The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

“That’s everything I’ve experienced.”

A considerable number of heroes had gathered in the Watchtower's conference room. Despite the late hour, the possibility of the mysterious Illuminati's involvement had roused many from their comfortable beds.

Yang Le stood in the spot assigned to him by the Justice League. The Justice League didn't adhere to the courteous customs of a gathering hall; seating was generally arranged in order of joining the League. Yang Le's seat was right behind Shazam, indicating Billy hadn't been a member for long.

However, the seat in front of him was empty, suggesting the child hadn't been able to get up.

Unbeknownst to Yang Le, Batman, aware of Billy's true identity, had opted not to inform him, considering his age. If Yang Le knew, he would simply sigh and say,

‘Batman! You're so considerate!’

After Yang Le disclosed everything about Deathstroke and Taskmaster, the room fell into a few seconds of silence before someone finally spoke.

“Deathstroke and Taskmaster,” Green Arrow said, leaning back in his chair with a troubled expression. “Regardless of whether this is connected to the Illuminati, their alliance alone is a matter we can't ignore.”

“Agreed,” Green Lantern John added, placing his hand on the table. “Either of them is destructive enough alone. Now they're not only working together but potentially backed by a mysterious organization. I think all Justice League members should increase surveillance on both of them.”

“Before we discuss that,” Batman began, silencing the room as everyone awaited the strategist's words.

“Yang Le, why are you certain that Deathstroke and Taskmaster are employed by the Illuminati? Your description didn't include an explanation for this information.”

Faced with Batman's question, Yang Le remained calm and explained unhurriedly, “It's my deduction. I reviewed the Justice League's recent engagement records, which show no instances of enemy success.”

“What does that prove?” Green Lantern Hal asked, puzzled.

“It proves Taskmaster doesn't have sufficient funds,” Yang Le explained.

“During my encounter with them, Deathstroke mentioned that he and Taskmaster had a professional relationship, which aligns with his code: no profit, no action. We all know Deathstroke, despite being an extremely dangerous mercenary, is very professional. He doesn't do unnecessary things. Conflicts between the Justice League and Deathstroke usually arise because he's hired by someone; he never actively plans any crimes.”

Hearing Yang Le's analysis, the other members of the Justice League nodded in agreement. Batman remained silent, signaling Yang Le to continue.

“Taskmaster, on the other hand, is a textbook dangerous element. Frankly, if only Taskmaster had appeared, I wouldn't have associated it with the Illuminati.”

“Why?” Green Arrow tilted his head.

“Because he doesn't have the brains,” Yang Le said with a smile. “Taskmaster is much more capable than ordinary criminals, but bank robberies or terrorist attacks are his limit. Building a laboratory under Blue Valley High School and imprisoning a metahuman for experimentation is beyond his capabilities, not just in terms of intelligence but also financially. Therefore, I deduce there's a mastermind behind them.”

Batman nodded slightly, agreeing with Yang Le's deduction. He, too, doubted that a muscle-brained guy like Taskmaster could pull something like this off. Deathstroke's fee alone would be beyond his means. Being the world's top mercenary means not only top skills but also top prices.

His questioning stemmed not only from habit but also from the fact that this matter couldn't be taken lightly. The mysterious Yang Le and the equally mysterious Illuminati made him uneasy.

“Blue Valley, Lex High School,” Batman murmured the school's name. “Lex Luthor is clearly involved.”

Superman sighed. He had always opposed Batman's tendency to jump to conclusions, but even though Superman believed Luthor could become a good person, he couldn't speak up now. After all, it was Luthor.

“But Luthor's reputation has been too good lately. We can't search him without solid evidence,” Hawkman said, shrugging helplessly.

“He's donated a lot of money recently, especially to poor, small countries. Their combined wealth probably doesn't equal Luthor's.”

Yang Le remained silent. Several people present were tycoons with assets comparable to Luthor's, not to mention Batman and Green Arrow, and even Hawkman was a hidden millionaire.

“Can't the laboratory be used as evidence?” Hal asked.

“Probably not,” Flash shook his head. “I looked around the site. Besides the fact that there's a space under the gymnasium, there's nothing left. It's probably been moved a long time ago. Plus, the explosion destroyed any traces. Aside from Sven, who crawled out of there, there's nothing of value.”

Batman's expression darkened upon hearing Flash's words. If everything underneath had been moved, it meant the enemy had likely achieved their goals long ago, and the animals, plants, minerals, and people were likely left behind intentionally.

‘Looks like I should prepare to get nothing from Sven,’ Batman thought silently.

————Separation Line————

“The mission is complete.”

The once arrogant Taskmaster now stood obediently in the center of the room, surrounded by several large screens displaying identical images of faceless, half-body figures.

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“Well done,” a distorted voice echoed from one of the screens.

“Sven is no longer useful. Attracting the Justice League's attention is the last thing he can do for the Illuminati.”

“But it also exposes Lex,” another person said.

“Don't worry,” Lex Luthor said, sitting in his specially designed room, clearly meant to evade the Man of Steel.

“Even without the Illuminati affiliation, the Justice League's suspicion of me has never stopped. Besides, how can we attract the Justice League's attention without baiting a big fish?”

Luthor remained unperturbed, even pouring himself a glass of wine, raising it slightly to the screen, and saying, “Let the Justice League focus all their attention on me. This will be more conducive to the implementation of our plan.”

“To make humanity great again, to reclaim this Earth that belongs to us from the metahumans, the Illuminati will lead humanity to the light.”

Although I mentioned it before, I'll say it again just in case: this universe is rewritten based on the Young Justice universe, not entirely according to the original plot, but I will try not to break up the original couples.