| Synopsis | - The real Professor Ivo sits in his padded cell, groaning and whimpering over his delusions. He remembers his early encounters with the Justice League, when they fought his android Amazo. Then he thinks about the recent murders he committed, Steel and Vibe. He cries that he is not a murderer, and he could not have done these things. The android that has been posing as Professor Ivo visits his android psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist tells him he is unbalanced. The fake Ivo gets so angry that he blows up the psychiatrist with a bomb.
Vixen runs across the rooftops, lamenting the death of her friend Steel. She feels responsible for not stopping him from going outside. Predatory men follow her because of her skimpy clothes, and she frightens them off by growling. Heading into the underground tunnels, she decides to hunt Professor Ivo down and kill him.
Dale Gunn, Hank Heywood, and Martian Manhunter drink in memory of Steel. Martian Manhunter angrily throws his drink on the ground and leans on the wall. Gunn tries to calm him down, and Martian Manhunter says that he has never wanted blood so badly in his life. Heywood gives Martian Manhunter a device to track down the rest of Ivo's androids. Martian Manhunter promises that Steel will be avenged by the end of the day. Gunn reminds him that revenge isn't justice, and it goes against everything the Justice League stands for. Martian Manhunter tells him that the League is dead.
Vixen crawls through the sewers following Professor Ivo's scent. Finally she finds his lair, and breaks in through a grate. Ivo is waiting for her, and he explains that he saw her on his monitors. Ivo asks her to honor his request for a last meal, and sits down to have dinner across from her. He offers her a drink, and Vixen throws the poisoned cup at his face. The dozen androids in his lair approach. Vixen savagely battles them, and seems to be winning the fight. Ivo goes to his computer and calibrates the androids to kill Vixen, the same way they were calibrated to kill the other Leaguers. They surround Vixen and beat her senseless into the ground, where she thinks she is dying. Martian Manhunter bursts through the door and easily destroys the androids. Ivo pulls out a pocket flamethrower and uses it to incapacitate Martian Manhunter. Vixen gets a second wind and pulls the last androids off of her. This is the distraction that Martian Manhunter needed, and he punches Ivo out. Martian Manhunter wants to kill Ivo, but stops at the last second and says that he can't. Vixen tells him that she can, and she decapitates Ivo. They realize that this Ivo is another android. Behind a door, they find the real Ivo in his padded cell. They realize that Ivo has gone completely insane, and was not in control of his actions. It's explained that after Ivo escaped from Arkham Asylum, his androids turned on him and locked him away. His deranged impulses were still controlling them, and he horribly regrets the murders committed in his name.
Back in the Justice League Compound, Martian Manhunter tells Vixen that he cannot bring himself to hate such a tortured soul. Vixen tells him that hate is healthy, and he needs to purge his anger to move onto forgiveness and mourning. Martian Manhunter says that he has decided to disobey the presidential order forbidding superhero activity, because people need him. For Steel and Vibe's deaths to have any meaning, the League must continue. Opinions and politics might change, but they are duty bound to do their job whether they are being praised or blamed. The Justice League must go on for the sake of justice. Vixen tells him that she turned into a monster when her friends died, and she is scared of that part of herself. This experience has taught her that she needs to quit being Vixen for awhile, and focus on being Mari McCabe. Vixen quits the League and hugs Martian Manhunter goodbye, then walks out of the compound. Martian Manhunter is about to turn the computers off when he receives an emergency signal, and he rushes to Washington, D.C..
|
