Ultimate Justice League #1: War of Krypton, Part 1

[DiscipleofBob]

Justice League #1
War of Krypton

By DiscipleofBob, Drake, and Adrini

Across the world, television and radio broadcasts were interrupted, hijacked by the signal as it had only a few days ago. Last time, the signal was blurry and static, in some cases only the audio and frames of an image getting through. Now, the image and audio were perfectly clear. The old, grizzled man on screen appeared human, but viewers knew better. He, like Superman and Power Girl, as an alien. For some this was the first real picture they'd seen of him. Others had managed to catch his appearance at the White House, or some of the exclusive broadcast by Lois Lane showing the Kryptonians in their home ship. His dark hair and beard was matted with gray from age and experience. His face was equal parts scarred and wrinkled, but the rest of his body had the defined musculature of a warrior. Before the figure wore strange, alien, ceremonial armor. Now he had only a black bodysuit. It was all he and others like him needed on this planet anyway, as their skin was now much tougher than any armor. Before he had projected an air of proud diplomacy. Now he was a broken shell of rage and misery. After what must have seemed like an eternity of silence, giving the rest of the world ample time to tune in to the historic broadcast, the general spoke.

"Many years ago, a small ship came to your planet. That ship harbored the Last Son of Krypton. The last child born on my world before it was destroyed. That child was to be our savior, to lead us across the galaxy where we, the people of Krypton, could seek refuge and save our people from extinction.

"Know this. We, the people of Krypton, came in peace," the general paused for emphasis.

"The Last Son of Krypton was to be our savior, but became yours. He protected you from threats that the rest of your world was powerless to stop. Without the Last Son of Krypton, your planet would be, like Krypton, no more.

"He was but one of our species. The hundreds of us that remain were prepared to do the same. To be the protectors of your people against an increasingly hostile universe. All we asked for was safe harbor. We accepted every condition your world imposed upon our refuge.

"Know this. We came in peace," the general repeated, again pausing to regain his composure.

"Your people responded by creating abominations from our blood. By reviving prehistoric devils my ancestors spent centuries wiping out. Your people responded. To our request for aid. By sending a living Doomsday weapon to our doorstep."

"You lured us in with promises of friendship. Then you tried to kill us. You nearly succeeded in eradicating us.

"My son is dead," the general said before suddenly slamming his fist into a nearby console, reducing it to shrapnel with a single strike. "My SON is DEAD!" he repeated, trying to continue speaking while his rage overwhelmed him. "MY SON IS DEAD BY YOUR HANDS!!!"

The proud general of Krypton openly wept, reduced to this state by the pain anyone who had ever lost a child would know. "Know this. We came in peace," he finally resumed, his sorrow gradually replacing itself with malice.

"Your people fired the first shot. We will fire the last. People of Earth. You brought this on yourself. How much you take for granted. You relied on one, just one, of my kind to be your planet's ultimate champion and savior. The universe is an absolutely terrifying place, as my people can attest to. And just one of my people saved you from countless threats to your world.

"The Last Son of Krypton. Kal-El. Superman. Was but one of our kind. An infant with the powers of a god. He was just one man. We are hundreds. We are soldiers. We are born, bred, and trained to fight wars. And we all have the same power as your 'ultimate champion.'

"Superman cannot save you. He is no longer on this plane of existence. You have but one course of action that will save your kind from extinction.

"You will all surrender.

"You will all submit to our rule!

"You will all! KNEEL! BEFORE! ZOD!"

-- J L --

ARGUS Base Camp
Arctic Circle Front

Everyone scrambled to set up the mobile base camp. Multiple jumbo carriers landed and unloaded their cargo. There just enough troops to man the camp and set up the equipment. Not that there weren't more troops willing to die to defend against an alien invasion, but their presence wouldn't affect things either way. If this failed, then no amount of boots on the ground would stem the tide of battle.

Lex Luthor and his two bodyguards were busy equipping the mogul with the newest version of his anti-Kryptonian battlesuit. The full body titanium alloy Kryptonite-powered mech suit had proven effective in at least being strong enough to hurt a Kryptonian, at least in its previous version. Since then, Luthor has removed the stealth component as it was useless against the multi-spectrum senses of Superman and his kind. Instead he focused on improving the durability and force it could generate. There were various arms and projectile weapons available in the suit, but more important was its ability to take a punch from someone as strong as Superman. Unfortunately, it was an untested prototype, the only one of its kind. Ideally, after confirming it was safe they could outfit a platoon with similar armor, but there might not be enough Kryptonite on the planet to maintain such a force.

Amanda Waller, the stout, surprisingly intimidating head of the ARGUS initiative, at least in name, didn't like the presence of their top financial and technological contributor, but unfortunately only Luthor knew the technology well enough to control and organize their defenses, and he couldn't do so from half a world away. "I just got off the phone with the President. She's not happy. Thanks to General Lane we could all be tried for treason, or worse."

"Look at the bright side. If we prevail you can boast about how your organization single-handedly thwarted an alien invasion. Her mood won't matter if we can demonstrably prove the necessity and effectiveness of the Cadmus project."

"And if we fail?"

"Then it won't be relevant because we'll all be dead," Luthor said nonchalantly as he flexed his new iron muscles. "Now let's take things for a test drive. Mercy, Hope, take the consoles. I'll handle all the main work, you monitor everything and back me up in case there are any malfunctions." The two bodyguards nodded and went to separate machines. "First, the clones." Lex raised his left hand. From their vantage point, a field of frozen glass tanks started glowing. One by one, the seals broke releasing clouds of steam into the air. The tanks unfolded down, and from each one a fully grown man in a white bodysuit emerged. Their eyes were completely glazed over, their faces completely emotionless, their movements were robotic, and they all looked exactly like Superman.

"Units B-1 through B-50 activated. All signs normal," Mercy read off the console.

"Excellent," Luthor smiled. "Now for the Metallo robots." He raised his right hand, and, adjacent to the field of clones, large canisters opened up and skeletal robots unfolded, their circuitry glowing green as they powered up.

"Units K-1 through K-50 online," Hope read.

Lex Luthor felt the surge of adrenaline from the rush of having an army of anti-Superman drones at his fingertips, both biological and mechanical. Along with his power suit, unlike Waller and the other ARGUS troops, Luthor felt no fear as he directed the clones to fly off in formation along with the Metallo robots that powered their rocket thrusters to do the same.

"Let's go to war."

-- J L --

Tower of Fate

It was a realm that existed simultaneously everywhere, nowhere, and beyond the known boundaries of time and space. Geographical concepts like north, south, east, and west did not apply here. Up, down, inside, and outside were barely applicable. The Tower had a labyrinthine structure that would drive any intruder insane, but for its occupants and guests the Tower had a way of taking you exactly where you needed to go, whether it was where you wanted to be or not. The decorum changed every few rooms, from prehistoric shamanistic caves, to ancient temples of Babylon, Egypt, and Rome, to Arthurian castles, and Victorian mansions.

In one room that resembled an Egyptian tomb, two figures watched the rippling surface of a magic mirror as it presented the declaration of war from an alien, despite the fact that the transmission was meant for electronic devices on the material plane. The first was Hector Hall, the current avatar of Doctor Fate. He was clad in the signature shining blue and golden armor that reflected sources of light that weren't there, as well as the full head covering helmet of Fate. The other person in the room, considerably more anachronistic, was Zatanna Zatarra, a young woman in a stage-ready tuxedo and fishnets, complete with white gloves and top hat.

When the speech ended, Zatanna quickly broke the silence. "This is bad."

Hector remained still and watched. "Now is not the time to panic."

"Now is the PERFECT time to panic! Can we break Superman out of... wherever he is? This Tower has Doors to everywhere, right?"

"The Tower has doors to many places, but not everywhere. Alas, Superman is currently beyond our reach."

Zatanna grimaced, tapping her heels impatiently. "All right, so what do we do?"

"We?" Hector said as he removed his helmet, his form quickly reverting to that of an old man in antiquated clothes. "We watch. Preferably from a more comfortable room. All this standing around isn't healthy for a man my age." He placed the helmet on a nearby altar and led a very reluctant Zatanna out the room into the hallway of a Victorian mansion.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zatanna said, panicking. "Not only is Superman gone, presumably for good, but we have an army of soldiers just as powerful as him if not more so threatening to take over the planet! I know Fate can't intervene in an infinite number of crises, but we're kind of approaching the zero hour here!"

They passed another doorway and entered a small, quaint old English study with two comfortable antique chairs near a fireplace, already lit and crackling with a cozy warmth. Despite Zatanna's protests, Hector took his time to settle into the chair, his old bones creaking. "Ah, the impatience of youth," he said nonchalantly. "Give it time. Things have yet to completely unfold."

"Yeah, I'm kind of afraid of what will happen if they unfold anymore!" Zatanna protested. "We're talking about a world war that will give a new definition to the term 'global superpower.' You're really just going to sit here and watch with all your power?"

"It's not my power, not really when it comes down to it. When it comes to events this large, the power of Fate must be wielded very carefully. Things have a way of working out for the best most of the time, and trying to change Fate can lead to negative consequences. The bigger the event, the more disastrous the potential consequences of trying to force the outcome."

"So you're not even going to try on the off-chance things could possibly turn out worse?!" Zatanna exclaimed. "Because I think we've past that point. Just zoomed past it in a flash."

"You're panicking. It'll give you gray hairs. Trust me," Hector chuckled. "Sit down. Take a deep breath. Have some tea." He picked up a small porcelain teacup from a nearby table, filled with piping hot earl gray tea, none of which had existed there seconds before. Frustrated and fed up with Hector's casual demeanor, Zatanna turned and stormed out of the room. "Zatanna. Don't do anything foolish," he warned.

When Zatanna left the study, instead of a hallway she found herself in a three-dimensional Escher-esque labyrinth. "Oh no! Don't you DARE do this to me now!" When Hector wanted to go somewhere, it was a hallway leading directly to the room in question. Without him as a guide, navigating the ever-changing corridors of the Tower was a challenge. "Wohs em eht eurt htap!" Some of the staircases started to rotate and merge, forming several distinct paths, but none of them were the one she wanted. "Pots gnieb a niap!" Several of the staircases faded away, leaving one behind. "Was that really so hard?"

She entered the Egyptian room from before, the helmet of Fate resting on the altar in a column of light. A familiar tune started to play in her mind. "Definitely getting some Sorcerer's Apprentice vibes here," she muttered to herself as she cautiously approached the helmet. "Well, I suppose as long as I avoid any brooms." She nervously grasped the helmet in her hands, took a deep breath, and slowly placed it over her head.

For a moment, nothing happened. She sighed, feeling like she was 12 and trying to wear her father's stage tux again. "I guess there's more to it than just wearing the damn thing. Probably shouldn't have expected-" Suddenly her body flooded with magical energy and her mind filled with arcane knowledge, the likes of which were beyond her wildest imagination despite her previous experience in the magical world. Golden light poured over her body, her stage tux quickly being replaced with the blue and gold armor of Doctor Fate, though form-fitting her more petit, feminine frame.

A thousand voices, some male, some female, some beyond the very concept of humanity, spoke at once. At first in a garbled mess like a bad conference, but gradually they started to synchronize until they spoke at once. Among them, Zatanna started to recognize her own voice.

"THE MANY PATHS OF DESTINY CONVERGE INTO ONE! FATE INTERVENES!"

With a surge of uncontrollable power, Zatanna, now the new avatar of Doctor Fate, vanished with the aura of a shining ankh.

Hector Hall stood in the doorway, having watched the scene unfold. "I suppose it's for the best. Running around with all those young people just sounds exhausting."

-- J L --

Gotham City

A plain white, Chevrolet van screeched to the left, edging towards the Kane Bridge separating Gotham City and Blüdhaven. The only things more erratic and frighteningly dangerous than the van was its inhabitants: three armed men and a stitched masked man known by Gotham's inhabitants as the psychotic, fear-obsessed terrorist Scarecrow.

The leader of the gang, the lord of fear himself, gazed out the back window, eyes wide with terror.

"He's gaining on us, you imbeciles! The Batman is going to catch us!" Scarecrow cried out. The villain wasn't wrong. The enigmatic Dark Knight's sleek-yet-armored black Batmobile was nearing the van by the second as the two cars raced onto the Kane Bridge.

"We're pushing this thing for all it's worth!" the van's driver promised, the pedal pushed all the way to the ground.

Scarecrow held his masked head in his hands, weeping, "I just wanted to leave... I wanted to leave his city forever... Why won’t he let me leave???"

"Uh, boss?" The passenger-side thug gazed out the windshield, eyes widening.

Scarecrow turned to his hireling, fear replaced by anger, "What the hell do you-" The villain gasped as he followed the thug's gaze to a shroud of darkness hovering towards them in the night, a bat-shaped monster pouncing upon its prey.

The windshield shattered as Batman landed upon it, unharmed and unfazed by the moving vehicle and highflying glass.

"You aren't leaving my city, Crane," Batman growled, "Gotham is your home and your prison."

Most of the thugs were too scared to move. Even the driver was terrified beyond measure. However, one criminal tried to shoot Batman with a rifle. The gun and the man ended up thrown out, tumbling to the ground, both broken. Even still, the criminal remained in stable condition, only fading into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, the van hurtled towards the edge of the bridge as Scarecrow crawled back to the edge of the vehicle.

"You've proven your point, Batman. I'll never h-hurt anyone again," Scarecrow stuttered.

Batman frowned, "Liar." He pulled the car's steering wheel out of the driver's hands and twisted it to the side, flipping the van over and avoiding the edge of the bridge. As the van fell to its side, the Caped Crusader leaped away, firing his grappling gun around one of the bridge's arches and swinging around in a full 360 to a solid landing atop the toppled vehicle.

The Batmobile pulled up right beside the crash. The tank/Lamborghini hybrids' roof slid open and the red, black and green suited Robin hopped out, followed shortly by the all-black sporting Batgirl.

"I had him," Robin whined.

Batman hopped off the van, expression stern, as sirens edged into audibility, "I told you the Batmobile is off limits."

"But Father-"

"Robin, enough. You're grounded. No electronics and no crime fighting this weekend," Batman ordered.

In the meantime, Scarecrow, apparently managing to remain conscious after the crash, quietly crawled his way out of the van and limped towards Batman, his fear toxin-syringe gauntlet raised. Without a word, Batgirl flipped over her mentor and nailed the Scarecrow with a kick to the head. Landing easily on her feet, the young hero turned to her two partners, a smirk hidden behind her mask.

"I knew he was there," both father and son retorted simultaneously. Batgirl giggled. Batman and Robin crossed their arms. Batgirl erupted into full on laughter. The Dynamic Duo looked at each other grimly.

Before any of the vigilantes could become too focused on the 'problem' at hand, Alfred's voice rang through their comms. "Penny-One to the Bats. We have a problem. A serious problem."

"What is it?" Batman asked, hand hovering over the comm piece on his ear.

"It's the Kryptonians, sir..."

But before Alfred could finish, a golden ankh erupted in the sky, drawing the attention of all three vigilantes. A woman in blue and gold wearing an equally stunning helmet hovered in the air.

”YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! FATE COMMANDS IT!

With a flash of light, Batman disappeared, leaving his two sidekicks alone to stare into the sky in awe.

Robin reached up to his earpiece, "Pennyworth, we have a problem..."

-- J L --

Gateway City

Gateway City. Shining jewel of the east coast, especially compared to its relatively close neighbors of Gotham, Bludhaven, or even Metropolis. Until recent years it had managed to avoid the trend of vigilantes and so-called 'super' activity while having one of the lowest urban crime rates in the country. But not even paradise can remain untouched forever.

A beat up sedan swerved the corner, narrowly avoiding the fruit stand of a farmer's market. Behind it, no less than three police cruisers were in pursuit. Inside, three criminals in ski masks started to nervously sweat.

"Come on, lose them already!" the bag man in the back seat yelled to the driver.

"I'm trying! This isn't Haven, you know! There aren't as many side streets I can use to shake a tail!"

"And whose idea was it to move our ops to Gateway?" the shotgunner in the front seat yelled as she leaned out the window to take several more potshots at their pursuers. "Who said it'd be easy with less cops and no competition?"

"Relax ladies," the driver said as she cut across a sidewalk and narrowly avoided some pedestrians. "This is nothing. Just a few cops with nothing better to do. We're probably the hardest criminals they've seen all year! It's just a matter of time until we lose them."

The sedan tore across the streets of downtown Gateway, managing to avoid anyone with the sense to at least try to move out of the way. Not only would hitting someone slow them down, as long as no one was seriously hurt it could mean a reduced jail sentence if they got caught. On one particular crosswalk, a lone figure stood still in the center of the car's path.

"Come on! Move!" the driver yelled fruitlessly, until she flinched and hit the brakes, swerving to barely miss the lone figure and crash into a nearby storefront. The pursuing cops were quick to set up a blockade with their cars and take position behind them.

The three criminals quickly exited the wreckage and got behind the crashed car for cover. They each pulled out handguns and started to open fire. The driver, seeing an opportunity, tried to take her grudge out on the woman still standing in the middle of the road, grabbing behind her and holding a gun to her head. "All right, you pigs, no funny business unless you want the hostage's brain blown out!"

The hostage, a tall dark-haired woman in a blue pantsuit, instead of panicking at the gun to her head, only raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. "You are having a very bad day."

"Don’t you dare move or I'll-" She never got to finish her thought as the 'hostage' whipped her arm around, grabbed the gun, and wrenched it out of the criminal's hand. With one hand, she crushed the pistol and tossed the remaining scrap metal to the side. With the other she twisted the criminal's arm around and slammed her against the pavement.

The other two criminals took quick notice and directed their pistols at the ex-hostage instead. They both fired several shots, but the woman's free arm deflected the bullets with bracers at her wrists.

"What the hell?!"

One of the remaining criminals continued shooting, but the other suddenly realized who they were facing and their eyes widened. "Holy crap!"

The ex-hostage spun in place as her casual pantsuit glowed bright gold and transformed into brightly colored Grecian-styled red and gold armor.

"It's her!"

"W-Wonder Woman!"

"Do you still feel the need to waste bullets?" the superheroine asked deadpan.

The two would-be criminals took one look at each other and instantly dropped their pistols, putting their hands in the air.

As Wonder Woman was ensuring the criminals could be safely taken down by the police, a large floating golden ankh appeared in the middle of the street. "What is this?" Wonder Woman briefly. Floating inside the ankh was a feminine figure in blue and gold armor with a wildly flapping cape. From beneath the fully covering golden helmet, her eyes glowed with immense arcane power.

"YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! FATE COMMANDS IT!" the figure bellowed in a hundred different voices.

Wonder Woman threw her arms up to try and defend against whatever magical assault the suddenly appearing sorcerer could conjure, but instead the light from the ankh glowed brighter until it enveloped her entire vision.

When the light subsided, neither the originator of the ankh nor Wonder Woman were visible on the streets of Gateway.

-- J L --

Somewhere in the North Arctic Ocean

Amidst the Arctic ocean, floating gently over the water, was a cargo ship, or at least what appeared to be one. In truth, no cargo ship would go anywhere so far North. Moreover, no cargo ship would carry a crew so hellbent on hunting down an orca.

“Catch her or the job’s on yer heads!” The captain roared over the howling winds. His crewmen heeded his orders, remaining transfixed on the majestic beast swimming beside them, rushing to get away. The orca seemed to be winning, managing to dive and swim fast enough to outrace the ship. However, one lucky shot meant the end of the race for the mammal.

A crewman harpooned the orca, stabbing it right over its dorsal fin. The beast cried out in fear and pain. Its cry for help was answered.

Emerging from deep within the sea, a beautiful, blonde-haired man burst out of the water and onto the ship. Dressed in scaled orange and green armor, a golden trident resting firmly in his grasp, Arthur Curry stared grimly at the captain of the crew.

“Order your men to stand down. Leave the damn animal alone,” Arthur demanded.

“Like hell,” the captain retorted, “We don’ give up a good pay fer some crazy Captain Planet wannabe.” The seaman paused and smirked, “Who are ye, anyway? Don’t look like Superman.”

Arthur gripped his trident with a rage unmatched by even the fiercest beasts on land or sea. His anger, however, was not caused by the captain’s demeaning remarks, but by yet more proof of the inability of mankind to appreciate nature’s worth.

“You want to know who I am?” Arthur asked simply.

The crewmen looked at each over nervously. One managed, “Maybe we should stop, Cap’n.”

“Stand yer ground.”

“Answer me,” Arthur growled, “Do you want to know who I am?”

“Lemme guess. A fairy princess?” The captain quipped.

Arthur slammed the tip of his trident into the ship’s surface and closed his eyes. As the crewmen neared him, ready for a fight, a pinging ring echoed out over the sea. The sound caught the men off guard. It was coming from Arthur.

Arthur’s eyes shot open, “I’m Aquaman.”

All at once, dozens of enormous orcas and other species of whales leaped from the ocean, slamming the ship and knocking all but Arthur onto the ground.

Arthur walked calmly towards the ship’s captain. He held his trident at the man’s throat. “I’m the King of the Seas!”

The captain shrunk back, hands up, as the whales continued to rock the boat. “Alright. You prove’ your point. We’ll go.”

Arthur smiled cockily, “Was that so hard?”

Without another word between the two, Arthur jumped back into the sea, calling his servants off, and the captain similarly ordered his men to direct the ship away. The Atlantean hero was meanwhile left to care for the injured orca.

<This will hurt, my friend,> Arthur projected, one hand on the orca and one on the javelin impaling it. The orca gave him a supporting cry, and Arthur pulled the weapon from the beast with one swift motion. After checking it over to make sure the wound was not fatal, Arthur nodded it off.

<Stay safe,> Arthur begged.

<I am always safe with you around, my lord.> The whale replied, before swimming off. Arthur smiled as the seabeast crashed through the waves, hurrying farther and farther away presumably towards its family.

Arthur frowned. Now where was he to return to?

As if to answer his call, the sky lit up. A helmeted woman floated in the air, her cry echoing over the empty ocean with a multitude of voices, masculine and feminine.

”YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! FATE COMMANDS IT!”

In a flash, Aquaman, the ankh, and the woman that appeared with it had vanished from the seas.

-- J L --

Star City

In a mansion on the outskirts of Star City, the emerald jewel of the Midwest, lived the premier family of the city. The Queens along with several friends and extended family called the estate their home, either temporarily or for as far as the foreseeable future. Everyone who shared such a close relationship with the Queens knew the big secret of the family.

"You ready over there?" Oliver Queen asked as he adjusted his belt and quiver. He still hadn’t broken in his new costume, but it worked, and that was all that mattered. There were bigger things to worry about now. They were on their way to the Quiver, the secret family safe area and bunker where the supplies for the family's 'nightlife activities' were stored and repaired. In times of crisis, and a superpowered alien claiming to conquer the Earth did count as a crisis, people needed to see their heroes more than ever. In Star City, Green Arrow and Black Canary were the heroes people needed.

"I think so," he heard nearby as his wife walked into room. She was looking at the screen. Her eyes were darting, thinking. Trying to figure out how to respond. She was the problem solver, and had been working for months to protect the family and the city from attacks that had come out of the woodwork in directions they had never seen coming. Their infant son was now part of the world that needed saving, and she was more determined than ever to protect and serve the world they both hoped he would grow up in. But this was even out of her impressive training to deal with. "Blowing up the ice caps changes the planetary polarity, that destroys the water level balance, seasonal patterns, completely throws off crop patterns-"

"This is an army of Supermen. They don't need to blow up an ice cap. They can just take over the world the old-fashioned Roman way." This was going to be their night, the first patrol with just the two of them since Robby was born. Instead they didn’t know if this was the last night they would have. Normally Dinah would be working to keep him calm, pulling him out of his darkness. She was a master, all she had to do was adjust his cap or tease him by starting a race on their bikes and the dark fog would be gone, but the last few months had been increasingly hard and more dangerous than ever before. Plus she was still retraining from her time off and recovering physically. She was a little too off-balance to deal with the end of the world right now. "We do what we can to keep Star City safe. There are people who can do this sort of thing, and they will. We hold up our end, we take care of our own."

"Look after our city," Di said and smiled weakly, looking at her husband. "Hold our line."

The two quickly set up their bikes and retrieved their gear, Oliver deciding to play it safe and take the heavy-duty loadout. Crisis caused panic, and a city under panic meant a long night for them. Bulletproof vest hidden beneath the costume. The utility belt that was far more useful than he ever wanted to admit, even if it mostly stored collapsible spare arrows and optional arrowheads for different needs. His entire suit was lined with hidden arrows and extra gear he always hoped would go unused. Organized crime would be out in force to take advantage of the inevitable riots. In some cases they might even start them. Sometimes a good punch in the jaw, even if it came from a boxing-glove arrow, was just what they needed.

"They’ll beat this. They have people to bring in," he said as they rolled the bike to the secret passage into town. "The ones with the big powers. Come on.”

They mounted the bikes and started the ride through the tunnel to the city exit. Over their comms they could hear reports of looting and panicked crowds. Sharing a look through their helmets they pumped the speed to get there faster. Destroying the city wasn’t going to help the planet.

They were nearing the exit when a cloaked, floating figure came into view, surrounded by a golden aura all too familiar to Di. His silhouette was hard to make out in great detail but they both knew who it was. They slowed down, if Fate was here to help it was welcome.

"Uncle Hector, what’s going on? What happened?" Di asked, looking at the form. "Why are you- wait."

The distinctly feminine figure was definitely not Hector Hall. If the helmet had a new owner there was more going on than either of them wanted to think about. The figure floated over to them and raised its arms.

"YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! FATE COMMANDS IT!" The tunnel filled with bright light, and when it subsided, only one figure remained. Oliver's bike fell to the ground, now riderless, as Di was suddenly left alone, fearing where her husband might be now.

-- J L --

The Arctic Tundra

Two armies hovered over the snow and ice-covered valley, flying slowly in formation to meet each other on a battlefield that would decide the fate of the world. In the direct center of the valley, there was a bright flash of golden light. Although the Kryptonians were briefly blinded, they otherwise paid little heed rather than break formation. The ARGUS army of clones and robots paid no mind.

When the light subsided, a large ankh-shaped indentation was burned into the ice. In its shape, five unlikely, very out of place heroes stood, equally confounded by their sudden shift in location, the present company, and the floating armies seemingly converging on their position.

The Dark Knight, Batman.

The Amazon Champion, Wonder Woman.

The King of the Seas, Aquaman.

The Emerald Archer, Green Arrow.

All four found themselves surrounding the armored sorcerer, or in this particular instance, sorceress, Dr. Fate. Before anything could be explained, Dr. Fate collapsed from exhaustion, the strain of using the helmet's power so much so soon proving too much. The helmet fell off her head onto the ice. Still burning and steaming from the energy, it quickly melted through the ice before any of the heroes had the presence of mind to try and grab it, vanishing from sight.

In the place of Dr. Fate, a dark-haired woman in a black and white stage-ready tuxedo lay unconscious in the freshly melted snow, making the five of them literally the only thing standing between two superpowered armies about to go to war.

To be continued...