He saw Captain America; the Super Soldier closest squaring off against the woman wrapped up in some gold-colored rope.  Probably a bad pairing as this Cap was from the Forties and not caught up on the intricacies of the modern day woman.  Just looking at her clothes Fixit could see that she was from a later era; no doubt one full of ERA and authority.  He had his doubts that Captain America; barely trained and with an unfamiliar shield would be able to hold his own, brought up to respect women.  He had not fought Warrior Woman yet, or Sun Girl.  He had yet to meet the Wasp…

Farther back a one-handed, blonde-haired man stood his ground against Susan Storm, the Human Torch and Calvin Rankin, the Mimic who was still in the form of the Angel.  What was he thinking?  Fixit shook his head in disgust as he heaved his massive frame from the wreckage, cursing as the bit of brace fell away under his immense weight.

Far across the remains of the building’s devastated rooftop, Stalker bounced about; throwing webbing on the man that reminded Fixit of the Vision, oddly.  He was armored and in red, but he had that same blank and stoic expression as though he were not quite a man.  He seemed unperturbed by Stalker’s antics, but the Spider-Man did not seem to notice as he leapt and shot his organic webbing.

His allies were underestimating the foe.  Fixit could see it.  Storm was wide-eyed and throwing random fireballs.  Mimic was hovering cockily, flapping his huge wings and waiting for an opening.  Stalker was done, laying on the webbing and making snide jokes.  Cap was the only one that seemed cautious, but that was because he was facing off against a woman, which was a no-no in his era.  Rosy the Riveter aside, to this Cap, a woman’s place was in the home and Steve Rogers had yet to learn that the female was the deadlier of any species.

Joe Fixit needed to take a hand…

Hulk needed to smash!

But first he needed to get outta this fuckin’ hole…

The LOST in…

LOST

Chapter 2: Earth A

Part One

A JLA/ Avengers Tie-in

Steve Rogers had to question Fixit’s tactics.  It seemed perhaps that they should have approached the group that they had finally found in good faith rather than with an aggressive posture.  They had no idea who they might be, after all.  It was possible that they were just as lost as the ‘team’, maybe even victims of the mysterious Timebroker’s queer ideas of fixing the universe.  It was all so bizarre, and Steve Rogers had no qualms to admitting that he was out of his depth.

He had barely begun his training when the Timebroker had plucked him out of existence.  The whole notion of being America’s first- and only Super Soldier was still just a wild fantasy, and he was little more than a green kid that wanted to do his part in the war effort.  He was just a private in Uncle Sam’s Army, and even that was a joke; a title.  He had not even gone through Basic Training yet, had only learned the bare essentials of hand-to-hand combat like Ju Jitsu and some Karate from the Orient.  He had learned quick ways to kill with a shield that he no longer had.

Captain America held up the new disc-like shield that he had gained on the world of vampires that they had visited not so long ago.  Fixit had said that it was Captain America’s shield from any number of different timelines; a version that he would have probably earned in his own right eventually.  It felt incredible on his arm, its weight negligible and so well balanced, but aside from his basic ability to use it as defense, he had no clue as to how to use it properly.  To his best advantage.  Fixit said it could be thrown, that it would come back like a boomerang.  He said it was indestructible, one of a kind.  How could he throw it then?  What if it didn’t come back?

Rogers was afraid, and so was the woman.

She was wrapped in some kind of gold-colored rope; about her arms and torso.  Some type of strange armor no doubt, armed with miraculous powers.  He could see that she was wearing some type of normal garb beneath, but of course that meant nothing.  Susan Storm was a fine example that nothing was as it seemed.  The woman before him however had yet to attack, had yet to display any hidden powers beyond her obvious knowledge of some form of hand-to-hand martial art.  She stood there defensively, at an angle to make herself the slightest target, knees slightly bent and ready to spring into action, be it to attack or defend.  He could see her nervousness though, her unease in the sweat on her brow, by the way she kept licking her lips.  She was shivering slightly, but hiding it well to her credit.  No more than he-

“At ease, ma’am,” he said, trying to keep his own voice calm and steady.  “Stand down.  There’s no reason for us to fight.”  He felt like an idiot using the military jargon that had been drummed into his head by his trainers.  He hoped that she could understand-

“You first, mister.”

Rogers had to smile.  She put on a brave front, and probably for good reason.  She was older than he was, by a few years maybe, and probably loaded with experience that he could only imagine.  He should take her down quickly, or try to, but she had yet to attack him.  And she was just a woman after all-

Suddenly the matter was out of his hands as a wave of fire rushed across the rooftop.  Captain America sprang back, flipping away while still trying to keep the woman in sight.  Through the sudden swell of smoke and waves of rippling heat he saw her dive off to the side, rolling to relative safety.

Cap dropped quickly into a crouch, his shield raised as he scanned the rooftop.  The fire had come from Susan Storm of course.  As the Human Torch she was arcing through the air over the battle strewn remains of the rooftop, hurling fireballs and actual streams of flame at the blonde man.  He was doing his best to keep out of harm’s way, but the heat and flame seemed to be taking their collective toll.  The blonde was slowing, and Cap could see the tension etched on his face.

“You got it, Susan!” He heard the Mimic shouting over the sounds of battle.  Calvin Rankin was something called a Mutant with the odd and wondrous ability to duplicate the powers and form of anyone with which he came into contact.  Right at that moment he was blessed with angelic wings and wearing a beauteous body, though aside from his obvious ability to fly he had yet to display any other powers.  He seemed little better than a heavenly cheerleader, shouting encouragement to Storm.  Perhaps he was holding back as reserve, but why not swoop in and end it.  The blonde was obviously on the ropes and-

Rogers gasped as the blonde man leapt up and out of the fire swept area.  He was powerful, his leap arching up some thirty feet at least, well within range of the startled Cal Rankin.  The blonde saw and pressed his opportunity, a mighty right cross cracking across Mimic’s face, spinning the Mutant’s head and spewing blood.  Cap winced to hear the sound of the blow, watching as Rankin’s body twisted in mid air and began a slow, winding spiral that led him down beyond the roof’s edge and out of his line of sight.  He was probably still conscious, barely, but he would have to fend for himself for now as the blonde man landed gracefully, if a bit haggard right in front of Rogers.

The man was big, well muscled and hurting, sweating bullets.  He was heaving for breath as his steely eyes swept over Rogers, then glanced quickly to the side to make note of the Torch as she soared out over the building’s edge to see to Mimic.  As soon as Storm vanished from sight beyond the building’s rooftop the blonde man returned his attention to Cap.

Captain America noticed then the metallic stump on the warrior’s left hand as he raised it.  A weapon of some sort?  It had a hole in the very end, as though something were missing from the apparatus-

“I don’t know who you people are,” the big man said almost breathlessly, “or why you attacked us, but your intentions are clear as a crystalline sea.  I’ll give you one chance to surrender.”

Captain America licked his lips, debating.  The man was obviously super strong, probably stronger than Cap himself.  But too simply surrender?  He saw the woman in his peripheral vision, moving about, edging away; but to escape, or attack?  He raised his shield higher, shifting it, trying to decide when suddenly the decision was out of his hands-

“Aw, blow it out your hole, big man, and suck on this for awhile…”

A thin stream of liquid came splashing out of seemingly nowhere to encompass the man’s stump in a sticky goo.  Captain America knew immediately that Stalker had arrived, hopefully to save the day as his thin black frame came bounding down, his fist slamming into the blonde’s mouth in a mirror-like reflection of what the big man had done to Mimic.  The blonde however was apparently made of sterner stuff than Cal Rankin as his head quickly snapped back with only the slightest sign of a bruise.

“Whoa-“

Almost too fast to follow the warrior lashed out with his good hand.  His fist wrapped about Stalker’s ankle as the man-spider leapt from the rooftop already spewing webbing into the distance to create a new swing line.  The blonde was fast- faster than Cap as when he and Stalker had sparred in practice Rogers had rarely connected.  Stalker was like lightning, his reaction time phenomenal as though he could actually anticipate an attack before it was struck.  With a scream that sounded more irritation than anger, the blonde whipped Stalker about and flung him away only to watch as his line connected to a neighboring building, thus saving himself.  Cap knew Stalker would be back, but it would take a few moments- moments that Rogers might not have as he realized that he was suddenly alone.

Cap glanced about the rooftop.  The red man was covered in Stalker’s webbing, but seemed to simply be standing there, not even trying to escape but shivering.  Rogers could see the glow of Storm’s fire beyond the roof’s edge, but she and Mimic were still out of sight.  Stalker was swinging away in a widening arch trying to veer back.  There was a hole where Joe Fixit, their leader had landed but the gray-skinned brute himself was nowhere to be seen.  Just like the fourth member of the villains who had simply vanished from sight.  And the woman-

Pain exploded in Cap’s neck as his feet were suddenly swept from beneath him.  He flailed as he fell, trying to land as he had been taught but his shield slammed against the roof with a piercing clang and sending another jolt of pain through his arm.  Cap gritted his teeth, cursing at his stupidity, his inexperience.  There had been too many of them, too much happening around him and he had let the woman sneak up on him, hitting him with a karate chop and a leg sweep that left him aching and vulnerable.  But not helpless…

Cap spun about on his back, spiraling and flipping up to his feet as he swept his shield out in a deadly curve.  He caught a glimpse of the woman ducking back and away, but his spin caught the big man in the thigh, forcing a grunt of pain through his clenched teeth.  Cap leaped to the side as the blonde automatically bent to grab at the wound, the woman scrabbling back still.  Cap could see her breathing hard, her eyes wide as though excited more than tired.  Had she simply gotten lucky?

Captain America barely raised his shield as the big man’s web-enshrouded fist slammed down.  Rogers blinked as he felt nothing, like the man’s great strength had been absorbed by the disk, or dispersed.  The man had not even managed to move Cap, and he seemed just as surprised, blinking at the shield.  Cap knew opportunity when he saw it.

He lurched forward, slamming his shield full and strong into the big man with a move that he had learned- been learning with his old triangular shield.  He felt no pain or strain on his arm, remarkably, but his blow was strong enough to propel the blonde up and back off of his feet and onto his buttocks a goodly distance away and almost into the hole that Fixit’s impact had made.  But only almost.

“Argh!”

Cap stumbled forward as he felt the kick, the heel of the woman’s loafer slamming into his kidney.  It could have been a crippling blow on a lesser man; if not for the Super Soldier Serum coursing through his veins as she had caught him beneath the chain mail.  The stitched cotton weave of his undershirt was colorful but was squat in way of protection save a chafing from the metal link armor.  Still he staggered, spinning about as he rubbed at the bruise, trying to keep an eye on the blonde as he considered the woman.  He would not be distracted again.

“Nice shot,” he said.  Maybe distraction was the key he needed himself?  She grinned-

“You’re pretty good yourself, pal,” she responded, but he could hear the edge in her voice.  “But I’ve faced down way worse than you in my career, and I’m not even a Meta.”

“A what?  Meta…”

“I don’t know who you people are,” she continued, ignoring his questions and confusion, “but we have no beef with you.  We’re just trying to get home.”

Cap relaxed just a bit.  “Then, you’re victims of the Timebroker’s manipulations as well?”

The woman blinked but did not lower her guard.  “Time Trapper, mister.  I don’t know any ‘Brokers’ this side of E.F. Hutton.”

“What?”

There was movement at his feet, a strange flare and even as Cap looked down he saw the enlarging swirl of red and blue.  It was the missing man, growing right before his eyes, his fist-

Lois Lane-Kent winced as the Atom grew right before her eyes, right at the feet of the man draped in the American flag.  Ray Palmer’s fist smashed up into the protruding cleft chin on the shield-bearer with a resounding crack.  The force of the blow snapped the man’s head back, lifting him off his feet and back to where he slammed down just as harshly on the remnants of what was now the building’s roof.  It looked as though he hit his head on impact, and his body sprawled, unmoving.  Lois licked her lips, waiting anxiously, but finally his head lolled to one side and she saw his breathing, slow but steady and stable.  He was alive, and thankfully unconscious.

“You okay?” the Atom asked turning his attention from the foe to her.  She nodded, trying to calm herself.  She was hyped on adrenaline, caught up in the rush of the battle.  She had never quite experienced it like this before, and she felt her pulse racing, her heart hammering in her chest.  It was a natural high to her, and she wondered briefly if Clark still saw it so.

“I couldn’t hear what you were saying- it’s a booming at tiny size- but you kept his attention focused.  Just enough for me to catch him off guard.  Good work!”

Lois blushed, smiling slightly as she glanced about, remembering they were in the midst of a battle.  How the Atom could simply take it all in stride she had no idea, but he did, his gaze casually sweeping the rooftop as he spoke to her.

“I don’t think these people are villains, Ray,” she began but saw the Atom had focused on something.  She followed his gaze and saw something huge and gray gripping Aquaman about the throat, holding him aloft at arm’s length-

“Uh-oh!”

“Atom!” Lois said stepping forward to grab her friend but her fist closed on empty air as the Atom shrunk away into apparent nothingness again.  He was already on his way to help the sea king, caught up in the fight himself and now too small to hear her words.

Lois turned to the man dressed in red, white and blue, still unconscious and at her feet.  He had seemed hesitant throughout their fight- if you could call it that.  In the end it was only dumb luck that she had won, and that because of the Atom.  The remains of Wonder Woman’s magic lasso had protected her to a point; basically keeping her from injury as she had rolled around on the rooftop trying to remember her self-defense classes.  She felt fine, but knew she was way out of her depth in this fight.  Not that she wanted to fight of course, but she needed an edge.

And of course, that was right there at her feet…

Arthur Curry scrambled back to his feet, grimacing at the pain in his back and chin.  He worked his jaw, ran his tongue along his teeth happily finding them all in tact.  The star-spangled warrior had hit him far harder than expected, but he had survived and was healing, albeit slowly.  The fiery woman had done the real damage.

He glanced towards the building’s edge as he stepped away from the massive hole that the gray-skinned brute had created on impact.  Hopefully the creature had smashed through the weakened frame of the building all the way to the basement and was thus out of the picture for the time being.  They hardly needed his input, as his teammates were doing just fine without him, holding their own.  They were unorganized and inexperienced for the most part, luckily.  Arthur could see it in the way they fought haphazardly, randomly picking opponents and throwing down where they felt like it.  Had they staged a coordinated assault, Aquaman feared that the Justice League would have been floundering in their net already-

Aquaman sighed, trying to catch his breath, willing the burn away as he forced the ‘fish’ thinking out of his head.  Had he sunk so low, to the depths-

“Stop it!” he shouted.  He tried to focus, tried to take command of the situation.  Glancing quickly about he saw first the glow of the flaming woman.  It was brighter now, but she was still beyond the building’s raggedy rooftop, no doubt helping her comrade; the winged man.  Still out of the picture, as was the man in black.  Arthur saw him still swinging on his thin ropes, trying to change his direction and get back to the battle, but a ways away.  He had a moment’s respite then, but-

He barely heard the moan of the rooftop as a great mass shifted behind him.  Arthur Curry shifted himself, lunging forward as though in a fencer’s thrust, spinning about as a massive gray arm swept by overhead.  The force of the blow’s backdraft was more than enough in itself to topple him, the King of the Seven Seas rolling with the near miss, trying to put distance between himself and the brute now towering before him.

His skin was gray, his massive body bulging with muscle and barely contained in the straining, skimpy shorts that held him in check.  He was smirking as he lumbered forward, almost laughing-

“Yer quick, punk.  I’ll give ya that.  Ain’t many can touch Stalker, let alone get the better of ‘im.”  The brute seemed unperturbed as he stepped up, Arthur rising to his feet to defend.  The creature’s best point was his strength, obviously, and Aquaman wanted no part of that.  He seemed slow though, his mass weighing him down luckily, and that would no doubt prove to be Aquaman’s edge.  He needed to hit hard and fast, stay out of the brute’s reach and grasp.

The creature reminded him of Doomsday in a way; the color of his skin, his size and sheer bulk.  Arthur wondered briefly if this was yet another of Darkseid’s creations, some twisted monstrosity bent on destruction.  He hoped not, after what Doomsday had done to the League, and Superman.

“I’ve got no quarrel with you, monster,” he said as he glanced to the Red Tornado hoping for back up.  Reddy however was simply standing there, vibrating.  Arthur noted that the webbing was slipping away however.  The Tornado was trying to escape apparently, but he was slow in the process.  “I will fight you though if you don’t- glck!”

Aquaman’s eyes widened as the hulking creature’s hand shot out, his fist wrapping about his throat.  Without seeming effort the brute lifted the sea king into the air, dangling and kicking at the end of his outstretched arm.

“You remind me of an old friend, Blondie,” the brute sneered, chuckling at Arthur’s struggles.  “Same arrogant attitude, like you was the king a’ creation instead a’ the ocean.  You got gills, boy?”  The creature squeezed and Arthur choked, gasping for air as his vision swam-

“That’s it, Joe!  Hold him!”

Aquaman shifted his graying vision to see the flaming woman come soaring up over the roof’s edge.  He was already passing out though, seeing double as another sailed just behind…

No!  There were two of them…

The creature they called Joe looked their way with a frown as they circled, flying to flank-

“No!” he shouted.  “Wait-“

“Fire’s his weakness!” the first shouted, and the second blasted.

An inferno engulfed the rooftop as the second blazing woman joined in the attack.  Aquaman sagged, moaning as the heat and flame took its toll, but oddly he felt the brute’s grip loosen.  He could breathe again, though the heated air scorched his lungs-

“Wait ya stupid-“

Arthur heard a moan and creak as the creature’s eyes widened.  The fire was too much for the rooftop already over-burdened with the monster’s mass.  Arthur grimaced, trying to focus in the fiery haze, finally rearing back and kicking out with all the strength he could muster.  Right between the monster's legs-

Far from honorable, but well worth it as he saw the brute’s eyes glaze over, his hand opening as it shot to between his legs.  Aquaman dropped to the roof and stumbled back even as the structure gave way.  The look on the monster’s face was almost comical as he fell from sight cursing.  Arthur heard the subsequent smashing of the floors below.

The two fiery women looked on in confusion and embarrassment, only then realizing their mistake.  Arthur gasped, trying to regain his strength before they regained their own composure and renewed their twin attack.  He doubted that he would survive another.

It was quickly taken out of his hands however as the sudden gale-force wind whipped past and bowled him over.  Aquaman tumbled across the rooftop, finally slamming against a jutting bit of girder, tired and aching, depleted.  It took all of his dehydrated energy to simply raise his head and watch as the Red Tornado came flying forth.

Cyclones spewed from his arms kicking up dirt and debris, but thankfully engulfing the two flaming women as well.  Arthur watched as they struggled to stay aloft and aflame, the vacuum that the Tornado was creating about them threatening to eat the very air and snuff their fire as well as their breath.

His skin burning, singed and parched, gasping for breath, Aquaman hoped that Reddy did not kill them.  Then he collapsed, unconscious…

Calvin Rankin clutched at his throat as he gasped for breath in the sudden cyclones.  The winds whipped past, ripping the very air into a vacuum with their opposing forces, buffeting him and Sue Storm in the process.  He could see already that the Human Torch was fading.  Her fiery armor was flickering, the dying embers of her flames barely sparking with the last of her concentration.

Finally his doppelganger moaned and went limp; the last of her fires dead as her oxygen was depleted.  Ironically, the very winds that had sapped her breath and flame still held her aloft, gently rocking her as she was lowered towards the ground.  She was done, at least for the time being, and Rankin being in her image wondered then just how much longer he might last.

He had to change, but into what?

Mimic stared at the strange, stoic man in red, his high-collared cape fluttering madly behind him as his arms vanished into the twin spiraling wind tunnels that he was apparently creating- or manipulating, Rankin corrected.  He did not seem human, or Mutant.  His armored face did not change expression in the least, not even to speak, not that he had.  Perhaps he was a mute, or maybe an alien that simply did not know the language.  Oddly, he reminded Rankin of the Vision, so maybe he was an android or some other type of automaton.  Not that it mattered, living or dead, man or machine he had to be stopped.  And Rankin thought that just maybe he had an idea.

He concentrated, hard as it was.  He was almost on the verge himself, but he pictured one of the dozens of templates he had engrained on his psyche, sifting quickly through the useless images that came to mind.  He needed a body with powers that could match the creature’s fierce winds.  A speedster perhaps, but even as Quicksilver popped into mind the Mimic pushed the thought away settling on another.  In the end, the answer was obvious.

Storm…

Easier and easier, his body was already female.  He thought, concentrating on the image of his old friend and comrade, his mind sifting through the DNA templates forever rifling through his memories, his very being.  He felt the slightest strain as his feminine form shifted, lengthening to accommodate the height of Ororo Monroe, the taller and more obviously endowed figure.  A subtler effort to shift hue and color; his skin darkening, the hair growing longer, fading.  Then came the power…

He felt the swell of rage grow within as the elements seemed to beckon.  The air was first of course, given the situation.  He could hear the winds crying in his soul, screaming in almost agony at the vile touch of the red thing.  He- IT did not belong here, an alien raping the very environment with its vile touch.  In the back of his mind he could hear the growling rumble of thunder in answer, the wicked flash and crack of lightning snapping in agreement.  The storm was roiling in answer, awaiting the call.  He felt the first drops of chilling rain and smiled.

“Now then, creature,” he shouted over the churning winds, laughing almost as the song rose within.  “You think you’re some kind of Elemental?  Let’s see how you handle the powers of a goddess!”

The red man hovered, his face a silent mask void of emotion.  Ranking noticed that he had deposited the unconscious body of Susan Storm gently to the rooftop, though he had done nothing to stifle the cyclonic winds spiraling from both his arms-

“No… reason… to fight.  We… just wish… to go home…”

“Don’t we all, freak?”  Calvin Rankin rode the winds higher, marveling at the simplicity of how ‘Storm’ could control the elements.  A simple wiggling of ‘her’ fingers and the fury of the storm churned for him; the winds simply diverting, changing course, the rains drizzling, then pounding with the gale.  The sky was darkening as clouds raced to her call, lightning arching across the horizon.  It was glorious-

“Do it!”

Mimic blinked to see the dark, lithe form of Stalker swing between the two.  The alien’s wind storm had blown him back and away, apparently a struggle form him to return to the battle, and now-

“Stalker, you idiot!”  Rankin shouted as the man-spider spewed his webbing at the red man, the winds and storm sending it wildly on the wing.  “Get out of the way!  He’s more-“

“Yeah, yeah!” Stalker jeered as it tugged on his web-line, flipping at ungodly angles that would shatter a normal man’s bones, firing another strand of his unique organic webbing through his legs to propel his body even higher.  “I was facing down the likes a’ Doc Doom and Thanos while you were home eatin’ Pop Tarts and watching Pokemon in your PJ’s, ex-man.  Remind me to tell you about the time I fought Speed Demon sometime, son.”

Stalker laughed as he flipped backward, his spine almost folding in half as he stretched his arms full length, firing twin strands of webbing at the red man.  The armored alien simply stared as the strange fluid streamed at him, whirling as it was caught within his cyclone to whip and spiral about his form.  He did nothing as the sticky fluid looped about again and again, strand after strand.  Rankin watched as Stalker continued through his long, graceful leap, actually using the strong winds to carry him along in his arch until he landed on the brick façade of a nearby building.  The Mimic raised his arms, ready to help and guide the storm, watching as the arachnid braced, clinging to the wall and finally heaved on the strands.

The webbing tightened about the armored man, the loops becoming bonds and pinning his arms and legs, pulling them from the winds and back into solid reality-

“Shoot him now!  Shoot him now!”

Mimic called on the storm and the rains shifted, hammering now, freezing to hail.  Thunder rolled as the air charged with static, lightning flashing in the background.  He could feel the power within his form, straining for release.  He stared at the armored man, the villain simply hovering there…

Waiting…

There was pain!  Daggers in his brain, sharp and piercing, Calvin Rankin screamed as the world seemed to swirl and swim about him, turning upside down.  His voice was high and shrill, trapped between the feminine and masochistic as stars flashed in his graying sight; white, red and blue…

Ray Palmer grew to a few inches at her feet, stepping from the unconscious body of the man that had crashed to the rooftop- after she had slammed him full in the face with the star-spangled shield.  Whatever he had been about to do, the Atom had stopped him… her… hopefully in time.

Lois Lane-Kent adjusted the shield on her arm as she watched the strange metamorphosis occurring at her feet; the dark-skinned woman shifting back to the form of a man.  She had seen strange things throughout her career, had been at the heart of the wondrous world of the Metas since the first appearance of Superman himself, but she still found some of the things that happened around them to be awesome.  Maybe it was a naivete, the human factor that she was not a Meta herself, or maybe it was just the reporter’s ink running through her veins but she hoped that she would never stop marveling at the wonders of the universe-

Lois blinked, still looking down but shifting her gaze at the tapping on the toe of her shoe.  The Atom was there waving up to her and she quickly focused, crouching down to better hear his miniscule voice.  He smiled, glancing at the fallen foe.  He was little more than a boy, really.

“Nice shot, Lois, but concentrate.”  The Atom gestured at the unconscious young man, fully reverted to form and even bereft of the wings that he had worn when the other group had first confronted them.  “Stick with the League, kid.  You’ll get used to this stuff in no time.  Now get with it.  There’s one left-“

Lois stood, turning even as the Atom dwindled from sight once again.  He had apparently entered the shape-shifter’s body at microscopic size and done something within- something more severe than just knocking him unconscious as he had to keep the Kent’s safe and blissfully unaware of what was happening around them all.  Now he was hopefully going to do something likewise to the strange spider-man that was still attacking the Red Tornado.

Lois looked on, squinting to see through the still raging storm that had so suddenly sprung up about them.  The pounding hail and whipping winds, the freezing cold made it hard to see, not to mention the glare of lightning drawing nearer with every heartbeat, but still she could see Reddy slowly drifting towards the other.  He was still trapped in the weird webbing that the man-spider had shot from his hands, that creature himself straining to drag the Tornado closer, within striking distance.

Lois chewed on her lower lip, wondering what she could do to help, wishing that whatever the Atom was going to do he would do it quickly.  She was no Meta, and all she had to help was the broken lasso of the Amazon Princess wrapped about her upper body like a flak jacket, and the star-spangled man's shield.  And of course, her wits.

She screwed up her courage and charged forward, hoping that the edge of the shield would be sharp enough to sever the line holding the Red Tornado captive.  She gasped as her shoes slipped and skidded on the suddenly icy rooftop, almost losing her balance.  She almost screamed as lightning flashed within inches of her, making her hair stand on end in passing as the arc averted and disappeared up into the rip in the sky that they had come through before.

Breathing hard, her eyes wide at the knowledge that she had just barely escaped an electrifying death, Lois skidded to an abrupt halt.  She stared up and about at the raging storm; flashing bolts warping and twisting through the hole, dark thunderclouds swirling with the strange pink fog spilling from the tear.  She looked to the Tornado again but he was lost to the darkness and hail, a shadowy image that she could barely see.

“Jesus, what am I doing?”

“If I was you, I’d be surrendering.”

Lois yelped, startled at the sound of the deep, gravelly voice.  Unconsciously she raised the shield up before her as she stared at the huge, hulking figure that towered over her.  His short hair was matted down to his head, ice seemingly clinging to his massive, gray muscles as he popped his knuckles with a deafening force.  He grinned-

“That shield belongs to a friend of mine,” he growled.  “I’d appreciate it if you’d be so kind…” The creature’s grin widened as he calmly extended his hand wide open for the shield’s return.  Lois licked her lips.  She heard a scream somewhere off in the storm, but did not know whose.  She was shaking with fright- excitement- but she knew what she had to do.

“You want this shield, big man?” she said, trying not to shiver, to keep her teeth from chattering.  “Take it!”

Stalker cursed under his breath, straining as he both heaved on the webbing and willed it to reel in, dragging the alien with it.  It was working, and the effort was not why he was cursing, but rather that it was working at all.  He could sense the power in the creature- the danger.  His head was drumming to beat the band and the alien symbiote that was every bit a part of him now was screaming a warning just a few decibels shy of ultrasonic.

He had seen the alien go sort of desolid, like some poor man’s version of the Vision.  He seemed to command the winds.  God knew what else he could do; fly obviously, but if he was some other world android with little better fashion sense than the Vision had, then he should have been pulling powers out of his ass.

But he just hovered there, drifting closer as Stalker drew him in like a big red fish.  Almost like he wanted to get…

“Shut up!” Stalker shouted.  “I can’t think!”

Distraction!  That’s what it was.  Stalker braced, focusing his attention on the whining symbiote and probed, concentrating.  Finally he found it, something trying to get in.  One of the aliens no doubt, but his own alien was fighting against him- her- it.  Protecting him like a lover.

Stalker glanced at the android and saw no change, then shifted his will, a little effort and thought, some psyche to the creature that covered him, protected him, joined him in a way that Gwen or Mary Jane could never do.  They were one, and what tried to hurt the host, first had to get by the symbiote- and that would never happen.

There was a scream as a man erupted out of the second skin he had now worn for so long.  The creature, the alien lover he had bonded with on the Beyonder’s patchwork world had found the attacker, and that extra, added push by Peter Parker was enough to turn that attack back, Jack!  The symbiote was able to repel the assault of the microscopic man trying to get past the bond.  His own tough luck as the black spat him out like a blob of chewed, used tobacco-

Stalker’s eyes went wide as his own internal Spider Sense kicked up a notch.  He leaped just as the façade of the building was shorn away by an intense blast of wind and hail, like the spray of an Uzi.  He flipped in mid-air realizing at last that the windy android had simply been stalling to allow the little man to make his move.  Now the tiny guy was done, the red man was back in the picture.  Fine!

Stalker twirled, spiraling in pirouette as he released one of the intertwining web lines, firing off another to anchor himself as he dropped.  With the symbiote’s natural skill backing his own the web wavered in the winds but hit its mark, and Parker tugged, then heaved-

Still no reaction as the android suddenly shot forward, propelled by Stalker’s spider-enhanced strength combined with the alien’s.  Stalker reeled the red man in even as he himself shot towards the building, drawn to the anchor where he landed, perched, then leapt again.

Twisting about Stalker slammed full, feet first into the plummeting armored man.  He felt the force of the blow throughout his body even as he released the grip on the web line that held the android, laughing as the red man rocketed away…

Only to slow and eventually hover there in the wind.

“Nuts, man,” Stalker whined, dropping back to the rooftop.  “What the fuck are you?”

“I…am… wind…”

Stalker screamed in surprise as his bit of roof suddenly ripped up, a great chunk that he had anchored to shooting skyward.  He tensed, springing away and shot his webbing, too late realizing his mistake as the winds seemed to close about him.  He started to spin, faster and faster as the cyclone enveloped him, his stray web line caught up in the cycle, encircling him as he had done to the android earlier.  Stalker knew that he could simply absorb the webbing, if only the world would stop spinning just for a second so that he could concentrate-

His body slammed back to the rooftop.

He was whipped back up into the air, spinning now in the opposite direction.

“J- just like… Coney-“

He saw the rooftop coming up at him again and tried to brace for the impact…

“Oyo, that’s gotta smart.”

Joe Fixit was unconcerned both as he watched Stalker slam face first into the rooftop, and at the woman’s feeble attempt to hit him with Captain America’s shield.  Stalker was a conceited ass, and high time somebody got the better of him.  Except of course that that left Fixit the last man standing on the team.  No problem really.  He’d faced worse odds.

He looked back to the woman.  She was pounding away, swinging with just a little skill, but she was getting tired too, and the force of her blows barely registered through his thick hide.  If she had and super powers, she had yet to use them, so Joe Fixit assumed she was a normal that had gotten caught up in all of this by some accident.  She was a scrapper- he would give her that- but that simplified things on his end.  He reached up and simply caught the shield in mid swing-

“Gimme that,” he said, jerking it away from the woman, smirking as she blinked in surprise.  Later for her, as it would take nothing but a pinky bop to drop her.  Fixit turned to the red man.

Sure enough the android was drifting closer, riding the strong winds silently.  Joe Fixit had noticed the similarities to the Vision as well, so he had no qualm at all as he shifted America’s unbreakable disk in his grip and reared back.  He hurled the shield like a Frisbee, his aim true as it shot forward at blinding speed.  Windows shattered as the disk broke through the sound barrier, not even slowing as it sliced through the armored red form like a hot knife through melted butter.

The android looked down in surprise- or whatever most closely resembled that emotion on its mask-like face- watching as its lower half tumbled and spiraled within the cyclone that it generated to keep it aloft.  Fixit smirked, watching too just where the shield traveled, knowing that if it was left undisturbed it would eventually arch back to the hurler.  That would take some time with the force that he had thrown the thing, and unfortunately the disk was quickly gone, lost in the storm washing about them.  Rogers was gonna be pissed.

The red man seemed undisturbed though with the loss of its legs.  The severing would have stopped the Vision probably, so maybe this thing was not a machine after all.  Then what-

Fixit saw a flicker of gold pass in front of his eyes, a slight sudden weight on his back.  It was the woman he saw, glancing back.  Apparently she had undone a bit of the strange cord she was wrapped in and was trying to strangle him with it.  He chuckled-

“Please.”  Reaching up he grabbed the slim rope in his fingers and tugged, only a little surprised that it did not break.  He should have expected that- and did he supposed, but still he had to try.  Still smiling he shifted his grip and quickly stretched his arm out, catching the woman by surprise.  He felt the impact as her face collided with the back of his head, happy to feel her slump against his back, dangling as he released the cord.  He heard her moans, but she was dazed, allowing him to concentrate on the greater threat; the android.  He looked up-

The world exploded in white as everything flashed into negative.  Black became white and vice-versa as Fixit winced, his hands raising to shield his eyes too late.  He blinked, staggering back a bit as he tried to erase the drifting swirls washing through his sight, after images of something huge and winged swooping up behind the android, black energy crackling at its throat, the source of the new assault.  It took a moment to register what he had seen, to focus as well as remember.  To be fair, he had never actually met the creature, but he had seen the pictures.

He squinted, trying to see as something hit the rooftop near his feet, his eyes focusing on the charred and hollow shell that had been the red man.  He heard a triumphant cackle, a rage of energy crackling over the suddenly dying storm.  A softer voice whispered in his ear; the woman-

“My god…”

Joe Fixit looked up as the creature came swooping in, mighty bat-like wings flapping as negative energy sizzled from the nozzle of the control rod fastened to his throat.  The insectile head was alight with a gleeful madness, the twisted mouth wide with laughter as he hovered aloft, just out of reach.

“Aw, crap…” Fixit sighed as everything; the devastation, the lack of life, the state of Four Freedom’s Tower all finally connected.  He knew the Earth, the timeline that he and the Lost had fallen into.  It had been a catastrophe that the combined forces of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers had diverted in his own reality, months before he had joined the latter.  He heard the woman’s question at his ear even before she asked it, and answered glumly.  It was just her and him now.

“It’s Annihilus…”

Part Two

At last…

It had been so long…

Oh there had been the occasional animal to prey upon.  A soft skin, like Richards and his mate, at least in form, or one of the lesser creatures.  But there had been none to give challenge, none to fight and conquer.  The last of this world beyond’s creatures were little better than mindless bore-worms, groveling for succor and salvation at the end.  Pitiful and mewling, disgusting things that needed a swift end to their existence.

In truth, the world beyond had been a disappointment.  After the initial assault when he had faced down Reed Richards and his ragtag army of powered, freakish aliens, there had been little challenge at all.  The glory of seeing Richards burn, his trio of followers writhing in death’s grip; especially the brutish Thing had been the grandest victory.  The others of course too; the long hair and the sanctimonious shield-bearer.  He had enjoyed ravaging the green woman even as he had the Thing’s blind mate.  He had relished pealing away the red and gold armor of the metal man to reveal the succulent morsel within.

There had been others though.  They were like the Ilions; swarming and stinging, biting with their puny weapons.  And of course the remaining freaks had banded together in the end for a final confrontation.  They had been legion there at the end, haggard but unafraid, as though knowing they had nothing to lose.  It had been glorious…

The little animal with the claws had actually hurt him, and the one with the red beams coming from his eyes had banded them all together to capitalize on the wounds.  They had fallen of course, in the end.  All of them, though it had taken the force of the Cosmic Control Rod unleashed, the heart of the power from home to wash across the face of the world for that final cleansing.

And even then some had survived, but that of course had given him sport- at least for a time…

The armored one across the waters.  He had tried to wrest the Rod away.

The silver one that came from the sky.  His grief made him easy prey.

The big green brute that so resembled this gray hulking monstrosity.  He had been delicious, perhaps the hardest of all to slay as he kept healing.  He had been great sport, finally flayed and broken by the negative energies unbound, his skeleton left to rot in the cursed sun and sand outside the cavern he had called home.

Annihilus truly hoped that this creature was similar in that respect as well; virtually unbeatable.  Life as the conqueror was boring after all.  Where was the glory of lording a dead world and hunting down its verminous refuse?  Where was the challenge?

There…

Joe Fixit stared up at Annihilus as he hovered there, no doubt preparing to attack.  He had never met the creature, but he had read the files that the Avengers shared with the FF on his own Earth and he quickly speculated that this ravaged world had come about in aftermath of the time when Annihilus had finally found his way through the Negative Zone portal and attacked the combined teams.  His memory was sketchy on the confrontation, but the heroes had won in the end, though the battle had left its scars; most notably in Alicia Masters, the Thing’s girlfriend.  Or was she the Skrull in disguise then?

Fixit pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think.  It did get confusing.

“Who… What is that?”

Fixit glanced over his shoulder at the woman still hanging from his neck.  She was sturdy apparently, as well as a scrapper, and had come to her senses quickly.  A good thing she wasn’t a Marvel.

“That, chicken, is Annihilus, self-proclaimed ruler of the Negative Zone and one of the baddest mothers you’re ever likely ta run into.  Now, any chance you can let me go before he decides to attack?”  He felt the woman kicking, scrabbling to gain purchase on his back as he reached around.  Fixit smirked as he copped a feel, hoisting her up so that she could take the golden cord from about his throat, then let her drop to the rooftop.

“I dunno what yer wearin’ sweet heart, but that gold rope ain’t gonna do much if Annie decides ta blast his Neg energy.  Best you get under cover.”  He saw the woman back away, but surprisingly she did not run for shelter.  Fixit shrugged, “Yer funeral, babe.”

The storm was receding thankfully.  The hail had turned to a fierce rain, then a drizzle as the temperature rose and the stray winds took hold and blew the clouds out to sea.  The flashes of lightning were out over Staten Island now, no longer arching into the rip- god knew what that was doing- and the peals of thunder were becoming scant, few and far between.

Fixit noticed that the one handed man was stirring, the rain apparently reviving him.  He was a Namor clone after all.  Good.  Stalker was still out though, as was Rankin and the shrinking man- if that was his power.  Storm looked to be close to waking, though she was soaked to the bone through and through.  Johnny Storm would know how to deal with that, but Sue was still too green.  No help there then.

“What’s the plan, Fixit?”

Joe Fixit looked at Captain America, standing there without his shield just in front of the woman that had kicked his ass- protecting her.  Give the man his credit, he was a hero.

“Ain’t no plan, Rogers,” Fixit smirked, “’cept hit the bastard till he drops.  Ain’t no mercy there.”  Fixit pointed and Annihilus laughed again, a hideous sound that would haunt them forever, however long that might be.

“We understand one another then, monster,” Annihilus spat.

“Who you callin’ monster, freak?”

Joe Fixit flexed his leg muscles, crouching slightly.  He leapt-

Arthur Curry moaned, relishing the life giving water as it rained down, restoring him.  His parched and cracked skin melted back, his flesh mending with every drop that washed over him.  He raised his face to the receding storm, his mouth wide as he drank deep of the replenishing liquid- his life’s blood.  It was then that he saw the thing hovering there.

It reminded him of Star Breaker, and he recalled the vision of something dark sweeping over the universe.  Was this that?  Was this creature some twisted reflection of that alien vampire that had confronted the League years before, the ravager of worlds, the leech of the universe?

Probably.

Fate was like that; one big joke.  He had learned that long ago.  It just meant that he had to try all the harder.

He looked about the rooftop, trying to determine what help he might have in stopping this new threat.  He saw Lane standing with the man draped in the American flag.  He saw the big, gray creature squat and leap, smashing into the creature with little effect.  The bat-winged monster clawed at the other, the two grappling blow for blow.  Reddy was down, sliced in half.  The gray man’s allies were little better off; the shape shifter and the spider-man both still unconscious though he saw the blue-garbed woman stirring, trying to sit up.  She wielded fire, which could help if she could get it together.  Ray was normal-sized and unconscious, dressed in a checkered shirt and slacks- whatever he had been wearing when he had originally been called to action against the Time Trapper.  He looked dead, until Arthur finally saw him breathe- labored as it was.  That was it-

A big gray brute, a star-spangled fighter, a half-dazed blonde girl, a one handed king and a reporter with no powers beyond aggravation.  They were doomed…

Annihilus laughed as his claws sank deep into the gray brute’s skin.  He was not as strong nor resilient as his green counterpart, but he was strong enough to be a challenge.  Green blood sprayed from the wound, and Annihilus saw the flesh struggling to mend as he took another pound in a rake of his claws, shivering at the monster’s screams of anguish.

He laughed again as the creature’s fist slammed home, turning his head.  Glorious pain as they each relinquished their holds, the brute falling back and away, clutching his throat in agony.  The others sprang to action then-

Annihilus paused just for a moment as the one dressed in blue made him think.  He was dead, Annihilus was certain.  He had ripped the warrior’s chest open, feasted on his heart.  How-

The one-handed man smashed his metallic stump against Annihilus’ head.  He was strong too, that one, though the monster was stronger.  Annihilus backhanded the blue man away with one hand, his other shooting out to grasp the blonde hair by the throat.  Thor perhaps?  No…

Annihilus cackled as the human struggled in his grasp.  A simple squeeze and he would be dead.  The Rod was crackling with energy here, so close to the Zone- home- and the power rippled through his form.  He was unbeatable here.  King, the monarch of all that he surveyed.  He bared his fangs, inching closer.

He would feast well…

Steve Rogers shook his head, trying to regain some composure.  He had never imagined facing such threats when he had agreed to become America’s first Super Soldier.  He had expected to fight Nazis, at the worst the likes of the Baron Zemo, or the Red Skull; Hitler’s newest creation, the Nationalist answer to America’s best.  This though- this was frightening.  Vampires and aliens, the sheer scope and power was mind-numbing.

Still, he had to do what he could.  He had been created to fight evil- in the form of the Nazis true- but this was even worse.  He looked to Fixit, but the brute was clutching his throat, glowing green blood oozing between his fingers.  He looked wasted and pale.  The other alien with the stump for a hand was struggling in the winged creature’s grip, the monster looking for all intents and purposes like he was about to take a bite out of his prisoner.  He saw the Human Torch steaming far across the rooftop, and the woman that had beaten him hanging back, not certain what to do.  The rest were down for the count by the looks.  It was up to him then…

His blood boiling, pulse racing Steve Rogers leaped at the monster again.  While it was focused on the other man with the stump, he had his opening and locked his arms about the creature’s wings-

“What?” the monster hissed as they all three started to fall to the roof.  They hit hard, though they were not too high up, the creature turning the blonde under to take the brunt.  Cap rolled away on impact, quickly springing to his feet and charging forward again.  His roundhouse connected solidly, but though the monster’s head snapped to the side he seemed unharmed.

“Fool!” he shouted, energy crackling at his throat as he swung.  Cap blocked the blow, feeling the strength behind it as he staggered back.  The monster stood, ignoring the blonde writhing at his feet.  “I killed you once.  I shall enjoy doing so again.”

“Bring it!” Rogers shouted defiantly, taking up a boxing stance.  He wished that he had his shield.

Susan Storm watched as Captain America did his best to fend off the monster’s attack.  The creature was too strong though, a simple raking blow knocking Cap back and away, dazed.  Fixit was down as well.  So too the blonde man with the stump of a hand, and his woman friend was useless apparently-

“Flame on!” Susan shouted, cursing as the fire danced over her skin, steam rising but the flame flickering out again.  She was still too damp.  She could not concentrate.

She glanced about, looking for help, wondering what to do.  Mimic and Stalker were still out, and Cap would be dazed for a few.  She saw Fixit clutching at his throat, the blood still flowing though not as swiftly-

“The rod…” he gasped, and Susan blinked.  She saw the other woman glance at Fixit as well, just as confused-

“At his… throat…” Fixit’s voice was raspy and weak, but finally Susan knew what he meant- and the woman as well.  They both looked to the crackling cylinder at the monster’s throat.  Was that the source of his power?

“Flame on!” Susan shouted again, and this time the flame stayed.  It was slow and weak at first, but eventually it grew in intensity.  Her body swelled with the fire as her Cosmically induced powers engulfed her, her fiery armor erupting in a blaze.  The monster turned to her even as she turned to him.

“You’re dead!” Annihilus screamed, and it seemed more a statement of fact than certainty.  Susan shuddered imagining what he had done to this reality’s FF; Johnny and Ben, Reed…

“Not yet I’m not!” she shouted as she lifted into the air.  She called on the flame and sent an inferno down onto the rooftop.  Screw the woman, and Cap too.  That monster had to die!

Lois Lane-Kent dove for cover as the flaming woman unleashed her power, engulfing the rooftop in a blazing conflagration.  She could feel the heat.  She heard Aquaman’s screams as she hit, rolling out and away.  Fire would drain him, parch him again and suck away at his strength.  She wondered about Atom and the rest; the winged man and the spider-

God!  The Kents!

What had happened to Clark’s parents when the Red Tornado was beaten?

Lois rolled to a stop, slamming against a broken edge of the rooftop and saw the creature writhing in the flames.  The heat was intense, but though the monster was hurting she could see too that he was surviving.  He was strong apparently.  Stronger than the woman’s flame-

Lois gasped as she felt the heavy hand on her arm.  Turning she saw the big gray man, still holding his throat.  His eyes were fierce, determined as he gasped-

“The rod,” he croaked, wincing in pain.  “At his neck, dammit!  Get… the rod.”

Lois looked to the monster, watching as his wings unfurled, flapping as he swooped up and raked his claws across the flaming woman’s chest.  She screamed and fell back, her wounds cauterizing even as she hit the rooftop unconscious.  The monster turned, his wings beating slowly as he surveyed the battlefield.

Lois saw the rod at his neck, spewing energy and sparking.  If that was the source of his power- his focus- then she would have to get it.  She was the only one left to do the job.  She shuddered, hoping that Wonder Woman’s broken lasso would protect her.  She bit down hard on her lip as she charged forward, watching as the creature laughed again.

Joe Fixit watched as the woman dashed forward.

Annihilus just hovered there, flapping his wings and unconcerned, letting her come.  Laughing, the bastard.

The woman got close and leaped, but Annihilus simply grabbed her wrists and held her out, kicking and screaming at arm’s length.  He laughed-

“Pathetic animal!  You would dare offend your master?”

Fixit heard the woman’s screams as Annihilus squeezed.  He heard the sound of breaking bones, saw the woman jerk in the monster’s grip.  Annihilus laughed again, leaning in close-

“I shall devour you,” he cackled, holding her out again, his gaze sweeping the rooftop.  “devour you all!  I shall feast on your-“

Fixit struggled to rise, blinking as the woman kicked up and out.  He gasped- actually gasped as the toe of her loafer connected to the Negative Rod.  There was a cracking sound as it broke free, arching up and away-

“No…”

Fixit staggered forward.  He was weak- loss of blood- and he was not yet healed, but he had to help the woman.  He would be damned if he would let her die after trying so hard, no powers and all.  Just a person trying to survive, damn it all…

When had he developed a conscience?

Rogers looked up as the little metal tube bounced at his feet.

The world still swam in his sight but he was not so far gone that he did not recognize victory when he saw it.  Fixit had alluded that that cylinder was the key, and it had literally bounced into his lap.

Damned if he would give it up now…

Annihilus cast the woman aside.

Damn her!  Damn her to hell, she had kicked the rod loose.

He was bereft.  He could feel the power slipping away.

Captain America had it, but he was weak, different.  Different as the brute; no challenge.

No challenge at all.

Annihilus leaped…

Lois winced as the gray brute slammed his massive fist into the monster’s back, slamming him down.  Annihilus sprawled on the rooftop, obviously hurt.  The big gray man was still hurting too though, unfortunately.

The star-spangled man had the rod though, and he was smart enough to hang back.  Maybe they could win after all.  Maybe-

Lois screamed as the monster slashed at the gray man.  He screamed, dropping to one knee even as the other monster struggled to rise.  Damn he would not stay down.

Lois turned to the star-spangled warrior, but he was done, staring off into space.  The rod he held was sparkling and crackling and apparently had overwhelmed him.  Useless.

The others were still out as well.  Aquaman and Ray Palmer, the opposition.  They were all alive, she could see them stirring- all but the Tornado- but there was no way that they could help.

The gray brute picked up Annihilus by the wings, holding him out and he too looked off into space.  What was she missing?

She saw it then, a glint, a reflection in the distance.  She felt the winds rising again as Annihilus struggled in the gray hulk’s grip, trying to writhe free.  Did he see it coming?  She would never know-

The shield severed his head as it returned, slashing through his purple armor before imbedding into the roof just like that.  The head went flying away, bouncing finally.  No great explosion of power, no revelations.  It simply bounced, finally coming to rest not too far away.  She looked up at the others.

The Tornado was there, his upper torso hovering, his winds holding the headless body.  The gray brute simply relaxed his grip and the armor clattered to the rooftop, void of life.  The star-spangled warrior sighed.  Across the roof, the man-spider chuckled-

“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day, Chauncy…”

All eyes turned to the black-garbed Stalker, waiting for the punchline…

Oddly, it never came…

Epilogue

There was something wrong.

Susan Storm looked from one to the other of her fellow members; the Lost, but they seemed as hesitant as she felt.  She brushed her hair from her eyes and settled back on the roof’s edge, waiting for resolution, or at least explanation.  They had yet to vanish as they had in the past, so something was left unfinished.  What she had no idea…

Stalker was hunkering in the background, waiting.

Mimic too seemed at a loss for words, standing there aloof.  He had shaken hands with the strangers as they had made amends, but after that he had distanced himself with a smile and a far away look.  What was he about?

Rogers and Joe were right there though, up at the front.  Cap still held the rod close to his chest, no doubt wondering the same questions that she felt- where do we go now?  What happens next?  Fixit stood before the others; the man with the stump, the little man in blue and red, the upper torso of the android that hovered there, and the woman.  They all seemed confused.  Lost…

“I dunno,” Fixit said as he looked up at the rip in space.  It was still spewing energy, but with Annihilus’ defeat it seemed less somehow.  “We all should have vanished by now, so somethin’ ain’t done yet.”

All eyes turned to Rogers.

“I imagine it’s that thing,” the one handed man said,` pointing at the Rod that Rogers cradled in his arms.

“Unless I miss my guess it controls the Negative energies somehow,” the man called the Atom said.  Fixit nodded, but Susan had no clue.

“Yeah,” Joe said, agreeing with a nod.  “The Neg Rod draws on the energies in the Zone somehow.  Somewhere deep within is the source of Annihilus’ powers.”

“It could be our ticket home,” the Atom said.  “I wish I had the chance to study it.  It must be at least as powerful as the Spear of Destiny.  We need it though…”

“I figured,” Fixit said, looking to Rogers.  Captain America adjusted the shield on his arm, looked to the rod he held then finally held it out-

“If you need it,” he said, “it’s yours.”

The one armed man took the Rod and immediately Susan Storm felt an all too familiar tingling sensation.  They were moving on…

“Joe…”

“Yeah, I feel it…”

Joe Fixit turned to the man with one hand, extending his own beefy mitt.  He took the hand of the woman-

“Kick ass, Lois,” he said, grinning as he faded away.  It was over and his team was finally moving on.  The Rod apparently was meant for the others.

And they were gone…

Aquaman stared at the Cosmic Control Rod in his hand.  It seemed useless, just a bit of metal, but apparently held the secret to their return home.  He looked at the others…

The Red Tornado hovered there, half a man…

Ray Palmer stood too, thinking…

Lois Lane-Kent was the one that asked the obvious question-

“What now?”

Arthur smiled.  With the reassurance that the Kents were still well she seemed all about the mission, and getting home.  He looked up, pointing at the rift, the tear in the sky.

“I think we need to go back there, back into- what did Fixit call it?”

“The Negative Zone,” Ray Palmer said, shrinking slightly, just enough to make his ragged uniform reappear.  He looked to the rod.

“That appears to be a receptacle of some kind, designed to contain the negative energies of that zone.  I think we need to use it somehow.  It’s gotta be important.”

“But how?” Lois asked looking from one to the other.  The men shrugged, and the Tornado simply stared.

“The answer’s there,” Palmer said, pointing at the rift.  “Somewhere in there.  That’s where we need to be.  That’s the way home.  I’m certain.”

They all looked at him, nodding in turn.

“The Kents… are… safe…”

Red Tornado- what was left of him stared at them, his gaze distant and cold.

“Lois?” Aquaman asked, and she nodded.

“Let’s do it.”

Atom smiled, nodding as he dwindled, vanishing.

Aquaman tucked the rod into his belt and reached out to take Lois’ hand in his good one.  He tried to smile too, but it was forced.  She felt the wind then, and the ground fell away.

And they were gone…

To be continued…

Story © Curt F 2005

Next Issue: Head back to JLU: 2001 and M2K for the next chapters of this mini series within a maxi series as the JLA’s Lost try to make their way back home.  They have a long road to travel, believe you me…