If you're reading this, congratulations—you're smarter than Lex Luthor and have done better than the Department of Extranormal Operations. And Lex Luthor, whatever his sins, is not stupid. Nor is the D.E.O.
First, an introduction is in order. My "name" is Jay Hall, and I was known as Operative 4182 until recently. You may be familiar with my work through the recently-declassified Directive on Superpowers. The D.E.O. found me wandering, amnesiac, several miles from the Coast City federal disaster area. I was wearing a torn flight suit with the name tag having only three letters left on it: J, H and L. A JSA fan promptly amalgamated the Flash and Hawkman, and the name stuck. Initial tests showed that I possessed some strange metahuman power, but that I couldn't control it. I can control its results, however—basically, I can emulate any power in existence, but I can't control what powers will manifest. So far, the only noticeable commonality seems to be that energy emissions tend to be a greenish hue. Between that and the fact that I have many of the skills appropriate to a D.E.O. agent, I was promptly hired.
I think they have some idea who I am, though. Serendipity or no, government agencies don't just hire amnesiacs off the street.
I served with distinction for some time, even if the agency had a tendency to shuffle me around a lot. My ever-changing powers made me useful in a wide variety of situations, and I believe I can honestly say that I acquitted myself admirably.
Then Lex Luthor was elected President.
That man has ridden his popularity spike since winning the Imperiex War to suppress all opposition to his agenda. And rest assured, Luthor does have an agenda. D.E.O. surveillance of super heroes (but not villains) had doubled before I left, and was in the process of redoubling at the time. Special research projects had been begun, hand-in-glove with LexCorp, that would enable the government to "neutralize" any metahuman they found it necessary to "sanction." Further developments along these lines were aimed at the less flamboyant heroes of America—those who keep our nation running, either by fighting crime, keeping politics honest, or just by getting involved. Luthor intends to make America the Land of the Rich and the Home of the Bald. Everyone else will just be tenants. As for everyone else...today America, tomorrow the world. And with the LexDrive in production, who knows what he'll set his sights on next. Let's just say I hope they have good defenses on Thanagar.
Unfortunately, I have this problem with lying: I can't do it. Worse, sometimes I have trouble keeping my mouth shut. So a few weeks after the Great and Benevolent President Luthor was sworn in, I found myself running from two very tall women in dark suits. Carrying big guns with "LexCorp" plastered on the sides. Lex prefers subtlety most of the time, but he likes to make a big splashy example occasionally. Fortunately, my power of the day was invulnerability, so I didn't splash very well. The down side was, that was my only power of the day. I decided not to wait around to find out how creative Bambi and Thumper could be.
So now, here we are. This little site is really more of an excuse to put up a few notes than anything else; I don't expect the next Woodward and Bernstein to find this, investigate Luthor, and bring him down. (Besides, if Lane and Kent can't do it, anyone else would end up as a LexCorp building cornerstone.) I just ask that you look at these D.E.O. notes and keep an open mind.
Not everything here is an indictment of procedure, either. A lot of this was removed for space reasons. So browse, enjoy...and think about what you read.
Operative 4182: Jay Hall
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