nobody answered. The generals looked at one another. The intelligence officials stayed silent. Even the scientists lowered their eyes.
Then a chair quietly scraped against the floor.
Amanda Waller raised her hand. Unlike everyone else, she didn't appear surprised by the question. It was almost as if she had been waiting for someone to ask it.
"I have a proposal, Mr. President."
Every head in the room turned toward her.
A faint smile appeared on her face. "You don't control a god... you make sure you never give him a reason to become your enemy."
*****
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