Post by redsycorax on Jan 6, 2021 1:18:47 GMT
On Earth-480, the divergence from the datum happened in 1979. In this world, the Carter presidency was far more resolute and successful in dealing with the Iranian Hostage Crisis situation. In many other timelines, Operation Eagle Claw, which was designed to rescue the hostages from Tehran, was an abject failure. Here, the divergence started when a helicopter was fueled, and also carried a reserve detachment of fuel necessary for its extended mission. It then took off for distant Iran. Several hours later, it set down in South Khorasan, where a covert airfield had been constructed. Due to rigorous maintenance and acclimatisation for desert conditions, as well as the inexperience of the fledgeling Islamic Republic regime in Tehran, a seven helicopter strike force with one hundred and eighty soldiers avoided detection, detaining any unsuspecting Iranian civilians who chanced upon the site. Although humid, the night was clear and calm. No storms or dust storms disturbed the solitude of the desert as the choppers lifted off, intent on their target- Tehran, On April 25, the troopers disembarked, capturing Manzariyeh Airforce Base several hours later as C-130 Starlifters brought in additional army personnel. A covert convoy then drove up to the US Embassy in Tehran and gunfire was heard from the area for twenty minutes afterward. By that point, the US Army intervention team had rescued all of the hostages from under the noses of the newfound Islamic Republic. Furthermore, there were only three armed forces casualties as the hostages were evacuated from Iran, to safety onboard the USS Nimitz. America celebrated, and President Jimmy Carter was applauded for his daring plan and its successful execution.
Despite the recession, he won a second term of office.
Unable to secure even the safety of its capital, the Islamic Republic of Iran collapsed several months later. However, the event touched off a civil war, during which time the Red Army consolidated its hold on Afghanistan, absorbing it into the Soviet Union. Seeing a chance to secure foreign capital and technological prowess as the new regional surrogate, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq offered transit routes for the United States and its allies. On other Earths, this provoked a period of intensive Cold War hostility and ended in September 1983 when a Soviet mainframe malfunction accidentally plunged the world into a nuclear holocaust. Here, this did not happen. As on other Earths where the mainframe malfunction was detected in time, Colonel Stanislav Petrov was present to warn the authorities of the probable anomalies and thus, this world was spared that horror.
After Ronald Reagan's failure, and at the end of the second Carter term in 1984, Jack Kemp and Howard Baker narrowly won the presidency, but with a less socially conservative inflected platform than that of the failed Republican candidate in 1980. Instead, President Kemp was more motivated by limited government and fiscal conservatism, and embarked on a campaign of enterprise zone construction and government privatisation. How did this affect the US metahuman community?
1. FRAGMENTED JUSTICE:
"Be reasonable, Oliver!"
"No, Katar. Sorry, buddy, but what Jackie boy has done is damned repressive and I won't just sit by and let it happen. Dinah? Are you coming with me?"
"I'm sorry, Katar, but he's right. And he's my man and I'll stand with him. I was around during the Depression on Earth-Beta [ed: 481] and you weren't. What the current president is doing can only lead to heartache and suffering. I can't stand by and watch this either. Bruce?"
Batman looked up from the monitor: "I think there are other ways. I definitely intend to finance the Democrats as I usually do, but then I've got the money to do that. I've used my influence on Gotham Council to provide humane working conditions and distance the city from Kemp's attack on industrial relations laws."
Green Arrow sighed: "I know, and I'm grateful. What was it you once said, though? Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime?"
"I still believe in that. Who knows, if someone had intervened in Joe Chill's life, perhaps that night in Crime Alley would never have happened."
"Then I guess this is goodbye then." And with that, Green Arrow abandoned his mask and, joined by Black Canary, left the Justice League forever.
2. LIGHTNING STILLED.
"No, don't!" Superman sped to intervene as the riot bullet accelerated toward Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, as he protested against Metropolis school budget cuts. But while Superman was faster than a speeding bullet usually, he had just been exposed to a kryptonite ambush by Lex Luthor on that day and his habitual velocity had deserted him. He witnessed the impact and wasn't fast enough to extract the bullet and rescue his comrade in arms. He angrily turned on his heat vision and transformed the police armaments to slag. This had been a nonviolent protest. What was happening to truth, justice and the American way?
3. LANTERNS LIGHT.
"John?" Black Canary said as she looked up and spotted John Stewart, Earth's alternate Green Lantern:
"This situation needs to be remedied more urgently. I've... had an argument with Hal."
"That I can believe, the big green boy scout. I thought I'd opened his eyes with that road trip a few years ago. Apparently not."
"After what happened to Jeff in Metropolis, I think even Superman realises that something's badly wrong with the direction of this country. I mean, it's great that President Kemp condemned what happened to those protestors when Commissioner Turpin overreacted and promptly sacked him, but a lot of the Republicans in Congress don't have his integrity."
"So why are you here, John? Not that we couldn't use the solidarity."
"I think we need an alternative to the Justice League. Let's call it... Justice NOW."
4. GREAT METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER:
"What do you mean, you won't let me publish it?" Lois Lane angrily demanded.
"I stand by my best columnist, Edge. Why? This is editorial censorship." Perry White leant forward, backing Lois Lane's stance and meeting his publisher's eyes.
Morgan Edge stared levelly at them: "Because the Republican Senate has the numbers to enforce those damned press restrictions. I don't like it any more than you do, Lane and White . For what it's worth, this is an excellent piece of investigative journalism. But it also exposes massive corporate corruption and fraud and-"
Lois angrily continued: "And most of the corporations I've detailed are Republican donors. Is that what this country is coming to? Corporate, market-based censorship? What about the First Amendment?"
"What's gotten into you, Edge? You used to be better than this."
"If it helps, White, I'm not tolerating it either. Effective immediately, I'm selling the Daily Planet and emigrating to Israel."
Lois realised why: "Mr Edge, is this something to do with that awful synagogue bombing in New York?"
Morgan Edge bitterly nodded: "This... country isn't a safe place for me right now, Lois."
"Perry?"
"And I hope you can understand that I won't tolerate editorial censorship from above, Mr Edge. Either Lane's story gets published, or I quit as editor."
"I can't take that risk, both of you. I'm truly sorry, Perry, Lois."
"In that case, Perry isn't the only one who resigns, Mr Edge. I'm sorry for the situation you're in and I sympathise. Have a good life in Tel Aviv."
Seconds later, as Lois Lane stepped onto the sidewalk, Superman descended to meet her:
"Lois honey, I am so damned proud of you right now."
"What's that in your hand. Oh!"
"Lois Lane, will you marry me? And incidentally, there are ways around press censorship..."
"Tell me more, gorgeous. And the answer is yes. As if you ever really thought otherwise."
5. GOTHAM BY NUCLEAR GLARE:
"Oh, merciful God." Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing stood aghast as they viewed the stark sllhouette.
Nightwing gulped: "That's a nuclear device. And judging from the design, a dirty one. If it goes off, it'll destroy Goth- Bruce?"
Batman whipped out a taser: "I'm sorry, all of you. Tim? Get Dick and Barbara to safety."
"What about the rest of the city? And Bruce, look at the geiger counter readings from that obscenity. I can't believe the Joker would go this far."
"I think it has something to do with the chemical accident he had all those years ago, Tim. It's rotted his mind and now it's killing him. He doesn't have anything left to lose."
"Bruce, it'll kill you too."
Batman nodded: "It's a risk I'm prepared to take, Tim. Good luck, my friend." As Batman turned, Robin activated Batman's JLA teleporter signal and instants later, he, Nightwing and Batgirl appeared on the JLA satellite, witnessed by a shocked Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado and Zatanna. After he told them, J'onn J'onnz ran to the teleporter but Flash steadied his arm:
"Buddy? It's...too late. Look."
It was his ultimate glory, his ultimate sacrifice. Bruce Wayne- Batman - disarmed the dirty nuke in question in enough time for its fuse to stall indefinitely. However, in those minutes, Bruce Wayne received a fatal radiation dose from the device. As he laid there, sprawled, his consciousness ebbing, Batman had saved the lives of ten million people. His city was safe and that was all that mattered to him- consolation as he slipped into the ultimate night from which no-one ever awakens.
6. DEATH OF A DARKNIGHT DETECTIVE:
The Batman's funeral was an event that showed how much he was loved, despite his stern magisterial demeanour. Numb, James Gordon held his sobbing daughter Barbara, while Starfire rocked Dick Grayson back and forward, inconsolate at the graveside that he had long dreaded. Oliver and Dinah stared over the coffin at Clark and Lois:
"So this is the question, Big Blue. Are you going to pull the plug on the JLA?"
Lois nodded: "He's already resigned, Oliver. And I think I speak for both of us when you see what I've done on Resistance Orbital."
"Yeah, thanks, Lois. Damned excellent work. Clark?"
"There's a problem. Kemp didn't want any of this, but he's democratically elected and the legitimate president. None of this is directly his fault."
"The hell it isn't. His razor gang cuts radicalised too many people, both ways. You're right, we can't authorise a coup d'etat to remove him. But that's Bruce down there."
"If none of you are going to act, then I will." And above them, tears streaming down her face, was a grim and determined Catwoman.
7. DANGLING ON A PRECIPICE:
In response to President Kemp's expenditure cuts and privatisations, the Democrat Party has now acquired control of the US Senate after the mid-term elections, as well as winning control of several US state governorships and legislatures. However, the state of polarisation and enmity toward the president is now strengthening, an indication that the 1988 presidential race may be very, very tight. This is Lana Lang, WGBS New- And at that moment, a crazed gunperson broke into the WGBS studio. and aimed a rifle at the anchorwoman:
"Traitorous bitch! You've dissented from our President's vision for this country for the last time!!!" And with that, Lana Lang, Superboy's girlfriend, who had once contemplated marriage to the Man of Steel, was mown down before the horrified eyes of a nation. From Lois' side in the Fortress of Solitude, Kal-El sped toward the distant Metropolis skyline, praying that he would be in time. In Alaska, Lois Lane screamed. But he was too late.
Catwoman crashtackled the assassin and laid into him, thoroughly pummelling him:
"You insane bastard! That mask comes off- now!"
As Superman alighted, he realised he couldn't hear Lana's heartbeat and held his boyhood love in his arms as he sobbed. Eventually, he looked up:
"Selina?"
"President Kemp, this is your fault! You have polarised this country and because of that, a good woman died here today. Like," she choked,"a good man did in Gotham several months ago."
8. PYRRHIC VICTORY:
"He did what?!|" Oliver Queen exclaimed from his office as Director of RE/SYST.
"President Kemp has unconditionally pardoned former Superman nemesis and entrepreneur Lex Luthor, it was announced today. The President's decision was met with the usual incredulity and contempt that one associates with dissident journalist Lois Lane and her pirate Resistance Television network. WGBS chair Morgan Edge remained silent- he has been in seclusion since the tragic killing of Lana Lang, the former news anchorwoman, last year. In return, Luthor's investments may pull the United States out of the recession that Kemp's conservative economic policies have pushed the country into. "
9. KNIFE's EDGE:
"And in a knife's edge presidential victory, President Kemp has secured 271 votes, while his rival Walter Mondale, Carter's Vice President, scored 269. The result reveals a severely divided nation. RE/SYST head Oliver Queen called for a March on Washington, backed by major civil rights organisations and the Democrats. Although President Kemp won the Electoral College narrowly due to the Luthor investment revitalisation of the economy, the situation is likely to further divide the remnants of the Justice League of America, as the Flash walked out today, while Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom stayed onboard. The metahuman law enforcement organisation has been rocked by resignations over disagreements about President Kemp's response to the recession and the deepening poverty within the United States as a result."
In the Fortress, Selina said: "I'm going to that march."
"Selina, be reasonable. After that pasting you gave Slade on television-"
"Lois. Luthor's gunning for Clark, I can see that. He has too much influence in this administration and Kemp's made one bad choice after another. If you think I'm going to let your husband go in alone, you're wrong. What is it, Barry?"
"Oh man. Katar has lost it. Look at this."
"Hawkman has said that he, the Atom and Green Lantern, will be participating as law enforcement personnel at the forthcoming March on Washington. The move has been condemned by his former Justice League colleagues and members of the Teen Titans, after covert operations head Amanda Waller refused to assign her so-called "Suicide Squad" to guard duties within Washington. However, his ex-wife, Hawkwoman, has dissociated herself from the actions of her former spouse, stating that she regarded the protest as wholly legitimate and stating that she thought metahumans should not be politically aligned in this context."
10. WASHINGTON BLUES:
The 1991 March on Washington was an event that was several millions strong. On both sides were aligned members of the metahuman community. Oliver Queen, the former Green Arrow, and his wife Dinah Lance Queen, were amongst those at the frontline of the peaceful protest. But President Kemp had his own supporters, as well as entryists who planned to exploit the President's policies for other objectives. No-one officially knew who fired the first shot- it seems to have been Grant Wilson, a mercenary known as Ravager, an enemy of the Teen Titans metahuman youth group, in vengeance for his father Slade, formerly known as Deathstroke the Terminator. The bullet hit Selina Kyle in the heart- her last word was Bruce. And with that, the demonstrators ran for cover. Superman descended on Wilson and snapped his rifle in two halves, but Wilson wasn't the only one there seeking to exploit the situation. Several months ago, Lex Luthor had installed an explosive implant inside Wilson's brain, volatilised with kryptonite. The lethal alien element shrapnelled into Kal-El's body, bringing him to his knees. In a moment of impulsive response, Oliver Queen loaded his arrow as Hawkman saw it and swept down, swinging his mace. His blow never landed as Dinah Queen's Black Canary sonic cry shattered his eardrums and deranged his Nth metal flight system. Zatanna was quick on the scene, with a spell ready:
"Emit esrever, evas Nampreus Le-Lak mrof siht etaf!" But in doing so, Zatanna herself was exposed to the deadly effects of the time reversal chroniton pulse and sacrificed herself in his stead, as the kryptonite particles dissolved into nothingness and the circumstances that had led to Wilson's suicide bombing were undone. As Green Lantern closed in, he was felled by a pulse of energy from John Stewart, as Green Arrow shot a net above the street where the former Emerald Warrior fell. Wonder Woman's rope snared the Atom before he could enlarge. It was over.
EPILOGUE:
Amongst those caught in the crossfire when Grant Wilson opened fire on the March on Washington was the former Democratic Governor of Arkansas, William Jefferson Clinton. His widow, Hillary, stood against Republican candidate John McCain and won the US presidency in 1992. As for Luthor, his role in the attempted assassination of Oliver Queen and the death of Selina Kyle was uncovered. Lois Lane returned to work at the Daily Planet after Morgan Edge relinquished ownership, while Clark Kent stayed home to look after their daughter, Martha, as well as serving as Superman when occasion required. Selina Kyle was buried alongside Bruce Wayne, as the slain millionaire's will requested. Four light years away, Vartox mourned the death of his one-time love, Lana Lang. As for the Justice League, Hawkman was expelled for his poor decision. Lex Luthor was subpoenaed and imprisoned for his attempt to subvert democracy and for the slaying of Selina Kyle, this time in the impregnable Phantom Zone. The United States has never had another Republican presidency since the Kemp debacle- Clinton was succeeded by Al Gore, her deputy, while Barack Obama became the first African-American president in 2008 and his vice president, Joseph Biden, won in 2016.
Seven years beforehand, Jack Kemp, the fortieth US president, died from cancer, aged seventy four. Although celebrated by Republicans like George. H. Bush and Newt Gingrich for his "visionary" economic policies, the unfortunate lack of political judgement that beset his presidency is what has characterised his posterity, although a man of strong character in other ways. The times were against him, as they were for the half-forgotten Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, whose brutal repression of a miners strike in 1984 cost her a second term and led to long term Labour ascendancy in the United Kingdom from that point on. In 1985, the USSR had collapsed when uprisings in the Islamic Soviet central states cut their supply lines to their ill advised Afghanistan adventure, and the Taliban insurgents massacred those behind enemy lines. In 1990, a peaceful mass demonstration in Tianenman Square had led to the abdication of the Communistr Party of China and the establishment of a multiparty democracy in Beijing. Due to those contextual factors, Kemp's experiment failed and with the end of the Cold War in the mid-eighties and accelerating nuclear disarmament talks in its wake, one of the pivotal legs of US conservatism collapsed. Kemp is better known and celebrated justly for his sterling career in the Buffalo Bills American Football League Eastern Conference, where he is worshipped by pigskin aficionadoes for legendary victories against the Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs. He is enshrined in the AFL Hall of Fame for his record of succcessful passes, rushing touchdowns, yardage and ground gained passing, well ahead of other greats of the game. When the Erie County Republican Party shoulder tapped him in 1969, it did not diminish his lasting reknown on the sports field, whatever his strengths and weaknesses as the fortieth president.
THE END
Despite the recession, he won a second term of office.
Unable to secure even the safety of its capital, the Islamic Republic of Iran collapsed several months later. However, the event touched off a civil war, during which time the Red Army consolidated its hold on Afghanistan, absorbing it into the Soviet Union. Seeing a chance to secure foreign capital and technological prowess as the new regional surrogate, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq offered transit routes for the United States and its allies. On other Earths, this provoked a period of intensive Cold War hostility and ended in September 1983 when a Soviet mainframe malfunction accidentally plunged the world into a nuclear holocaust. Here, this did not happen. As on other Earths where the mainframe malfunction was detected in time, Colonel Stanislav Petrov was present to warn the authorities of the probable anomalies and thus, this world was spared that horror.
After Ronald Reagan's failure, and at the end of the second Carter term in 1984, Jack Kemp and Howard Baker narrowly won the presidency, but with a less socially conservative inflected platform than that of the failed Republican candidate in 1980. Instead, President Kemp was more motivated by limited government and fiscal conservatism, and embarked on a campaign of enterprise zone construction and government privatisation. How did this affect the US metahuman community?
1. FRAGMENTED JUSTICE:
"Be reasonable, Oliver!"
"No, Katar. Sorry, buddy, but what Jackie boy has done is damned repressive and I won't just sit by and let it happen. Dinah? Are you coming with me?"
"I'm sorry, Katar, but he's right. And he's my man and I'll stand with him. I was around during the Depression on Earth-Beta [ed: 481] and you weren't. What the current president is doing can only lead to heartache and suffering. I can't stand by and watch this either. Bruce?"
Batman looked up from the monitor: "I think there are other ways. I definitely intend to finance the Democrats as I usually do, but then I've got the money to do that. I've used my influence on Gotham Council to provide humane working conditions and distance the city from Kemp's attack on industrial relations laws."
Green Arrow sighed: "I know, and I'm grateful. What was it you once said, though? Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime?"
"I still believe in that. Who knows, if someone had intervened in Joe Chill's life, perhaps that night in Crime Alley would never have happened."
"Then I guess this is goodbye then." And with that, Green Arrow abandoned his mask and, joined by Black Canary, left the Justice League forever.
2. LIGHTNING STILLED.
"No, don't!" Superman sped to intervene as the riot bullet accelerated toward Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, as he protested against Metropolis school budget cuts. But while Superman was faster than a speeding bullet usually, he had just been exposed to a kryptonite ambush by Lex Luthor on that day and his habitual velocity had deserted him. He witnessed the impact and wasn't fast enough to extract the bullet and rescue his comrade in arms. He angrily turned on his heat vision and transformed the police armaments to slag. This had been a nonviolent protest. What was happening to truth, justice and the American way?
3. LANTERNS LIGHT.
"John?" Black Canary said as she looked up and spotted John Stewart, Earth's alternate Green Lantern:
"This situation needs to be remedied more urgently. I've... had an argument with Hal."
"That I can believe, the big green boy scout. I thought I'd opened his eyes with that road trip a few years ago. Apparently not."
"After what happened to Jeff in Metropolis, I think even Superman realises that something's badly wrong with the direction of this country. I mean, it's great that President Kemp condemned what happened to those protestors when Commissioner Turpin overreacted and promptly sacked him, but a lot of the Republicans in Congress don't have his integrity."
"So why are you here, John? Not that we couldn't use the solidarity."
"I think we need an alternative to the Justice League. Let's call it... Justice NOW."
4. GREAT METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER:
"What do you mean, you won't let me publish it?" Lois Lane angrily demanded.
"I stand by my best columnist, Edge. Why? This is editorial censorship." Perry White leant forward, backing Lois Lane's stance and meeting his publisher's eyes.
Morgan Edge stared levelly at them: "Because the Republican Senate has the numbers to enforce those damned press restrictions. I don't like it any more than you do, Lane and White . For what it's worth, this is an excellent piece of investigative journalism. But it also exposes massive corporate corruption and fraud and-"
Lois angrily continued: "And most of the corporations I've detailed are Republican donors. Is that what this country is coming to? Corporate, market-based censorship? What about the First Amendment?"
"What's gotten into you, Edge? You used to be better than this."
"If it helps, White, I'm not tolerating it either. Effective immediately, I'm selling the Daily Planet and emigrating to Israel."
Lois realised why: "Mr Edge, is this something to do with that awful synagogue bombing in New York?"
Morgan Edge bitterly nodded: "This... country isn't a safe place for me right now, Lois."
"Perry?"
"And I hope you can understand that I won't tolerate editorial censorship from above, Mr Edge. Either Lane's story gets published, or I quit as editor."
"I can't take that risk, both of you. I'm truly sorry, Perry, Lois."
"In that case, Perry isn't the only one who resigns, Mr Edge. I'm sorry for the situation you're in and I sympathise. Have a good life in Tel Aviv."
Seconds later, as Lois Lane stepped onto the sidewalk, Superman descended to meet her:
"Lois honey, I am so damned proud of you right now."
"What's that in your hand. Oh!"
"Lois Lane, will you marry me? And incidentally, there are ways around press censorship..."
"Tell me more, gorgeous. And the answer is yes. As if you ever really thought otherwise."
5. GOTHAM BY NUCLEAR GLARE:
"Oh, merciful God." Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing stood aghast as they viewed the stark sllhouette.
Nightwing gulped: "That's a nuclear device. And judging from the design, a dirty one. If it goes off, it'll destroy Goth- Bruce?"
Batman whipped out a taser: "I'm sorry, all of you. Tim? Get Dick and Barbara to safety."
"What about the rest of the city? And Bruce, look at the geiger counter readings from that obscenity. I can't believe the Joker would go this far."
"I think it has something to do with the chemical accident he had all those years ago, Tim. It's rotted his mind and now it's killing him. He doesn't have anything left to lose."
"Bruce, it'll kill you too."
Batman nodded: "It's a risk I'm prepared to take, Tim. Good luck, my friend." As Batman turned, Robin activated Batman's JLA teleporter signal and instants later, he, Nightwing and Batgirl appeared on the JLA satellite, witnessed by a shocked Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado and Zatanna. After he told them, J'onn J'onnz ran to the teleporter but Flash steadied his arm:
"Buddy? It's...too late. Look."
It was his ultimate glory, his ultimate sacrifice. Bruce Wayne- Batman - disarmed the dirty nuke in question in enough time for its fuse to stall indefinitely. However, in those minutes, Bruce Wayne received a fatal radiation dose from the device. As he laid there, sprawled, his consciousness ebbing, Batman had saved the lives of ten million people. His city was safe and that was all that mattered to him- consolation as he slipped into the ultimate night from which no-one ever awakens.
6. DEATH OF A DARKNIGHT DETECTIVE:
The Batman's funeral was an event that showed how much he was loved, despite his stern magisterial demeanour. Numb, James Gordon held his sobbing daughter Barbara, while Starfire rocked Dick Grayson back and forward, inconsolate at the graveside that he had long dreaded. Oliver and Dinah stared over the coffin at Clark and Lois:
"So this is the question, Big Blue. Are you going to pull the plug on the JLA?"
Lois nodded: "He's already resigned, Oliver. And I think I speak for both of us when you see what I've done on Resistance Orbital."
"Yeah, thanks, Lois. Damned excellent work. Clark?"
"There's a problem. Kemp didn't want any of this, but he's democratically elected and the legitimate president. None of this is directly his fault."
"The hell it isn't. His razor gang cuts radicalised too many people, both ways. You're right, we can't authorise a coup d'etat to remove him. But that's Bruce down there."
"If none of you are going to act, then I will." And above them, tears streaming down her face, was a grim and determined Catwoman.
7. DANGLING ON A PRECIPICE:
In response to President Kemp's expenditure cuts and privatisations, the Democrat Party has now acquired control of the US Senate after the mid-term elections, as well as winning control of several US state governorships and legislatures. However, the state of polarisation and enmity toward the president is now strengthening, an indication that the 1988 presidential race may be very, very tight. This is Lana Lang, WGBS New- And at that moment, a crazed gunperson broke into the WGBS studio. and aimed a rifle at the anchorwoman:
"Traitorous bitch! You've dissented from our President's vision for this country for the last time!!!" And with that, Lana Lang, Superboy's girlfriend, who had once contemplated marriage to the Man of Steel, was mown down before the horrified eyes of a nation. From Lois' side in the Fortress of Solitude, Kal-El sped toward the distant Metropolis skyline, praying that he would be in time. In Alaska, Lois Lane screamed. But he was too late.
Catwoman crashtackled the assassin and laid into him, thoroughly pummelling him:
"You insane bastard! That mask comes off- now!"
As Superman alighted, he realised he couldn't hear Lana's heartbeat and held his boyhood love in his arms as he sobbed. Eventually, he looked up:
"Selina?"
"President Kemp, this is your fault! You have polarised this country and because of that, a good woman died here today. Like," she choked,"a good man did in Gotham several months ago."
8. PYRRHIC VICTORY:
"He did what?!|" Oliver Queen exclaimed from his office as Director of RE/SYST.
"President Kemp has unconditionally pardoned former Superman nemesis and entrepreneur Lex Luthor, it was announced today. The President's decision was met with the usual incredulity and contempt that one associates with dissident journalist Lois Lane and her pirate Resistance Television network. WGBS chair Morgan Edge remained silent- he has been in seclusion since the tragic killing of Lana Lang, the former news anchorwoman, last year. In return, Luthor's investments may pull the United States out of the recession that Kemp's conservative economic policies have pushed the country into. "
9. KNIFE's EDGE:
"And in a knife's edge presidential victory, President Kemp has secured 271 votes, while his rival Walter Mondale, Carter's Vice President, scored 269. The result reveals a severely divided nation. RE/SYST head Oliver Queen called for a March on Washington, backed by major civil rights organisations and the Democrats. Although President Kemp won the Electoral College narrowly due to the Luthor investment revitalisation of the economy, the situation is likely to further divide the remnants of the Justice League of America, as the Flash walked out today, while Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom stayed onboard. The metahuman law enforcement organisation has been rocked by resignations over disagreements about President Kemp's response to the recession and the deepening poverty within the United States as a result."
In the Fortress, Selina said: "I'm going to that march."
"Selina, be reasonable. After that pasting you gave Slade on television-"
"Lois. Luthor's gunning for Clark, I can see that. He has too much influence in this administration and Kemp's made one bad choice after another. If you think I'm going to let your husband go in alone, you're wrong. What is it, Barry?"
"Oh man. Katar has lost it. Look at this."
"Hawkman has said that he, the Atom and Green Lantern, will be participating as law enforcement personnel at the forthcoming March on Washington. The move has been condemned by his former Justice League colleagues and members of the Teen Titans, after covert operations head Amanda Waller refused to assign her so-called "Suicide Squad" to guard duties within Washington. However, his ex-wife, Hawkwoman, has dissociated herself from the actions of her former spouse, stating that she regarded the protest as wholly legitimate and stating that she thought metahumans should not be politically aligned in this context."
10. WASHINGTON BLUES:
The 1991 March on Washington was an event that was several millions strong. On both sides were aligned members of the metahuman community. Oliver Queen, the former Green Arrow, and his wife Dinah Lance Queen, were amongst those at the frontline of the peaceful protest. But President Kemp had his own supporters, as well as entryists who planned to exploit the President's policies for other objectives. No-one officially knew who fired the first shot- it seems to have been Grant Wilson, a mercenary known as Ravager, an enemy of the Teen Titans metahuman youth group, in vengeance for his father Slade, formerly known as Deathstroke the Terminator. The bullet hit Selina Kyle in the heart- her last word was Bruce. And with that, the demonstrators ran for cover. Superman descended on Wilson and snapped his rifle in two halves, but Wilson wasn't the only one there seeking to exploit the situation. Several months ago, Lex Luthor had installed an explosive implant inside Wilson's brain, volatilised with kryptonite. The lethal alien element shrapnelled into Kal-El's body, bringing him to his knees. In a moment of impulsive response, Oliver Queen loaded his arrow as Hawkman saw it and swept down, swinging his mace. His blow never landed as Dinah Queen's Black Canary sonic cry shattered his eardrums and deranged his Nth metal flight system. Zatanna was quick on the scene, with a spell ready:
"Emit esrever, evas Nampreus Le-Lak mrof siht etaf!" But in doing so, Zatanna herself was exposed to the deadly effects of the time reversal chroniton pulse and sacrificed herself in his stead, as the kryptonite particles dissolved into nothingness and the circumstances that had led to Wilson's suicide bombing were undone. As Green Lantern closed in, he was felled by a pulse of energy from John Stewart, as Green Arrow shot a net above the street where the former Emerald Warrior fell. Wonder Woman's rope snared the Atom before he could enlarge. It was over.
EPILOGUE:
Amongst those caught in the crossfire when Grant Wilson opened fire on the March on Washington was the former Democratic Governor of Arkansas, William Jefferson Clinton. His widow, Hillary, stood against Republican candidate John McCain and won the US presidency in 1992. As for Luthor, his role in the attempted assassination of Oliver Queen and the death of Selina Kyle was uncovered. Lois Lane returned to work at the Daily Planet after Morgan Edge relinquished ownership, while Clark Kent stayed home to look after their daughter, Martha, as well as serving as Superman when occasion required. Selina Kyle was buried alongside Bruce Wayne, as the slain millionaire's will requested. Four light years away, Vartox mourned the death of his one-time love, Lana Lang. As for the Justice League, Hawkman was expelled for his poor decision. Lex Luthor was subpoenaed and imprisoned for his attempt to subvert democracy and for the slaying of Selina Kyle, this time in the impregnable Phantom Zone. The United States has never had another Republican presidency since the Kemp debacle- Clinton was succeeded by Al Gore, her deputy, while Barack Obama became the first African-American president in 2008 and his vice president, Joseph Biden, won in 2016.
Seven years beforehand, Jack Kemp, the fortieth US president, died from cancer, aged seventy four. Although celebrated by Republicans like George. H. Bush and Newt Gingrich for his "visionary" economic policies, the unfortunate lack of political judgement that beset his presidency is what has characterised his posterity, although a man of strong character in other ways. The times were against him, as they were for the half-forgotten Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, whose brutal repression of a miners strike in 1984 cost her a second term and led to long term Labour ascendancy in the United Kingdom from that point on. In 1985, the USSR had collapsed when uprisings in the Islamic Soviet central states cut their supply lines to their ill advised Afghanistan adventure, and the Taliban insurgents massacred those behind enemy lines. In 1990, a peaceful mass demonstration in Tianenman Square had led to the abdication of the Communistr Party of China and the establishment of a multiparty democracy in Beijing. Due to those contextual factors, Kemp's experiment failed and with the end of the Cold War in the mid-eighties and accelerating nuclear disarmament talks in its wake, one of the pivotal legs of US conservatism collapsed. Kemp is better known and celebrated justly for his sterling career in the Buffalo Bills American Football League Eastern Conference, where he is worshipped by pigskin aficionadoes for legendary victories against the Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs. He is enshrined in the AFL Hall of Fame for his record of succcessful passes, rushing touchdowns, yardage and ground gained passing, well ahead of other greats of the game. When the Erie County Republican Party shoulder tapped him in 1969, it did not diminish his lasting reknown on the sports field, whatever his strengths and weaknesses as the fortieth president.
THE END