mtl008 Chapter 4353 The Justice League Assembles (1)
Chapter 4353 The Justice League Assembles (1)
Chapter 4353 Justice League: Assemble (Part 1)
Capitol Hill, located in Washington, D.C., is home to the most famous landmark on the National Mall—the U.S. Capitol Building, the white building with Roman columns and domes often seen in movies and television shows. As its name suggests, this is where the U.S. Congress is located; the rotunda, still frequently depicted in films and television, is the meeting room of the House of Representatives.
Quite coincidentally, the period around Christmas each year coincides with the time when state ballots are sent out. Congress needs to count and confirm these ballots to decide on the next president. Therefore, Congress is extremely busy during this time—it's a prime opportunity for them to exercise their power, and almost no one is absent.
This time, they were all present, because the alien landing incident had affected the Electoral College vote, leading to disagreements in the vote count, and all the members were sitting in the House of Representatives chamber discussing the matter. Just as their discussion reached its climax, the ground suddenly trembled slightly. Looking out the window again, the view was no longer of the National Mall, but of the bustling Metropolitan Plaza.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but the police and soldiers who followed Superman were countless: MPD (Metropolitan Police Department), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), HSI (Homeland Security Investigations Bureau), NG (National Guard), USMC (US Marine Corps), USAF (US Air Force), and a whole host of other armed forces were present. Basically, except when funding was needed at the end of the year, there was never a time when all these forces could be assembled; even when carrying out very important strike missions, usually only one or two of them would appear.
These troops were heavily armed; each soldier carried more than one gun. They also possessed a full range of anti-terrorism equipment, all fully loaded. The dark muzzles of their guns were pointed directly at the center of Metropolitan Plaza—the site of the present-day U.S. Capitol.
In other words, the moment lawmakers open their eyes, the entire U.S. armed forces storm the U.S. Capitol, and they're practically shouting, "The old order is dead, the new order shall rise!"
Forget about who attacked whom in this raid. Just imagine thousands of guns pointed at America’s most important political building. Who wouldn’t panic?
Let's put it this way: we often hear news about threats to the safety of the president in the United States, and there are so many famous assassins who have tried to kill the president that you can't count them on one hand; but who has ever heard of a terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol?
The biggest news regarding the US Capitol is that members of Congress are fighting amongst themselves. Is it because terrorists don't want to do this?
Assassinating a president could be considered a personal vendetta, but storming the Capitol is tantamount to declaring war on the United States. As the saying goes, arrests require evidence, counterterrorism only needs coordinates; but war doesn't even need coordinates, it starts by striking at the continental level. Even a madman wouldn't do something like that.
As a result, everyone was dumbfounded: the U.S. military, the federal government, members of Congress, Metropolitan Press reporters, and onlookers all dared not move, for fear that a single misfire would lead to a full-blown reenactment of the Civil War.
Nobody even cares why Superman is doing this, because resolving the current situation is already incredibly difficult. And that's exactly what Clark wants.
"Everyone fucking freeze!!!" the US Marine Corps commander's roar came through the headset. "Don't move! Don't put your guns down, don't make a single move. Don't you fucking understand?!"
Theoretically, the military should be ordering these soldiers to lay down their weapons to avoid accidental discharge, but things aren't that simple. The separation of powers in the United States leads to mutual suspicion; it's a miniature version of the Dark Forest theory—you can only assume the other party is unfriendly.
In this situation, whoever moves first is likely to be the first to be attacked. Even if you're doing it to lay down your weapon, if someone analyzes your actions and deduces that you intend to attack, countless families could be wiped out.
So the best approach right now is to remain completely still and wait for someone else to make the first move. But no one dares to make the first move, so the situation is stuck in a stalemate.
The military didn't want to act first because they didn't want to take responsibility. They were also wronged; their mission was to monitor and pursue Superman, and they used only reasonable force. Who could have imagined he'd bring Capitol Hill to the scene? The forces intended to deal with Superman ended up besieging Capitol Hill!
Members of Congress are furious. We're here to have a serious meeting, not to be robbed! We were enjoying hotpot and karaoke in the conference hall when we were suddenly kidnapped. Who can we complain to?
So now that things have gone wrong, why don't you get rid of the people and guns immediately? How long are you going to keep holding guns to our heads like this?
Congressmen were furious, frantically calling officers demanding an immediate withdrawal. But the angrier they became, the less willing the officers were to withdraw. Even with guns pointed at their heads, they maintained this stance. What if they withdrew? Wouldn't the military undergo a major overhaul?
So the military naturally wanted to negotiate: they were willing to withdraw their troops, but the military had to guarantee they wouldn't cause trouble later, since it wasn't their fault. The more they negotiated, the more anxious the members of Congress became, and the worse their attitude grew, making the military even more uncertain. In the end, the two sides reached a stalemate.
Some might find this ridiculous, but that's actually how the American political system works. They don't have a unified government; if you had to compare it to a large corporation, each shareholder has their own interests, and subordinate departments are constantly scheming against each other. "Focusing on the issue at hand" is practically nonexistent; everything is based on self-interest. Only what aligns with one's own department's interests gets done, while anything that doesn't is sidelined.
Some might argue that lawmakers have no reason to be afraid, and that they wouldn't dare to fire. However, the prevailing social norm in America is that anyone could shoot anyone. Growing up in this environment, their distrust of armed forces is cultivated over many years, affecting everyone from civilians to politicians. Even assuming no one intentionally wants to fire, with so many weapons, the possibility of an accidental discharge would be a huge burden.
As for why well-maintained active-duty weapons would accidentally discharge—don't members of Congress know how much funding they approve each year, and how much of that funding is actually used properly? This is a case of a guilty conscience.
The members of Congress were completely baffled. They racked their brains trying to figure out how Superman could have come up with the idea of bringing the entire Capitol Hill into his pursuit. What, did this alien possess not only superhuman strength but also a superhuman political mind? Where did he learn all that?
Logically, the presidential team should have mediated, but the problem is that the White House made a phone call that displeased Superman, so he moved the White House there as well. Now, the United States has essentially moved its capital to the metropolitan area.
To be honest, the Metropolitan Government isn't so bad. The buildings have all been moved here, so it's not impossible to work here. But folks, look at Gotham next door! Those lunatics are bombing every three days, a major bomb every two days. How are the security personnel supposed to survive?
Of course, Washington, D.C. must be happy. After all, as the political center, they had no right to vote before. Now that those old men have finally moved away, everyone will definitely be mobilized and vote enthusiastically.
But this raises another problem: New Jersey is a blue state, and if the political center is moved there, the state will be unable to vote, meaning there will be one less blue state; while Washington, D.C., is uncertain whether it's red or blue, so in addition to losing a blue state, there might be one more red state. This really makes America great again.
In short, the game involved was so complex that even after Capitol Hill had been in the Metropolitan for half a day and everyone had made countless phone calls, the situation remained deadlocked.
In the end, all the onlookers went home to cook, leaving only the diligent reporters waiting there. Many TV stations started broadcasting live, eager to see who could outwit the other.
The congressmen were no match for the military, after all, the soldiers were professionally trained and could hold their ground for several days without any problem; these congressmen were all in their seventies and eighties, without heating or food—the boomerang that once besieged the presidential palace of another country had finally hit them right on the head.
Even more coincidentally, it snowed in the metropolitan area as night fell. This was the heaviest snowfall of the year so far, and temperatures plummeted to below minus ten degrees Celsius. The lawmakers, finally unable to endure it any longer, began calling the presidential palace for help.
The president has no choice but to save him; the election results are still in the hands of the lawmakers. If he doesn't, not only will his political career end, but his physical life will likely be over as well.
But he wasn't a blond real estate tycoon; mobilizing the National Guard was a huge hassle, let alone the military. With no other options, he was left with only one choice: call Superman and beg him to stop using his powers.
Clark's first words on the phone were: "The weapon created by SkyEye nearly killed me. After I woke up, Amanda Waller tried to attack me with her men. In self-defense, I unfortunately shot her..."
The president, still unsure what to say, immediately replied, “This was entirely a decision-making error on the part of SkyEye. The White House and the federal government never intended to be your enemy; this was entirely Ms. Waller’s doing. I can fully understand your act of self-defense. I am also very sorry about Ms. Waller’s death. I can assure you that you will not be taken to court because of this; and if there are any other related legal proceedings, I can grant you immunity.”
“Alright,” Clark nodded and said, “You write up the exemption papers first, I’ll go get them later. Now I’m going to persuade the troops to leave.”
The president breathed a sigh of relief: Luckily, Superman has a good temper; if he had been a little more difficult, this situation would have been unmanageable.
However, he clearly underestimated Clark. After obtaining the exemption documents, Clark did indeed persuade the military and police to leave.
The military readily agreed, since Superman was flying over to let you go. If you didn't leave, he would move you to the Mariana Trench. You can't just live to see today, can you?
After the armed forces dispersed, the members of parliament breathed a sigh of relief. They were so cold that they could no longer stay in the unheated hall, so they left in twos and threes, intending to find a hotel to get through the cold, snowy night.
As soon as the leader took two steps, about a thousand reporters surrounded him and shoved microphones into his mouth.
"Hello, Mr. Congressman. Do you see that building over there that has no ceiling? As far as we know, there are more than 2000 bodies of unknown origin there. Are you aware of this?"
"Hello, Mr. Congressman, sources have revealed that the federal government is conducting large-scale roundups of homeless people in Los Angeles for illegal human experimentation. Are you aware of this?"
"Hello, Mr. Congressman. I'm a reporter from the Metropolitan Morning Post. Are these unidentified bodies found at the military base related to the poisoning of Louise Lane? Is this, as rumored, a cover-up by the federal government and the military?"