CHAPTER 33: TERRITORY TWO
The anomaly resolved at 0300 hours ship time; I was already running annexation protocols.
The Waverider's temporal sensors confirmed what my system had detected: clean resolution, stable timeline, minimal residual paradox potential. The JSA era had been preserved, the Nazi temporal research destroyed, the anomaly that had drawn us here neutralized.
Perfect conditions for annexation.
I retreated to my quarters, locked the door, and activated the full interface.
[TIMELINE ANNEXATION PROTOCOL — ACTIVE]
[TARGET: 1942 JSA ERA — NEW YORK PRIMARY / BERLIN SECONDARY]
[STABILITY RATING: 78%]
[RESOURCE POTENTIAL: HIGH]
[ANNEXATION COST: 200 ⧖ + 50 ✧]
[CURRENT RESOURCES: 258 ⧖ + 128 ✧]
[SUFFICIENT: YES]
[INITIATE ANNEXATION? Y/N]
I selected yes.
The process began immediately—different from the Vandal Savage annexation, which had been gifted by circumstance, almost accidental. This was deliberate. Calculated. The system acknowledged my intent and responded with structured protocols.
[ANNEXATION PHASE 1: TEMPORAL ANCHORING]
[— ESTABLISHING PRIMARY ANCHOR: 1942 NEW YORK]
[— ESTABLISHING SECONDARY ANCHOR: 1942 BERLIN]
[— ESTIMATED TIME: 45 MINUTES]
The interface expanded, showing me the 1942 timeline as a three-dimensional map. Key locations pulsed with potential: the JSA headquarters where heroes had trained for war, the Berlin facility where science had twisted into horror, scattered points across Europe and America where the era's temporal energy concentrated.
This is what empire looks like at the start, I thought. Not armies and fortresses—anchors and yields and development trees.
My first territory had been Ancient Egypt—mysticism, artifact schematics, the residual energy of Vandal Savage's temporal manipulation. That acquisition had felt like inheritance, something passed down from the defeated enemy.
This felt like conquest.
[ANNEXATION PHASE 2: RESOURCE BINDING]
[— CATALOGING AVAILABLE RESOURCES]
[— SUPER-SOLDIER RESEARCH FRAGMENTS: IDENTIFIED]
[— EARLY METAHUMAN DOCUMENTATION: IDENTIFIED]
[— MILITARY LOGISTICS DATA: IDENTIFIED]
[— COSMIC TECH SCHEMATICS (LIMITED): IDENTIFIED]
[— TEMPORAL AUGMENTATION RESEARCH (DESTROYED): TRACE RECORDS AVAILABLE]
[— ESTIMATED TIME: 90 MINUTES]
The Nazi temporal augmentation research surfaced as a resource option—not the research itself, which had been destroyed, but records of what they'd attempted. Knowledge of failure was still knowledge. Understanding what didn't work was half the path to understanding what might.
I should feel bad about benefiting from Nazi research, I thought. I don't. The research is destroyed. The only thing remaining is information about their methods. Using that information to build something better isn't moral compromise—it's pragmatic resource allocation.
Ray's voice echoed in memory: There's a difference between being focused and being cold.
Maybe. But right now, focus was what I needed.
[ANNEXATION PHASE 3: SOVEREIGNTY ESTABLISHMENT]
[— CLAIMING TEMPORAL JURISDICTION]
[— BINDING ERA TO HOST AUTHORITY]
[— GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS]
[— ESTIMATED TIME: 105 MINUTES]
Four hours total. Longer than Ancient Egypt, which had taken three. The system explained the difference: the JSA era was more complex, more populated with significant events, more resistant to external control. Ancient Egypt's annexation had benefited from Savage's prior manipulation—the timeline had already been weakened by his millennia of interference.
1942 was pristine by comparison. Harder to claim, but more valuable once claimed.
I settled into a chair and let the process run, watching progress bars tick forward while my mind wandered through strategic implications.
Two territories now. Ancient Egypt for mystical resources, 1942 for super-science. Different classifications, different yields, complementary development paths.
The system's territory mechanics encouraged diversification—each era type offered unique resources, and specializing too heavily in one classification created vulnerabilities. A purely mystical empire would struggle against technological threats. A purely scientific empire would fail against magical challenges.
Balance, I thought. The same principle that governs stat allocation governs territorial expansion.
[DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS — 1942 JSA ERA]
[— LEVEL 1 (CURRENT): BASE YIELDS]
[— LEVEL 2: ENHANCED SUPER-SOLDIER DATA (+30% PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT RESEARCH)]
[— LEVEL 3: METAHUMAN DOCUMENTATION ARCHIVE (+20% ABILITY ANALYSIS)]
[— LEVEL 4: COSMIC TECH INTERFACE (UNLOCKS ADVANCED ENERGY RESEARCH)]
[— LEVEL 5: JSA OPERATIONAL DATABASE (UNLOCKS TACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAMS)]
[— LEVEL 6: TEMPORAL AUGMENTATION THEORY (CAUTIONARY DATA)]
The development tree branched in directions I hadn't anticipated. Level 6—Temporal Augmentation Theory—drew from the destroyed Nazi research. Using it would mean building on knowledge extracted from human experimentation.
Cautionary data, the system labeled it. Information about what not to do, why certain approaches failed, where the ethical lines had been crossed.
I'll think about that when I reach Level 6, I told myself. For now, focus on the immediate.
[ANNEXATION PHASE 4: FINALIZATION]
[— CONFIRMING TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES]
[— ACTIVATING PASSIVE INCOME]
[— REGISTERING HOST JURISDICTION]
[— ESTIMATED TIME: 30 MINUTES]
The final phase. Almost there.
My quarters felt different as I waited—smaller, somehow, despite the expanding empire in my interface. Two territories. One agent. Three checkpoints. The foundation of something that could grow into genuine power.
Six months ago, I was dead, I thought. Bullets in my chest, blood on concrete, the last thing I saw was a Norwegian storage room ceiling.
The memory surfaced with unexpected clarity: the cold, the pain, the system binding itself to my fading consciousness. I'd been terrified and confused and convinced I was experiencing some kind of pre-death hallucination.
Now I owned pieces of two different eras. Commanded a resurrected criminal mastermind as my first employee. Had access to resources that most temporal actors couldn't imagine.
Strange portfolio for someone who died six months ago.
The thought made me laugh—a quiet, private sound in my locked quarters. The absurdity of it all, the sheer improbability of my situation, struck me fresh for the first time since I'd stopped being overwhelmed by survival.
I was building an empire across time. Me. A guy who'd worked a desk job and watched TV shows about superheroes. Now I was living inside one of those shows, playing a game that could reshape reality itself.
Either this is the most elaborate delusion ever, or I've somehow stumbled into the strangest opportunity in human history.
[ANNEXATION COMPLETE]
[TERRITORY 002 ESTABLISHED: 1942 JSA ERA]
[— CLASSIFICATION: SUPER-SCIENCE / MILITARY]
[— STABILITY: 78%]
[— DEVELOPMENT LEVEL: 1]
[— WEEKLY YIELD: +18 ⧖, +4 ✧]
[— SPECIAL RESOURCES: SUPER-SOLDIER DATA, METAHUMAN DOCUMENTATION]
[RESOURCES SPENT: -200 ⧖, -50 ✧]
[CURRENT RESOURCES: 58 ⧖, 78 ✧]
Done. The second territory was mine.
I expanded my interface to show the full organizational map. Two glowing markers now: gold for Ancient Egypt, steel-blue for 1942. The checkpoint network pulsed between them—Norway origin, Chicago anchor, London anchor—providing transit routes and emergency retreats.
[ORGANIZATION STATUS]
[— TERRITORIES: 2/2 (SLOTS FILLED)]
[— AGENTS: 1/6]
[— CHECKPOINTS: 3/3 (NETWORK COMPLETE)]
[— PASSIVE INCOME: +30 ⧖/WEEK, +7 ✧/WEEK]
[— DEVELOPMENT QUEUES: EGYPT LV2 (COMPLETE), JSA LV2 (AVAILABLE)]
Territory slots filled. I'd need to increase my Temporal Authority to expand further—Level 7 or 8, if I remembered the calculations correctly. Until then, I'd develop what I had rather than acquiring more.
Consolidation phase, I thought. Build up the territories I've claimed before trying to claim new ones.
The development queue for Ancient Egypt showed Level 2 complete: Hieroglyphic Cipher unlocked, providing translation capabilities for artifacts from that era. The JSA territory could begin its own development now—I queued Level 2, which would take approximately three weeks of passive progression.
[INCOMING COMMUNICATION — AGENT: LEONARD SNART]
[PRIORITY: HIGH]
[MESSAGE: URGENT INTEL — LEGION MOVEMENT DETECTED]
The notification cut through my satisfaction like cold water. I opened the channel.
"Boss." Snart's voice carried tension I rarely heard from him. "We have a problem."
"Report."
"The Legion is moving on the same eras you're targeting. I just tracked Darhk through 1942—different location than your mission, but same timeline. They're establishing presence in the JSA era."
Competition. The word landed heavier than it should have. I'd just annexed the territory; if the Legion was active in the same era, we'd inevitably clash.
"What kind of presence?"
"Reconnaissance, from what I could tell. No annexation attempts—I don't think they have that capability. But they're collecting something. Artifacts, maybe. Or information."
The Spear fragments. My meta-knowledge supplied the context. The Legion was hunting pieces of the Spear of Destiny, scattered across time. If any fragments existed in the 1942 era, that's what they'd be after.
"Did they detect your observation?"
"No. I'm good at my job." The familiar confidence returned. "But boss—this isn't coincidence. They're hitting the same high-value eras you identified. Either they have similar analysis capabilities, or..."
"Or someone's feeding them information."
"Or that."
The implications cascaded through my enhanced processing. The Legion operating in my territories meant constant conflict potential. Every mission the Legends ran would risk encounters. Every development project could be disrupted by enemy action.
This is what competition looks like, I thought. Not passive racing—active opposition. They want what I want, and there's not enough of it for both of us.
"Continue surveillance," I said. "I want to know every move they make in any era I've claimed. Priority on the 1942 timeline—that's fresh territory, vulnerable to interference."
"Understood." A pause. "One more thing. The Legion isn't the only faction I've detected. There's a third player—I mentioned them before. Organized, disciplined, operating from the future. They're watching everything."
The Time Bureau. Rip's project, building in the background while the Legends handled immediate threats.
"Are they interfering?"
"Not yet. Just observing. But they're taking notes on everyone—us, the Legion, the Legends. Whatever they're planning, they want to understand the board first."
Three-way competition. Maybe four-way, if you count the Legends themselves.
The temporal landscape was more crowded than I'd realized. My little empire was one piece on a board that included ancient villains, future organizations, and teams of heroes who didn't know they were playing the same game.
"Keep monitoring. All factions. Report anything that suggests imminent action."
"Yes, boss."
The channel closed. I stared at my organizational map, watching the two territorial markers pulse with their steady rhythm.
The empire grows, I thought. But so does the opposition.
The Waverider's systems hummed around me, preparing for the next mission. Somewhere in the timeline, the Legion was moving pieces I couldn't see. Somewhere else, the proto-Bureau was watching everything with unknown intentions.
And here I sat, with two territories and one agent and the beginning of something that might become real power.
Not enough, I thought. Not nearly enough for what's coming.
But it was a start. And starts were where empires began.
My interface updated with the next development milestone: 1942 JSA Era, Level 2, estimated completion in three weeks. I confirmed the queue and dismissed the display.
Snart's warning echoed: The Legion is moving on the same eras you're targeting.
Time to move faster.
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