Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Venom or Justice League. Venom is property of Marvel and Justice League is property of DC, and Sean Kruger belongs to Dragonlord0.

Enjoy!

The Justice League could only look on in disbelief as they saw many of their villains on the news, led by Venom and sanctioned by Sean no less. Batman saw one particular member of the Protectors standing next to Venom.

"Jason." Batman whispered with shame in his voice, as Superman put a hand on his shoulder to console him.

"Why would Sean decide to just ask the U.S. Government to sanction a group whose members are some of the most dangerous people on the planet. We saw Deathstroke, Deadshot, even Sinestro was there for crying out loud!" Green Lantern ranted.

"If I had to guess, I'd say they negotiated some kind of deal. I can't otherwise see another way to get this approved." said Batman, his mind working overtime trying to figure out how this went down.

"The government doesn't negotiate with terrorists." Insists Superman.

"Maybe Sean had connections with people close to the President. There's no doubt that the government's funding his company that they sent their best people to work for him." Flash says, proving that he says some smart things every now and then.

Martian Manhunter spoke, "What shall we do now?"

Superman stood up with a glare, "I think it's time we owe Kruger a visit."

Global Tech, Hours Later

Sean sat in his office, watching the news on his tablet until the door burst open. He looked up to see the Justice League, sans Wonder Woman, coming into the room while his secretary tried to stop them.

"You can't just barge in here without an appointment."

"That's okay, Jessie. I was expecting visitors anyway." Sean said.

Jessie nodded her head and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Sean stood up and walked over to a small table that had a stack of cups and pitcher filled with water.

"Took you long enough," said Sean, filling his cup as the League made their way towards him. "Sooner than this, actually. I knew that big speech would get your attention."

"What have you done?" snarled Batman.

"I did what you refused to do. I gave the public the protection it always wanted." Sean said simply as he turned to the the tablet where the news on the newly formed Lethal Protectors kept going.

"You're hiring known criminals to form a death squad of sorts. Not to mention you gave Venom a means to counter his vulnerability to ultrasonics last night." Superman accused with a glare.

"I just couldn't ignore a friend in need. Besides, the people seem to have come out in support of us," he said, as he turned the tablet towards the JL. The team saw Lois Lane interviewing some of the citizens of Metropolis, with one of the interviewees being a man.

"What are your thoughts on the Lethal Protectors?" She asked before speaking once more in case he didn't know. "The new government task force."

"I'm honestly happy about it. I heard that Venom killed Scarecrow and if they're going to be handling evil the same way he handled him, then I'm all for them every step of the way." He says.

"And how do you feel about the current members?" She asked as the camera once more turned towards the man.

"Well when I first saw who the group was composed of I was a bit surprised, but then I remembered that they're working for our government, so that kind of eased my worries a bit." He answered.

"Thank you for your time." Lois replies as she and Jimmy move onto another civilian. This time it's a middle aged woman who they interview. "Excuse me miss, would you mind answering a few questions about our president's latest announcements?"

"I have a few minutes so that's fine." The lady answers.

"The president has made it known that Global Tech had launched a new task force. What are your thoughts on both the group and its members?"

"To be honest, I don't know if the people of America and the rest of the world should be concerned or not. Firstly, why do we need another group? Aren't the Justice League and the Avengers here for the exact same reason? I know the young man running Global Tech has done a lot for us, but isn't forming a group with half its members being known criminals a little extreme?"

"All very valid points thank you for your input." Lois says before heading over to another person. This time it was a man in his late 90s who wore glasses. After introducing herself she asks the same questions she's asked the other participants.

"Honestly, this may be a good thing." He comments firmly.

"Why do you think so?" She questions genuinely curious.

"The Justice League is supposed to be protecting us from all these criminals, yet we see them a month later out doing the same thing. At least the Avengers know what needs to be done. Maybe this is exactly what we need. A group that'll send a stronger message to crime. Mess with us, and it'll be the last thing they do. It's time someone puts these freaks and psychopaths like the Joker down." He finishes his piece and turns to look at the camera. "I don't know if the Protectors are watching this, but if you are, just know that you have a true believer rooting for you guys one hundred percent."

There was a murmur of agreement from a few passersby offscreen. The League glared from the tablet to Sean, who glared back at them.

"Nobody is going to stand for this madness!" said Green Lantern heatedly.

"You call it madness, I call it salvation." Sean said. "It's not like I'm launching an attack on the innocent people of Gotham or Metropolis – I'm just helping removing proven terrorists. Like the Joker. There's no justifying his repeated insanity plea, that pasty bastard was always a malicious and violent psychopath. There's no helping people like that. These aren't people who can be cured. They're pure evil, down to their core. The only thing we can do with them is make sure they don't hurt anybody else by eliminating them. The people of Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, and whatever city the rest of you protect want to live in peace and safety. I'm just giving them what you never could."

"We're protectors, not murderers," retorted Batman. "We don't have the right to kill repeat offenders, and neither do you."

"Right?" repeated the CEO. "As a part-time government official, I have the right to do whatever I want to keep people all over the world safe. That's my job. I imagine you believe that's your job too. And even though my methods for protecting this city may be more effective, we're the same kind of people."

"I'm sorry you think so," said Superman with a glare.

Sean scoffed. "Right, we are different in one aspect. I give the people what they want, and you won't."

He looked at the tablet again, where Lois was reporting once again, "…a massive show of public support for the task force formed by Sean Kruger. The debate sparked by the act is already polarizing people to extremes of emotion, but as far as I can tell anyway, mostly in favor of the elimination of the criminals hailing from Gotham."

"…should have been done a long time ago. Drastic action needs to be taken to stop these criminals, and since the Justice League don't have the guts to kill them, I'm glad these guys finally do."

"The violence has to be stopped. If this is the only way to do it, I fully support Global Tech. The world finally has the protectors it deserves."

Sean turned off the tablet and turned to the JL, who kept glaring.

"It doesn't matter what the people's opinions are. Why would you choose the most dangerous people on the planet for this task force?" Hawkgirl demanded.

"Some of them weren't evil to begin with. Either their lives weren't easy or there was no other way." Sean retorted. "Eddie told me that you said it yourselves: 'Anyone can become good with a second chance'."

"Not through murder. We're trying to prove there are ways around it." Black Canary argued.

"See? There you go again!" Sean pointed out. "You gave chance after chance to those who have a high body count, yet you're saying the members of our team should be thrown back in jail when they're doing the right thing for once? I knew the reasons behind why some of your Rogues turned to crime in the first place. Deadshot's got a daughter, Ivy wants people to respect the environment, and Mr. Freeze is trying to find a cure for his wife. I gave them a way out of their suffering and they took it. What were your solutions to 'redeem' them? Lock them in jail so they can think about what they've done? Fat chance."

"You can't just wash away their crimes with a push of a button." Green Lantern said, stepping forward.

"I can and did, if you have a problem, have your lawyer call mine, but until then, our conversation is over."

"What makes everyone think that Venom makes a better protector even when he massacred, maybe even devoured over a hundred people for a year?" Superman demanded.

"Well, for starters, Venom wasn't the one that was put under Darkseid's control to wreak havoc on Metropolis a few years ago. Oh wait, that was you, Superman. The people still haven't forgotten about what happened that day." Sean said.

At that, Superman's eyes glow red in anger as he put pressure on Sean's desk, who just looked unfazed before he pressed a button under his desk. Then the security team came into the room with their guns pointed at the League.

"Meeting's over. Please, my guards will show you out." Sean said. "Oh, and one more thing. The Lethal Protectors are now under the protection of both Global Tech AND our government. Which means if any of you is even a few feet away from them, we won't hesitate to hunt you down.

The League could only glare at the threat, plus the fact that they couldn't do anything to arrest the members of the Lethal Protectors. But this wasn't over.

"Last chance. It won't matter to us about the situation. If he or any of his subordinates go too far, we will shut you down." Batman warned. And with that, the League left the office with the guards escorting them out.

Sean groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose before leaning against his chair. "Stubborn pricks."

Eddie's Mansion, Hours Later

"Are you serious?" Eddie asked Sean incredulously over the phone, while Anne, Diana, Kara, and Zatanna watched the conversation on the couch.

Apparently, Sean had called him to inform him of the League's little visit and their rant on the new task force until he sent them packing, but not before the League threatened to shut him down if even one of the Protectors slips up in the slightest.

"Yeah, but I hope that'll be the last time they'll visit. Just let them wait until they mistake one of our members walking an old lady across the street for pushing her into the path of an oncoming truck." Sean finished his last sentence sarcastically.

'I knew this would happen. They're trying to look for an excuse to try and jail us.' Venom snarled in anger. Eddie only sighed; even though the League was forbidden from making a move on them for now, he still knew that they weren't going to stop trying to pursue them until they had an opportunity to arrest them.

"Anyway, how are things going over at your place?" Eddie asked, wanting to get his mind off the subject.

'Paparazzi almost got me down when the news came out, but things are quieting down since the people know they'll be protected the way they always wanted.' Sean said. 'In the meantime, some of our members have decided to make themselves at home at Global. Ivy's getting along well with the botany division in our labs, as is Morrow with the tech division. And Riddler is in the middle of figuring out when and where the next crime's about to hit and our masterminds behind them. We've already put up training rooms for top assassins like Slade and Floyd.'

"Well you've been busy. Just hope the League doesn't keep getting in our way later. Call you back." Eddie said before hanging up.

"I knew the others would react… negatively about this." Zatanna said with shame in her voice.

"We really need to think about this." Anne warned. "The JL won't back down until they have a justification of wanting to jail our team if they think even one of our members will go out of control."

"Yeah well, that's the Justice League for ya. They'd do anything to catch a 'criminal' even when they're legalized." Eddie said, quoting "criminal" with his fingers for emphasis.

"I just can't believe it." Kara whispered, remembering Eddie's words from last night. "All those years of protecting people, and we forgot about what it really means to be a hero by holding back. I guess we do deserve all the hate."

"Why are you always afraid of not meeting your cousin's expectations?" Eddie asked, getting Kara to look at him fully. "You're technically his older cousin, so you can't let him make the choices for you when they're yours to make. Don't let him or anyone else tell you otherwise."

Kara smiled. "Thanks."

"Guess they won't be seeing you three for now, since they think we 'manipulated' you. Just let their paranoia grow, then we'll kick their asses if they snap." Eddie said with a smirk.

"Eddie!" Zatanna scolded him.

"What? It's Venom's idea." Eddie defended himself, only for a black tendril to burst out of his stomach and smack him across the face for that remark, earning a few giggles from the girls. "Country music for you, then."

'Can't you do it when we mate with your girls later to set the mood?'

"Shut up!"

Later

Eddie was on his laptop in his room, catching up on anything he missed from his workplace back in San Francisco. Still nothing, though he could still write a story on the formation of the Lethal Protectors. He also had videos of people's reaction to the new task force, many of which were positive, in different tabs, even noting Lois Lane's interview with the old man.

'Didn't we see that guy already?' Venom asked curiously.

"Now that you mention it, it's like he shows up at every incident with superheroes." Eddie said in agreement.

'Well, enough about that. Why are we sitting around on our asses when we should be patrolling the city and biting the heads off of crooks we come across?' Venom asked impatiently.

"As much as I like to take ya out for a quick bite, the criminal population's probably too afraid to come out ever since the Lethal Protectors were announced." Eddie said. "They've been so confident about having nothing to be afraid of from the JL since they don't kill, but ever since we came into the picture, they're probably shaking in their boots to even make a move right now."

'Forget the rest of the criminal underworld, when will we get a chance to wipe that grin off the Joker's face since the Bat let him get away?' Venom asked.

"That's what I'm also hoping for, but we gotta make some sort of message to prove we're not fuckin' around. Now that's gonna turn that sick smile of his upside down." Eddie said with a smirk, also hoping to get another shot at the Clown Prince of Crime and put him out of Gotham's misery without Batman or the League interfering.

Before host and symbiote could discuss further, they were interrupted by the door creaking open, and Eddie saw Diana poking her head in.

"Wanna come in?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Diana blushed in response, but complied and entered before sitting down next to Eddie, noting that he was now watching people's opinions of the Protectors. "You've garnered quite a fanbase, Eddie. I mean, Venom."

"Nah that's fine. I still got Brock Report fans in San Francisco." Eddie said with a smile before looking back at the videos. "We had a lotta support in the past year, but we didn't expect it to skyrocket by simply asking for our own team consisting of ex-villains and anti-heroes, designed to hunt down notorious criminals the JL refused to kill for too long. What do you think?"

Diana said nothing as she thought about what Eddie had said to her last night, but more importantly about what he told her the day they first met.

She was raised and trained as a strong, fierce, yet kind warrior. The problem with that was, in recent years the villains of the world, more specifically the more deranged ones, were receiving far too many second chances, doing crazier and crazier things since they know the heroes won't kill them, or even badly hurt them. And after what Eddie told her that day along with last night's revelation, it made her wonder…

If she wasn't in Man's World and these sort of criminals somehow ended up on Themyscira, she would have likely killed them. So why? Why did she let herself succumb to what society dictates a hero should be like? What was the point of fighting the same villains damn near every week and putting them in prison, only for them to break out and start terrorizing people again? How many times had she held back when she could have easily ended a villain in one move?

"Diana?" Eddie asked her again, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I… From where I'm standing, the likes of the Joker are too far gone after everything they've done. Believe me, you're not the first one to open my eyes to the truth." Diana replied with a small frown. "I thought I would make a difference in Man's World by joining the League and getting even the worst criminals to see their wrongdoings, only to have our compassion spat on while we kept ignoring their atrocities and the blood spilled while the public continues to hate us for not doing anything about it."

"It's too crazy to believe that everyone will change if you just give them a chance. Batman and Superman always like to say if we kill criminals then we'd be no better than them. They're just trying to make themselves look like white knights to get people to like them, not caring how many more people have to die to prove it. That ain't what a hero does." Eddie commented with a frown.

"Do you think I deserve the same hate the League is getting from the public because of our methods?" Diana asked softly.

"Hell no!" Eddie said with a shocked expression. "You just didn't have the right guidance to keep people safe. You're an Amazon, right? You understand that killing in wars is necessary to save lives like the military, but I don't think the League sees it that way. Whatever anti-hero they recruited and… re-educated, they deserve something better than being forced to hold back. Don't let anyone tell you some other bullshit."

Diana smiled. "Thanks, Eddie."

'Still the charmer as always.' Venom mused.

Both were broken out of their thoughts when Eddie's phone went off.

The caller: "The Wall" herself.

Diana frowned. She still didn't trust that woman since Cadmus tried to kill the League in the past, but now that the organization has somewhat disbanded, her distrust went down slightly, though she still had her doubts.

Eddie groaned before answering, "Alright, Waller, this better be good."

'Well good news, Brock… and Venom. You've got your first mission.'

That got their attention. This would be the first official mission as a leader of the Lethal Protectors in public.

"What is it?" he asked now curious as closed his laptop and stood up.

"You'll find out soon enough. Meet us at Global as soon as you can." Waller said before hanging up.

"Do you really trust that woman?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow.

"From what I heard, Cadmus may have done some shady things in the past with pretty good reason, but they care about protecting their people as much as we do." Eddie assured her.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Diana said softly before Eddie walked out the door.

Later at Global Tech

After being given a lift by Anne in her van, Eddie, with the tendril with Venom's face sticking out of his shoulder, walked into Sean's office, where the rest of the newly formed Lethal Protectors have gathered around, with Waller standing next to Sean in front of the latter's desk.

"Alright, listen up!" Waller ordered. "We've received information from Riddler here that Black Mask will be trying to export weapons as well as people he's kidnapped tonight at the Gotham Docks. For tonight, this is a stealth mission, so only a few will go to intercept the shipments. Brock, Venom, Red Hood, Deathstroke, Deadshot, Frost, Croc, Ivy and Cheetah. Free the slaves and destroy the weapons."

"What of Black Mask's men?" Asks Deathstroke.

"Kill them. Leave only one alive with a message." Sean instructed.

"Venom will be in command since he's leader. Pull it off and you'll be paid $100,000. Each." Waller added.

Eddie, Frost and Croc's jaws dropped while Deadshot and Deathstroke kept their composure, though a hundred grand for just some henchmen was a pretty rewarding payment.

"Do we get double for biting heads off? For me, I mean." Venom asked eagerly.

"If you think it's like a video game… be my guest." Waller replied with a smirk.

"It'll be done." confirms Slade, sealing the deal.

"Good. But remember. Even though this may not be Task Force X anymore, we've still got our eyes on you. Don't screw this up." Waller asserted with a glare.

The members stood silent at her subtle threat, but Eddie, Venom and Sean were unfazed.

"We're sure we'll make you happy, Waller." Eddie finally spoke with a smirk before turning to the other members. "You guys OK with sitting back and enjoying the action, or do you wanna come and have a piece of it?"

"Some of us are not suited for stealth, but we'd like to see how this plays out." Sinestro said with a small smirk as Sean took out a tablet.

"Morrow just finished helping my engineers build some special drones ready for deployment around Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, and whatever city the rest of the League's protecting so we can stop whatever crime's in progress before they do."

"You sure drones are a good idea? We didn't have the best experience with those things." Eddie said with a sheepish grin, remembering how Drake's drones and goons had chased him and Venom through San Francisco a year ago.

Sean snickered in response, "Trust me, these drones are designed for tracking down future targets so we can send you to neutralize them."

"Can't wait to see the looks on the League's faces when they realize they can't do shit to us anymore!" Livewire added excitedly, while the other members nodded in agreement.

"Any questions before you go off to your first mission?" Waller asked, waiting expectantly.

"Yeah only one." Eddie said. "Do you really call it Task Force X or is it Suicide Squad?"

"Whichever fits." Waller said with an amused smirk.

"Yeah, neither of them do." Lawton muttered, having always hated even the names of the group he was once forced into.

Later that night

Eddie, Jason, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Cheetah, and Killer Frost were atop a tall building nearby watching the docks. They could see that there were about thirty men, all armed, walking about the area. Deadshot began assembling his M110 sniper rifle. The semiautomatic feature would do well with this job. Jason whipped out his dual pistols and began loading his bullets.

"Alright guys, here's the plan. First put these on your ears so you can hear us." Eddie says handing each member a small chip. They took a moment to look at their chips and put them on. "Frost, Cheetah, Ivy. You're gonna go down there and wait for Floyd to take the first shot. Once they're distracted by the shots, Frost'll freeze the surrounding area, Ivy will use the seaweeds underneath the docks to grab some goons, and Cheetah will take out a few quick and swiftly. Us, Hood, Slade and Croc will take the rest and leave one barely alive. We find the captives and burn the container with the weapons. Simple enough?" He asks.

"'Us'?" Croc asked, before remembering who Eddie referred to. "Oh, right, you and the other guy."

At that, the tendril with Venom's face emerged from Eddie's shoulder once again. "Maybe we'll grab a bite while we're at it."

Croc gave a toothy grin in response. "Then I'm all for it."

"Yeah got it. We'll be down there next to those crates." Frost turned around and walked out with Ivy, Cheetah, Red Hood, Deathstroke, and Croc following. Deadshot looked down his scope and waited until he saw Frost, Cheetah and Ivy in position while Slade, Waylon, and Jason got into position elsewhere.

The symbiote took over Eddie, and Venom said to Deadshot, "Let the fun begin."

Floyd gave the leader a thumbs up before he lined up his sights on the goon who was currently taking a piss off the docks and let off the first shot.

Seconds later everyone was on high alert, bullets flying in the air looking for the unknown assailant. As they were distracted by the oncoming shots taking down their comrades they noticed far too late that the ground, and in turn their legs had been frozen.

The goons standing directly on the docks and not frozen were about to fire their guns, but were suddenly caught by long seaweeds that bursted from the water, courtesy of Poison Ivy who hid behind some crates, before being dragged to their watery grave, while Cheetah swiftly moved through the goons with her enhanced speed and began swiping her claws at the men, dodging their bullets as she moved from one goon to the other.

The other goons who were not frozen barely had time to react as Killer Croc leapt from the dock he was swimming under before clawing and swiping a few with his tail, while Red Hood jumped from on top the crates and swiftly shot down the goons while using all the training Batman had given him by breaking a few bones of a few goons before gunning them down, and Venom leapt from the darkness and began laying waste to the remaining goons, biting a few heads off and tearing off a few limbs, and Deathstroke charged with his katanas and swung them swiftly to carve up a few more goons in his way.

One by one the men were either shot down, slashed, strangled, frozen, clawed, or eaten in Venom's case, until there was only one left. Rather than meet the same fate as everyone else he was shot in the stomach by Deadshot. The ice holding him down shattered and he hit the ground.

Frost put a hand up to the chip. "Nice shooting, I saw where they had the slaves. Hood and I'll go break the locks on the cage and you get ready to set off the explosion." She said, walking with Jason and leaving the remaining goon on the floor under the watch of their teammates, in his condition he was no threat. A few minutes later, they came back, and Venom flashed a toothy grin towards them.

"You took your sweet time." Venom mused.

Killer Croc sniffed a familiar a scent in the air. "Is that gasoline?"

"Take a guess." Jason said with a smirk under his helmet before putting his hand on his chip. "Alright, Lawton. Just shoot the container with the guns and let's beat it before the cops show up. We may not be top of the 'Most Wanted' list anymore but that doesn't mean I wanna deal with them."

Taking his cue, Venom grabbed the remaining henchman by the neck and lifted him up and got him close to his face. "Tell Black Mask in case he didn't catch the news. If he keeps this up, the Lethal Protectors will be on his ass next. Beat it, and tell him what you saw here, that is if you don't bleed to death in the next few hours."

With that, Venom roughly dropped the man to the ground. The man had trouble getting up but he did eventually and headed out.

All of the slaves had ran the moment their prison had been opened. There was only one thing left to do. Venom and his group ran off, and a second later a gunshot could be heard followed by a giant explosion.

Venom took a moment to admire their handiwork before turning to his teammates with a toothy grin.

"Mission Accomplished."

A/N: And done! Sorry for the long delay, but after many revisions, I finally got it done. I was planning on posting this on my 19th birthday, which was two months ago, or on Thanksgiving, but once again, college held me back. Plus, I'm about to enter Winter Break, and I also begin class on the final week of January next month, so I might have enough time to get focused on this story more.

And with Venom 2 in the middle of filming, there's a chance I'll be introducing a certain red-headed redneck psycho to the story so he can give the Lethal Protectors the fight of their lives. And once Morbius comes out next year, then there's also a chance I'll be adding the Living Vampire to the Lethal Protectors, or maybe as a member of Justice League Dark.

Anyway, we finally got to see the Lethal Protectors on their first mission, though I'm sorry you didn't get to see the rest of the Protectors in action, but rest assured, they'll get their moment to shine. And I hope you liked that Stan Lee cameo. It's been a year and we still miss "The Man" already. As always, stay tuned for more!