JLU 2001 Fanfiction

The Watchtower

“This will not be J-L-I.”

J’onn J’onzz leaned forward, placing his fists on the meeting table, looking long and hard from one to another of the six other heroes gathered before him. He sensed a mixture of emotions from the group, which he had assembled: anticipation, nervousness, amusement, and even boredom. He ignored their collective emotions however, at least for the moment, letting his cold gaze finally rest on one member in particular.

“What?” Booster Gold asked turning his palms up and out, a baffled look on his face. “Why are you staring at me? I didn’t do anything.”

“Yet,” Fire said with a smirk and J’onn J’onzz sighed. He stood straight again, letting his long, blue cloak flow about his shoulders in a seemingly casual gesture.

“You’re right of course, Booster. Forgive me.”

Booster Gold smiled, waving away the Martian’s apology. “Nada,” he said, tilting back in his chair. J’onn noted of course that he had chosen the Batman’s chair and wondered if that was why Booster had actually arrived so early to this first meeting of the New Justice League. He would not be surprised.

“Not to worry J’onzz,” Hawkman said, grimacing, “J’onn. I don’t recall everything yet, but I do remember your Justice League International. This will not be a repeat of that fiasco.” The Thanagarian stared at Booster then, laying his mace upon the table top with a resounding thud. Booster put his hands up defensively.

“Hey! At ease pal. We’re all on the same team here.”

“And on the same page, I hope.” The recently resurrected Hawkman stared at Booster Gold long and hard before finally nodding sharply.

Booster Gold forced a grin and nodded in return. “Yeah.”

“Good,” the Martian Manhunter said, relaxing just a bit in his stance and expression. “Good. I want this to work, and more importantly, this MUST work. Now more than ever the world needs to know that it still has heroes. Thousands were lost, possibly died in the recent crisis. Cities and entire areas of land were wiped away. The citizens of the world whom we have sworn to protect are naturally fearful and they turn to us for aid, if not guidance.”

“We agree with you, J’onn,” Ralph Dibny said as he stretched his neck, his head jutting forward to gain the attention of the group. “We all want this to work. Even if we all are just filling in for the time being, until the big guns return.”

“You really should not consider it that way, Ralph,” J’onzz said; his voice hollow, only half-believing it himself. The group he had assembled WAS an interim group, simply gathered in the aftermath of crisis to hold the fort until the real... the other League returned. The Elongated Man had been there when the others had made their announcements, almost all of them planning to leave for a short time at least, to get their individual lives in order after the many ordeals that the JLA had recently gone through. The Batman was returning to Gotham, Aquaman to his kingdom under the sea. Superman and Lois Lane would be going back to Metropolis, perhaps that pair having suffered the worst not only in the battles with the Time Trapper and the other world Avengers, but even before that with Luthor. Wonder Woman was returning to Thymscira. The Black Canary and Zatanna were going to strike out with other like-minded heroines under the direction of Oracle. Plastic Man and Firestorm were returning to their respective cities to deal with their lives, and the Flash…

Wally West had perhaps lost the most with the death of Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern. It was questionable if he would be back at all. And with the Atom apparently- hopefully simply within the Microcosm, that left the Martian Manhunter and the Red Tornado from the original core team. And as powerful as the Tornado seemed to be the android was not at his peak, nor sometimes even in his right mind. Perhaps it was the Air Elemental contained within his shell-like form, an alien from the planet Rann, or perhaps it was whatever he had gone through before rejoining the League with the mystical group that he had been a part of- Doctor Mist and his Leyman, his Primal Force. Another mystery for another day.

J’onzz turned to the second woman at the table at that. The only one here that he had not worked with before, nor even heard of her beyond rumor, though oddly, the Batman had. She called herself Meridian, and apparently she had the Meta power to teleport herself and others at miraculous distance. A truly astonishing ability, and no doubt one, which would prove invaluable. She too had been a member of Mist’s Primal Force, and perhaps she would have some insight as to the Tornado’s problems, such as they were. Looking at the woman’s scowl however, J’onzz doubted it.

“Something?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. She was pretty with dark brown hair, straight and cut to her shoulders. Her costume was a pale blue spandex body suit covered with a brown half-top and hip-hugging sweat pants, cross trainers. Practical, but hardly extravagant, as though she were not fully into her role as a hero.

“No,” J’onn said.

“Maybe we could get on with this then. I’m here as a favor to Batman, but I do have a life,” she said, impatient and bored.

“Of course. I realize that you all do, but I felt we should all become acquainted before an actual threat…”

The room turned red as the emergency lights kicked in and an alarm trilled softly and repetitively. The Martian Manhunter turned.

“Too late,” Fire said as the group almost as one turned to stare at the eighth unofficial member of the group. Sue Dibny sat in the corner at the computer console, her fingers flashing over the keyboard as she whispered oral commands, redirecting the console to focus on the apparent problem. Above her, Booster Gold’s sidekick and mobile computer entity Skeets hovered, spinning from side to side and adding what assistance that it could.

“Susan?” J’onn asked, walking towards her station. Adding the Elongated Man to the ranks of the JLA again meant too that his wife would be added as well. The couple went hand in hand, and actually of the two, despite Ralph’s incredibly deductive mind, J’onn would have preferred Susan alone. She had an amazing mind for coordination and clerical activity, with the ability to organize to an unbelievable degree. Too she had an adept ability with computers. She was not quite Oracle, but close enough, and Barbara Gordon was willing to work with Sue, which in itself was a bonus. With Susan’s expertise and Oracle’s Network, they would have the world at her fingertips.

“San Francisco, J’onn, a hostage situation at a bank. There are Metas involved,” she said as she keyed the screen to bring up an image of the area in question, transferring that to the main monitor for all to see.

A bank came on screen, First Interstate on an otherwise quiet street in the City by the Bay that was filled with police cars, Press and simple bystanders. Sue Dibny tapped out a sequence on the keypad and smaller windows opened on the main view screen and therein on the security cameras they saw a half-dozen villains scattered about the inside of the bank along with several people lined up and on their knees off to one side. J’onn recognized the villains instantly, and by the sudden wave of flickering emotions, which washed over him he knew that the others did as well.

The Star Sapphire, the Green Lantern’s old foe hovered over the bank’s lobby, her mystical jewel blazing as she seemed to be directing the scene. The giant swamp monster, Solomon Grundy was being loaded down with canvas moneybags, by the Flash’s Rogue, Mirror Master and Firefly, one of Batman’s lesser nemeses. The mammoth woman, Giganta stood in the center of the lobby at a mere twenty feet, her huge body straining the jungle-skinned garments she wore, the bank’s security guard writhing in her grip and screaming in pain as she squeezed her thumbs into his chest. The final member of the group was the Weather Wizard, another of the Flash’s Rogue Gallery, though he seemed to be on guard only, watching the prisoners and ready to help or strike as the case needed.

“A bank robbery?” Booster said with a depressed sigh. “You’ve gotta be kidding?”

“It’s too far beneath you, Booster?” Fire asked as she stood, her green flame already dancing across her smooth skin. She was dressed in her trademark corset and jeans, her cowboy boots all in verdant green. The fire enveloped her as she stepped away from the table casting them all in the glow of her garish light. “Are you so cool now you don’t do banks?”

“It’s not that,” Booster said, standing himself. “but we’re the League now right? Isn’t there some local group that can handle this? I mean, c’mon. It’s a bank robbery. Where’s Young Justice when you need ‘em?”

“It’s a bank robbery with hostages and Metas, Booster. And high level ones at that.” J’onn J’onzz said, casting his gaze over the team once again. “There will be many instances like this one. Villains will take advantage of the discord and disarray after the crisis. We need to be there to show them that the world’s heroes are ready to defend. That is why we are here.”

“All right, all right. I’m in. Let’s do this. Get it over with.”

“Indeed,” J’onn said with a final sigh. He wondered just how big a mistake he might have made.

fate The World's Greatest Superheroes.....

Twist of Fate

The New Order

JLA #35-
December, Year 3
by Curt Fernlund

Active Roster

Martian Manhunter	Booster Gold	Red Tornado	Fire	Hawkman	Elongated Man
Meridian	Sue Dibny	Skeets

San Francisco

“How long we wait?”

“As long as it takes, Solomon,” Star Sapphire said as she hovered above the lobby of the bank, occasionally loosing star bolts down amidst the hostages when they started to get antsy. She smiled to hear their squeals of terror, happy to see them scramble back into compliance. “The Wizard assured me that the heroes would appear. It might take awhile however. Amuse yourself.”

Grundy stared down at one of the hostages groveling for mercy at his feet while trying not to be noticed in the same effort. He chuckled.

“Fine.”

“All well and good for the Swamp Monster, chippie, but what about the rest of us. I do have an agenda, y’know?”

“And I’m quite certain that you have a very fulfilling life, Mirror Master,” the Star Sapphire responded, staring daggers at the Flash’s nemesis. “I do not however think that you have anything more pressing than this to attend to at the moment. You want the benefits of the Society, you do as you’re told.”

Evan McCulloch frowned, spinning his gun about his finger and mumbling under his breath at the Star Sapphire. She was right of course, though he would never admit it to her. He had signed on with the Society for the long haul, for the benefit of having back-up when needed, to be part of a larger, more stabile group. The Wizard was organizing the ‘villains’ into a force to be respected, sending members out on missions with an actual agenda, not just will nilly and haphazard. They were making money on an actual payroll with benefits and a pension. Gods, they had a comprehensive Dental plan! It was better than the Rogues, or at least it had been up until this. He hated the drudge work involved, but like the sexy lady said he had to put in his time. He was still a ways from tenure.

“I just wish they’d hurry up and get here,” Giganta said as she pressed her thumb into the security guard’s chest, smiling as he squealed and squirmed in agony. “I don’t think poor Jerry here will last too much longer.” The red-haired woman had grown to twenty-one feet, her hair just brushing the high vaulted ceiling and skylight of the bank as she held the squirming little man in her grasp. In truth, as long as she had someone to play with she did not mind the waiting so much.

“Patience,” Camille said with a smile. “It won’t be long. In fact…” she paused, glancing towards the shadows gathered in the back corner of the bank, a blind spot where the cameras did not fall. “Here they are now!”

Star Sapphire pointed to a spot in the floor, just off to the side yet away from the hostages. The area was clear, but even as the powers of the Zamaron sapphire flared in her hands she saw the first sparkle of the shimmering effect of teleportation. It seemed as though the very air shifted, separating a scratch of darkness from somewhere else. There was a scraping sound as well, and instantaneously there were suddenly three people standing in the spot, which had a heartbeat earlier been vacant. Two of the three she recognized, and the third- a woman- seemed to be the teleporter.

“Whoa!” Booster Gold said as he stared about the bank trying to get his bearings, immediately catching sight of the villains surrounding him as well as Meridian and the Red Tornado. “I been riding the JLA Teleporter for years now, but that…”

“I told you so, Gold,” the woman said quickly assessing the situation. “Move!”

Booster shook his head, trying to focus as the woman dove to the side, rolling across the floor. Instinctively he activated his force field, just in time as he saw a flare of pinkish energy ignite beside him. He stared at the construct, wondering at its purpose. Perhaps it was the teleportation, or maybe he had just been out of the loop for too long. It could have even been lingering effects from his ordeal with Envious, though J’onn had given him a clean ‘mental’ bill of health. Whatever, he was slow as he stared at the pink anvil that had appeared at his side. He turned.

“Hey Reddy…”

And the world seemed to catch up to him as he saw the gigantic fist come slamming down, smashing him squarely into the Star Sapphire’s immovable construct…

Outside…

“Oy… Vey… That must smart.”

J’onn J’onzz barely acknowledged the remark as he shot forward, taking to the air. Skeets was right of course. It had hurt and J’onn could ‘hear’ the pain in Booster Gold’s head as he struggled to stay conscious. Luckily he had activated his force field in time, but as expected, Gold was rusty and it had taken him far too long to compensate for the unfamiliar teleportation effect. He should have waited for the second wave, and as leader of the team J’onn should have insisted, but Booster felt a need to prove himself once again.

The Martian Manhunter headed towards the bank, swiftly and silently, willing himself both invisible and intangible as he reached out with his mind. Immediately he felt the others waiting for his word, but first…

Meridian?

‘Here.’

You are well?

‘And in position. What’s taking so long?’

Stand ready. Booster is dazed. The Tornado?

‘Just standing there watching Giganta grind Gold under foot.’

J’onn J’onzz sighed. He could not achieve mental contact of any sort with the Red Tornado. Whatever was within the android’s form was not the being that it once was. He had to hope that the Tornado would join in when needed however. It was not something he had the time to worry about then and there.

Carter! Ralph! Go! Fire!

“On it!”

Beatriz Bonilla DaCosta simply stepped before the bank’s large plate glass window and erupted in green flame. She struck a heroic pose, arms up and wide, hip jutting to the side as she willed her personal fire hotter and hotter before waving her hands before the window. Flames engulfed the glass as a high-pitched whine erupted just before the glass bulged and blew inward in a spray of fiery slag.

J’onn J’onzz heard the screams of terror coming from within the bank. He did not ‘feel’ pain however- save Booster’s of course- so hoped that Flame’s fiery display had not inadvertently injured any of the hostages. Still, the effect was dramatic and even as he flew harmlessly through the heat and smoky residue of Beatriz’ Pyroplasm he could see that most of the villains were looking her direction.

The Star Sapphire had dispersed her anvil in favor of a more conventional shield. She was hovering back behind Grundy and the Mirror Master, letting them take the fore. Glancing upward he saw Giganta sneering down towards the melted window, her huge hands clenched into fists and Booster Gold unmoving under her foot. Far in the background he saw the Weather Wizard still guarding the hostages apparently, though he had his elemental wand pointing towards Fire. And beyond him there was something, an area in the corner that did not read mentally. What-

And on cue, Hawkman came crashing down through the skylight. Without hesitation he screamed a battle cry, swinging his mace with his momentum and smashing it with all his might into Giganta’s temple. The woman cursed, her head snapping to the side with the blow as she staggered back, stumbling against the wall. The impact alone caused the very bank to shake, but the woman did not fall.

J’onn saw Hawkman swoop wide to avoid the giantess and her flailing arm, his target shifting to Solomon Grundy. Without breaking stride the Thanagarian shot past the Swamp Monster, his mace crashing against the back of Grundy’s skull. It was Grundy’s turn to stagger forward as Hawkman again soared up and out of reach. A quick pass over the crowd and J’onn saw that the hostages again had not been injured by Hawkman’s entrance. Oddly, the glass from the shattered skylight seemed almost to have fallen in an arch about the captives, coming nowhere near them. He glanced at the Weather Wizard.

Mark Mardon had his arms raised; the wand in his right tipped just so as something slithered up and about his legs. J’onn knew that the Elongated Man was sticking to plan, knowing as well that the Weather Wizard was not a fighter in close proximity. Once Ralph Dibney ensnared Mardon his powers over the weather would be useless. Still, J’onn could not help wonder just why he had saved the hostages, if he truly had. The Flash’s Rogues were not outright murderers, though they also had no qualms over casualties who simply got caught in the crossfire.

‘Manhunter!’

J’onzz turned and saw Meridian crouching amidst the hostages suddenly. She had teleported into their group, and one by one as they became aware of her presence they started to panic.

Go!

Meridian vanished in a shimmer of air and a strange scratching sound. In the blink of an eye the hostages were gone and a mental moment later J’onn knew that they were all safely outside beyond the police lines. Good.

“Good.”

The Martian Manhunter looked up in confusion to see the satisfied smirk on the Star Sapphire’s face. Why might she be so pleased that her hostages had been freed? Worse, why could he not touch her mind?

“You must be getting old, Martian,” she said with a sneer, remarkably staring directly at him. “Slowing down, perhaps? Once upon a time your plans would never have appeared so… transparent.”

J’onn J’onzz blinked and glanced down. His body had reappeared, partially at least. His skin was transparent, like a pale green breeze.

“What?”

“You’re japped, Mate.” He saw the Mirror Master then, through a hailstorm of flechettes of reflective glass swirling about his body. He was still intangible, but-

Fire roared about him and J’onn J’onzz screamed both in fear and mind-numbing pain. His mind went wild as he tried to focus past the searing blast, the choking smell of his own burning flesh as his body became solid again. Flight escaped him and he slammed to the floor, the Firefly hovering over him with his jet nozzles blazing. He had forgotten Firefly! How…

“You feel the burn yet, hero?” Firefly said, his voice hollow and gloating behind his full face mask. “Hurts not bein’ the only one with a plan, hunh?”

J’onn heard the roar as Carter Hall came swooping back down, eyes crackling in anger, mace held high. There was no mercy in his eyes, and unfortunately, no reason. Giganta’s hand came flashing seemingly from nowhere, grabbing the Hawkman’s wings and whipping him around. Her foot swept out across the lobby of the bank, planting as she used the hero’s own momentum to slam him hard against the cold marble wall of the bank. J’onn winced to ‘hear’ Carter’s mental anguish, though no sound escaped his lips beyond a muffled grunt. Without hesitation however, Giganta swung her prize up and about again, hurling him to the floor.

To his credit, Carter Hall struggled to rise. He was tough, and though dazed tried to shrug off the attack. Unfortunately Giganta’s heel slammed down hard and Hawkman’s brain went out like a light.

“Ack!”

Ralph?

J’onn J’onzz turned, staring through bleary eyes at the form of the Elongated Man still wrapped tightly about the Weather Wizard. Mardon was smiling however, smirking actually, and Ralph looked… strange.

Frozen. The Weather Wizard had frozen Ralph solid. He-

“Arrgh!”

J’onn J’onzz screamed as the fire raged about him again.

“Ah-ah, Martian. You don’t get time to think.” Firefly chuckled as he washed his fire over the Martian Manhunter’s body. J’onzz writhed in pain, his uniform already burning away, his skin sizzling despite his attempts to increase his density. It was so hard to think.

“Leave him alone!”

He heard Fire’s scream as her own green flame washed over the scene, catching up Firefly’s more natural fires and diverting them away. J’onn knew that Beatriz had a form of telekinetic control over her own fires thanks to the Meta Gene contagion of the Invasion years ago. It was weak, something she should develop but had never taken the time. Still, it was enough to turn Firefly’s assault and even to redirect it at the Mirror Master.

It was Evan McCulloch’s turn to scream as the fire washed over him. He staggered away, his arms flailing as the fire spread, burning him. Suddenly however, a white arm swung in a wide arc, knocking him to the floor.

“Stop, drop and roll…”

Solomon Grundy strode forward even as a small rain cloud gathered above the unconscious form of the Mirror Master. Water dropped in a sudden sheet, putting out McCulloch’s blaze as Grundy hovered over the Martian Manhunter, grinning down.

“I remember you, green man,” Grundy said with a sneer and a snarl in his voice. “Made my head hurt.” Grundy reared back his leg and drove his foot into J’onn’s ribs. Even with his body a dozen times more massive and dense, the Martian went flying, slamming finally against the wall and sliding to the floor. Thank his ancestors, the fire had gone out.

He looked up in time to see the Star Sapphire encompass Fire in a pink bubble of energy. Beatriz of course unloaded her flame, too late realizing her mistake as the Zamaron’s chosen made a fist and contracted the bubble. Fire’s flames died quickly, despite the fact that they were not true flames in that sense. They, and she still needed oxygen. He saw Beatriz gasp as the bubble continued to shrink, eventually forcing Fire to curl up to accommodate the dwindling space. She stopped struggling, but the Sapphire continued her torture.

“Do you understand yet, Martian?” the Sapphire said with a wide smile. “Have you caught on or do you need it spelled out for you?"

J’onzz cast his gaze about the bank, trying to recover, to buy time as the woman gloated. “What?” he asked, goading her into speech. He saw Booster stirring finally, but he was still dazed from Giganta’s onslaught, as was Hawkman, slumped against the far wall. Meridian had yet to return from saving the hostages, but it HAD only been seconds. Fire lay sprawled on the floor next to Mirror Master, really the only member of the Society that they had defeated. Elongated Man was frozen solid, the Weather Wizard even now wriggling his way to freedom. And the Red Tornado just stood there. What was wrong with him?

They had been defeated so easily, so quickly. But how? How did they even know the identity of the new JLA? How had they known where and how they might strike? It was as though they had been waiting…

And of course, they had.

“Understanding is a wonderful thing, no?” the Star Sapphire said as she floated closer. She raised her hand, snapped her fingers and J’onn saw Giganta’s foot slam down on Booster Gold again, trapping him to the floor. Grundy shambled over to Hawkman and scooped the hero up, wrapping his arms about him in such a way that the monster could easily snap Carter’s neck like a twig at the Sapphire’s whim. Firefly dropped to the floor and bent over Fire. His hand strayed across her breasts for a moment before he shoved the nozzle of his flame-thrower between her full lips. The Weather Wizard stepped away from Ralph, ignoring the frozen Elongated Man to touch the tip of his wand against the Red Tornado’s head. Reddy simply stood there staring forward blankly, an empty shell.

“You were set up, Martian. Someone paid the Society a sizable amount of money to stage all of this, and defeating you thus was not even the goal. Still, I’m certain the humiliation will be more than you can bear,” she grinned wickedly, looking over his naked, smoldering body, “as the entire battle has been recorded for posterity on the bank’s cameras and fed to the world’s various news agencies. We are, however, not quite through with you yet…”

J’onn winced as the pink energy flared again and he was suddenly wrapped in shackles and chains. They were mystical in nature he knew, that was the way Zamaron science worked, and he could feel the tingle of the ever-shifting composition. He could eventually break free, matching his own molecular shifting powers against the manacles, but it would take time. Time he did not have.

His eyes grew wide as the shadows seemed to shift and coalesce in the corner of the bank, that area that had appeared as a ‘dead zone’ to his mental probes. His eyes grew wide as he realized that he should have tried harder. It was all his fault. He had failed, and like Vibe before, someone was going to suffer for his mistake.

“Hello, Martian,” Slade Wilson said as he stepped from the null area. He was dressed in his body armor, his half-black mask but wearing a long, black trench coat over all that barely hid the bulge of his many weapons. As always he was confidence personified, arrogant in his own superiority, his brain and body far advanced beyond that of any normal man. He was carrying his long broadsword, one of his favored weapons as he strolled towards Ralph Dibney. J’onn licked his lips, straining to break free from the shackles that shifted to match his density; strength or intangibility, it did not matter.

“No…” he whispered, sensing what was to come as Deathstroke the Terminator paused beside the frozen form of the Elongated Man.

“I have a message from my employer,” he said as he considered Dibney’s frozen body. “It won’t mean much to you, but the Kryptonian will understand. And I quote…”

Wilson raised his sword and brought it crashing down on the Elongated Man. J’onn J’onzz screamed as Ralph Dibney’s frozen body shattered into a million pieces, Ralph’s own mental shriek deafening in his mind, echoing…

Forever.

And as the shattered, broken fragments that had once been the Elongated Man swirled about him in a mad flurry, Deathstroke spun his blade casually and drove it back into its sheath with a resounding click.

“Do not cross me again.

“End quote.”

To be continued...

Next Issue: It’s time for Swap Month and Mick Edwards gets to pick up the pieces as AFTERMATH continues! The Elongated Man is dead! Really! He’s not Plas remember… Will the New JLA be destroyed before they even get started? Only time, and Mick will tell...

Send Reviews, Comments, and Other Mail to Curtis Fernlund